Samsung Galaxy Tab S8+ Review: A Tablet that is really Unique with its Features

There are two types of Android tablets: those from Samsung’s Galaxy Tab S series and those from other manufacturers. The reason for this is because, whereas the majority of Android slates are limited to media surfing and light gaming, Samsung is doing more than any other firm to develop Android into a genuine multitasking platform. Even if Samsung is pushing the boundaries of what Google’s mobile operating system is capable of, the combination of Dex mode and high-end hardware results in a premium tablet that is unique in its class.

Hardware and Design

The $900 device comes with a 12.4-inch OLED display. With an 11-inch screen for $700 and a gigantic 14.6-inch screen for $1,110, Samsung’s Tab S8+ is a middle child in the company’s new Tab S8 series. It falls between the $700 Tab S8 and the $1,110 Tab S8 Ultra. Without departing too much from past entries, Samsung has further reduced the size of its newest high-end tablet, leaving the Tab S8+ with the slimmest of bezels. Furthermore, with a thickness of 0.22 inches and 1.24 pounds, the entire item is very tiny and lightweight. Meanwhile, Samsung has introduced a new Armor Aluminum frame, which is 33 percent tougher than the one used in the Tab S7 range of tablets. The Tab S8+ also boasts quad speakers with Dolby Atmos technology, positioned on each corner of its chassis, ensuring that music sounds rich and complete no matter which direction you hold it.

Pros

• Stunning visual presentation
• Slot for a microSD card
• Skinny design
• S Pen is included in the package.
• The battery life is excellent.
• In Dex mode, multitasking has been improved.

Cons

• An aspect ratio of 4:3 or 3:2 would be preferable for efficiency reasons.
• There is no headphone jack.
• The keyboard cover is an additional expense.
• It was a little expensive.

The 2,800 x 1,752 screen of the Tab S8+ is the device’s most impressive feature, as it provides vibrant colors and a 120Hz refresh rate that makes navigating across webpages and switching between applications seem seamless. My only gripe is that I genuinely wish Samsung had chosen a larger 3:2 aspect ratio display rather than staying with the 16:10 aspect ratio, as was the case with the Galaxy S5. If all you do is watch movies or play video games, the time of 16:10 is quite reasonable. Although the additional vertical screen space provided by a 4:3 or 3:2 display is not significant in terms of productivity, it makes multitasking and having two windows open at the same time much more manageable. I’m perplexed why Samsung hasn’t followed Apple and Microsoft in switching to 4:3 and 3:2 aspect ratios on their iPads and Surfaces, which they have done for years.

The presence of Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 CPU, as well as 8GB of RAM and either 128GB or 256GB of storage, ensures that the Tab S8+ delivers excellent performance. Furthermore, unlike Samsung’s top Galaxy phones, you also get a microSD card slot for expanding your storage capacity. Unfortunately, as a result, there is no headphone jack, which is disappointing since it’s hard to think that Samsung couldn’t fit a 3.5mm connector on such an enormous gadget as the Galaxy Note 8. The Tab S8design +’s is completed with a magnetic strip around the rear for charging the stylus, a strip of pogo pins on one side for adding keyboard covers, and a fast in-screen fingerprint sensor that surpasses side-mounted alternatives.

Dex mode

In contrast to the rest of the Android tablet market, which is still waiting for Android 12L to provide several much-needed multitasking capabilities, the Galaxy Tab S8 range offers a bespoke solution in the form of Dex. It’s possible to convert from a conventional Android UI to a more robust desktop-like interface with a taskbar and multi-window functionality simply by clicking the Dex button in Tab S8’s Quick Settings (or by using the CMD + W keyboard shortcut). There’s also a system tray for quickly accessing functions like WiFi and Bluetooth connections, and the Android App Drawer is hidden behind a convenient button in the bottom left corner of the screen.

I wrote a significant portion of this review using the Tab S8+, and after booting into Dex mode, I felt almost instantly at ease. I highly recommend this tablet. Just as on a Windows PC, I could snap windows to either side of the screen, and the Tab S8+ also supported several commonly used keyboard shortcuts, which was a nice touch. Although you don’t have access to the entire set of commands that you would find in Windows or macOS, you do have access to some of the essentials, such as Alt-Tab and Alt-F4. I wish I didn’t have to switch between Dex and the usual Android layouts all of the time now. Unfortunately, you may also encounter clumsy and unpleasant experiences with less popular applications that have not been optimized for the Tab S8’s large screen, such as apps that can’t be maximized or games that don’t run correctly in the background when the device is in landscape mode.

