The $1,099 Galaxy Tab S8 Extremely is an succesful gargantuan-display tablet that’s frustratingly terminate to moreover being a proper notebook computer. Because the predominant Samsung slate to sport the “Extremely” moniker, the recent excessive-terminate Galaxy Tab sports activities a huge 14.6-toddle display that’s most appealing for bingeing motion photos or doodling away with the integrated S Pen. It moreover has an succesful webcam, long battery existence and fleet efficiency, and would maybe maybe even double as a notebook of kinds as soon as you snap on a keyboard and activate its Home windows-esteem DeX mode.
Here’s the field: The Tab S8 Extremely’s impress impress is supreme big for anyone who shapely needs a very good tablet, and the desktop trip aloof has a ideas to transfer forward of it goes to in actuality replace a old vogue notebook computer. So who’s that this big slate for? Here’s what I mediate after bigger than per week of the utilization of the Tab S8 Extremely as my day after day work and play machine.
The Galaxy Tab S8 Extremely is an succesful gargantuan-display tablet that is most appealing for bingeing motion photos, sketching with the S Pen, hopping on video calls and doing a miniature bit widespread productiveness work.
The who, what and the most life like likely diagram
Who it’s for: The Galaxy Tab S8 Extremely is perfect neatly-behaved for anyone willing to invest in a huge tablet for watching motion photos and doing video calls, or artists who desire a proper and gargantuan slate that incorporates a stylus. Its mercurial efficiency, desktop-esteem DeX mode and optional keyboard provoke, but we wouldn’t point out buying for one to make expend of as your sole work machine.
What it is vital to know: The Tab S8 Extremely is the largest member of the Galaxy Tab household, packing an even attempting 14.6-toddle Gigantic AMOLED display backed up by some very tough efficiency, long battery existence and a mountainous webcam. It’s likely you’ll maybe maybe transform this big slate into an Android notebook computer with the $349 Samsung Guide Quilt Keyboard, which works in particular neatly with its Home windows-esteem DeX mode. Honest don’t query apps to work as smoothly as they accomplish on a old vogue notebook computer.
How it compares: If display dimension is your priority, know that the Tab S8 Extremely dwarfs all of its predominant opponents. And unlike some of the most appealing capsules accessible, including the iPad Pro and Ground Pro 8, Samsung’s slate incorporates a stylus within the box. You’ll procure faster overall efficiency out of the iPad Pro (which is moreover extra very perfect for those within the Apple ecosystem) or a extra tough PC trip on a Ground. The Tab S8, S8+ and S8 Extremely all have the identical mercurial processor (Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 1), key aspects and integrated S Pen — you’re if truth be told paying up for the bigger display and the next webcam on the easiest-terminate model.
A ridiculously gargantuan and ravishing display
The Galaxy Tab S8 Extremely is shapely relating to the largest tablet you might maybe maybe maybe snatch lawful now, which makes it the total extra spectacular by shapely how graceful and light-weight it is. Despite packing a comically gargantuan 14.6-toddle display that dwarfs even the largest iPad Pro, the Tab S8 Extremely’s airy 1.6-pound body and thin 0.22-toddle edges made it surprisingly joyful to withhold after I was thumbing thru web sites or taking sloppy handwritten notes. When it is most life like to have a huge transportable display that won’t if truth be told feel mountainous for your procure, this slate suits the invoice.
The Tab S8 Extremely’s gloomy graphite coating appears slick and unassuming, though its matte rear panel is supreme inclined to fingerprints. I’m somewhat bummed that the silver and crimson gold alternate choices are runt to the Tab S8 and Tab S8+ — why must runt capsules have the total enjoyable? — but as a instrument positioned for both work and play, the Extremely must blend in neatly at house places of work and coffee stores alike. I like that the integrated S Pen attaches magnetically to the encourage of the tablet, a assemble that feels less liable to detaching than the Apple Pencil does on the fringe of an iPad. Mute, I’d point out going with an exterior cowl (esteem Samsung’s $349 Guide Quilt Keyboard) within the occasion it is most life like to have to withhold the stylus from flying off within the occasion you’re on the boulevard.
One in every of the right kind reasons to grab a Samsung cellular phone or tablet is on the total the display, and that continues to be the case on the Tab S8 Extremely. This slate’s big 14.6-toddle Gigantic AMOLED display is a proper joy to make expend of, with courageous colors. It sports activities a zippy 120Hz refresh fee that makes swiping between apps and scrolling thru webpages if truth be told feel extremely fluid.
The Tab S8 Extremely proved to be potentially the most appealing display for taking in “The Guide of Boba Fett,” maintaining every minute detail and big swath of sci-fi coloration within the show’s explosive final battle. The orange flamethrower blasts shot by enemy droids if truth be told stood out here, as did the vivid reflections I was ready to assemble out on The Mandalorian’s silver armor. In the same trend, the big display dimension and fascinating shadowy-and-white difference made it straightforward to withhold tabs on a recipe while making dinner, and I learned that textual convey looked in particular prosperous and legible when typing away in Google Docs or Slack.
