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In addition to unveiling the Galaxy S22, S22 Plus and S22 Ultra, Samsung also revealed the newest additions to its tablet lineup — the flagship Galaxy Tab S8, S8 Plus, and S8 Ultra.
In this piece, and given their similarities, we’re going to focus on rounding up all you need to know about the Tab S8 and Tab S8 Plus specifically, so that all the info you need is available at a glance. And you’re of course more than welcome to check out our Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 vs Plus vs Ultra feature if you’re stuck on which model to buy.
Without further ado, let’s dive into the world of the Samsung Galaxy Tab S8…
Price and release date
The Galaxy Tab S8 and S8 Plus will be available to pre-order from 9 February, before they’re shipped out to eager gadget fans on 25 February.
The base Tab S8 (8GB RAM, 128GB storage) will set you back £649, while the top-end model (8GB Ram, 256GB storage, 5G) will be £849. The Tab S8 Plus (8GB RAM, 128GB storage) starts at £849, and ends up at £1,049 for the 8GB RAM, 256GB and 5G model.
Check out Samsung’s pre-order page for all the various configuration options, along with some tempting offers including a £500 trade-in deal, a free book cover or keyboard cover and 12 months of Disney+. But only if you want to.
Design
It’s hard to design a tablet that doesn’t simply resemble a rectangular slab of glass, but it’s what you do with the body and the materials that can help it stand out from the crowd. The Tab S8 and S8 Plus justify their flagship status with sleek metal builds, measuring in at just 6.3mm and 5.7mm thin, and weighing 507g and 572g, respectively. These sleek bodies, coupled with their solid metal builds, result in iPad-like levels of premium.
Flip them around, and you’ll spot a minimal metal rear that’s available in Graphite, Silver, or Pink Gold. The camera housing extends into a long black strip which cleverly acts as an S Pen charging pad. Less interesting but worth mentioning is the USB-C charging port on the bottom (charger not included), while both ends have speakers for more immersive sound. The top edge also features the all-important volume and power buttons.
Screen
The Galaxy Tab S8 has an 11in, 2560 x 1600 TFT screen which serves up a very respectable 276 pixels per inch, along with a buttery smooth 120Hz refresh rate. The latter will ensure that software (like games) that can utilise the full refresh rate will feel incredibly slick and responsive.
In contrast, the Tab S8 Plus bumps things up with a 12.4in screen, which is also treated with a higher resolution of 2800 x 1752. Unlike the Tab S8, this one’s a Super AMOLED affair too, so you’ll enjoy punchier colours and truer blacks. Of course, neither one can match up to the insanely large 14.6in 2960 x 1848 screen of the Tab S8 Ultra, but that’s in its own league.
Camera
Despite how far things have come, we’re still averse to snapping photos on tablets. Having said that, there’s no harm in whacking in an upgraded camera system, especially on the selfie cam front when more of us are using tablets for Zoom calls and the like.
Both tablets share the same dual rear camera setup, with a 13MP and 6MP ultra-wide camera, supported by a flash. The front 12MP selfie cam is an ultra-wide affair, making it useful for group calls or for simply showing off your carefully staged background. That macrame wall hanging looks great, by the way.
Power, software and battery life
Like their new Galaxy S22 smartphone cousins, the Tab S8 and S8 Plus are both powered by the same blisteringly fast top-end Snapdragon processor, which, coupled with 8GB of RAM, will easily handle everything you care to throw at it.
The S Pen (which, thankfully, is included) also promises to be a godsend for notetakers, doodlers and artists alike, and we love the magnetic charging strip on the back for convenient juicing up without having to faff about with cables and the like. Naturally, everything is powered by the latest feature-packed version of Android 12 too, with Samsung’s four years of updates besting other manufacturers too.
On the battery front, the Tab S8 has an 8,000mAh battery, while the S8 Plus has a larger 10,090mAh offering. We can’t categorically state how long they’ll last in the real world without a full review, but we expect all-day use without any problems. The fact that they’ve got super-fast 45W fast charging is rather handy too.
Which should you choose?
With all that said then, it’s clear that both the Galaxy Tab S8 and S8 Plus appear to be very solid tablets from what we’ve seen of them so far. Stay tuned for our full in-depth reviews to see what our veteran gadget-testing hands make of them.
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