The Samsung Tab S8book +’s cover keyboard, which costs $160 and does not have a built-in touchpad, is the most significant factor in the device’s lack of laptop-like experience. Using your finger to access applications is acceptable for data sharing with short bursts of time, but if you’re looking to be more productive, you’ll want to invest in the more costly $230 book cover keyboard, which includes an onboard touchpad as standard. However, although it may take some getting used to, Dex mode on the Tab S8+ does an outstanding job of transforming a standard tablet into a far more capable 2-in-1 device for the most part.

S Pen

The second prominent selling feature for the Tab S8 series is the S Pen that comes standard with the device, preloaded with a wide variety of first-party sketching and annotation applications. By decreasing the Tab S8’s input latency from 9ms to only 2.8ms, Samsung has effectively removed any lag, and the result is a device that feels amazing to use. While Samsung Notes is your go-to app for quickly scribbling down fast ideas, you can also use its handwriting-to-text conversion tools to store more readable copy for later review. And suppose you want more assistance with text translation, annotating slideshows or PDFs, or just creating amusing drawings to share with pals. In that case, there are specific applications available for that as well. Finally, even though Samsung has all of the essentials covered out of the box, if you’re a serious artist, more complex drawing and sketching applications are available on Apple’s App Store.

Cameras

Photography on tablets is sometimes treated as an afterthought since, let’s face it, no one wants to be the person who pulls out a 12-inch gadget to take pictures at an event or baseball. However, even while the Tab S8’s cameras aren’t quite as excellent as those found on a Galaxy S phone, Samsung included not one but two back cameras that are more than enough for the task at hand. This comprises a 12-megapixel wide-angle camera on the rear, a 6-megapixel ultra-wide camera on the front, and a 12-megapixel selfie camera. The photos are relatively crisp and vivid in good light, but as the lighting conditions get worse, you’ll notice noise beginning to seep in more and more fast.

Battery Life

It’s challenging to keep a screen this large from consuming a significant amount of battery life, particularly when the brightness is pushed up. The Tab S8+, on the other hand, managed a decent 9:21 on our local video rundown test, which isn’t too far from the 10 hours we obtained from the iPad Pro. However, if you’re playing games or multitasking, you should be aware that the Tab S8battery +’s will deplete far more quickly than that. In more mixed-use scenarios, I was able to get closer to six to six and a half hours of battery life on a single charge. Besides that, even though Samsung’s Tab S8+ is capable of 45-watt fast charging, you’ll need to purchase a power brick capable of supporting such rates separately since the device does not come with a charging cable.

Wrap-up

The key question I’ve been asking myself is whether the Galaxy Tab S8+ is worth 50 percent more than something like Lenovo’s $630 P12 Pro, which costs half as much. And, you know what, it turns out that it is true. That’s because, although they have comparable shapes and screen sizes, the Tab S8display +’s is brighter, its performance is substantially quicker, and its quad speakers sound more prosperous and more full than the Tab S8. In addition, the inclusion of little conveniences like an in-screen fingerprint scanner makes it simpler to use daily. Furthermore, Samsung’s S Pen and pen applications are much more complex than anything you’ll find on a competing Android tablet from a competitor. All in all, it’s a more luxurious gadget in every way.

The Dex mode, on the other hand, distinguishes the Tab S8+ from other Android tablets. A single button press transforms the Tab S8+ into a more desktop-like user interface, making multitasking and performing work a viable option rather than a frustrating impossibility, as is the case with so many regular Android tablets. Unfortunately, the P12 Pro’s consumer version isn’t expected to get Android 12 until the end of March, much alone whatever happens to Android 12L.

Yet, despite all of Samsung’s efforts, the Tab S8 is still not nearly as powerful or accommodating as an iPad Pro or even a Windows-based detachable like the Surface Pro 8 in terms of performance and use. Furthermore, with a total price of at least $1,000 when you include Samsung’s keyboard cover, the Tab S8+ does not represent a significant cost reduction compared to Apple or Microsoft’s products. However, since such devices operate on separate operating systems, moving between them may be out of the question, depending on your scenario. However, if you want support for Android applications while simultaneously requiring a device optimized for productivity, a Chromebook is an option worth investigating. However, if you have your heart set on a high-end multi-purpose Android tablet, the Samsung Tab S8 range should be at the top of your shopping list.