The tablet’s quad speakers (which are neatly spaced along the sides) are impressively loud and completely serviceable for day after day leisure, filling my room with the enjoyable buzz of Vital individual Wars’ blasters while handling my song playlists shapely supreme. Samsung’s slate did an out of this world job maintaining Phoebe Bridgers’ ethereal vocals and Tigers Jaw’s buzzy guitars, and while I realized some fuzziness and an absence of bass at pudgy quantity, the quality used to be shapely proper ample to withhold my head bopping every time I wished some background noise.
The S Pen works moreover to ever — and also you procure one out of the box
The Tab S8 Extremely’s biggest assist over rivals esteem the iPad Pro or Microsoft Ground is that you procure an S Pen stylus lawful out of the box for sketching and doodling. That’s a proper thing, for the reason that newest iteration of Samsung’s digital pen is as genuine and versatile as ever — even within the occasion you might maybe maybe maybe don’t have any aspirations of being an artist.
Doodling and sketching felt responsive and pure on the Tab S8 (in part due to the that mountainous 120Hz refresh fee and low latency), whether I was jotting down a to-accomplish list in Samsung Notes or making a sloppy watercolor painting within the PenUp app. I learned myself lacking the developed haptics of Microsoft’s Ground Slim Pen 2, which higher mimics the feel of a gargantuan change of pens and markers, but I aloof learned the newest S Pen to be extremely genuine for fleet notes and sketches.
Basically, though, it’s the sheer quantity of helpful aspects that assemble the S Pen stand out on this slate — with a few fleet taps, you might maybe maybe maybe accomplish issues esteem staunch now originate a brand recent show, annotate regardless of’s on-display or translate a portion of textual convey by simply hovering the pen over it. I was in particular impressed by the S Pen’s sketch-to-textual convey functionality, which transformed my sloppy handwriting into a series of coherent sentences that I would maybe maybe ship to my mates on Discord or Slack after I didn’t must futz with the virtual keyboard.
Huge functionality aside, the proven fact that the S Pen (which sells for round $60 on its have) simply comes integrated with the Tab S8 Extremely is a gargantuan value add. When it is most life like to have to procure pleasure from identical functionality for your iPad Pro or Ground, you’ll be meting out upward of $129 for an Apple Pencil or $99 for a Ground Pen.
I tested the Galaxy Tab S8 Extremely with Samsung’s $349 Guide Quilt Keyboard, which, no longer decrease than on a hardware front, does an out of this world job remodeling the big slate into an even notebook computer. The keyboard snaps on without anxiety by the expend of a magnetic connector shapely esteem on a Microsoft Ground — no must manually pair one thing. It felt snappily and joyful at some point soon of long workdays, and packs a supreme genuine trackpad. The rear cowl provides some added safety (and better secures the S Pen) while moreover giving the tablet a kickstand for straightforward tabletop expend. On the opposite hand, when it came time to if truth be told expend the Tab S8 Extremely as a notebook computer change, I had extremely combined results.
One in every of the Tab S8 Extremely’s key aspects is DeX mode, which fully transforms the tablet’s Android interface into a desktop-esteem structure that’s very perfect for mouse and keyboard expend. The DeX interface appears a lot of esteem Home windows, with apps that originate in resizable packing containers and a taskbar at the backside for without anxiety switching programs and altering settings. This interface even borrows one of my favourite Home windows aspects — the power to neatly and fleet split the display between a few apps — which used to be very helpful for multitasking. On the opposite hand, while the Tab S8 Extremely can accomplish a mountainous notebook computer influence, most Android apps simply aren’t optimized for gargantuan-display expend. And that weakness is a lot extra evident on a 14.6-toddle display.
Messaging apps esteem Slack and Discord behave esteem their cellular counterparts moderately than the pudgy desktop variations I’m old vogue to on Home windows or Mac, which made leaping between conversations potential extra cumbersome than widespread. I learned myself opting to make expend of Twitter on the on-line moderately than by the expend of the Android app, for the reason that latter used to be awkwardly outsized and laborious to navigate on the Tab S8. You moreover won’t look notification bubbles for particular individual apps within the taskbar, which intended that I couldn’t without anxiety look if I had any unread Slack messages to tackle. My video would decrease out anytime I minimized WebEx or Google Meet at some point soon of a name, which is one thing I’ve under no conditions needed to tackle on a PC or Mac.
However my biggest frustration came from attempting to work in Google Docs, which I count on on daily foundation for my job. Whereas I was ready to put in writing shapely supreme within the Android model of Docs (indubitably, I calm most of this overview on it), I at first struggled with highlighting textual convey, which made mass deleting, cutting and pasting nearly about inconceivable. I at closing obtained old vogue to this model of the tool, but there have been bigger than a few moments where I gave up out of frustration and switched to my Home windows PC anytime I needed to carry out heavy bettering.
Samsung is on to one thing particular with DeX mode, and I’m impressed by how neatly the Tab S8 Extremely can mimic the total individual trip of a notebook. However Android apps are going to have to catch up forward of Samsung’s slate customarily is a viable change to an even notebook computer.
Huge overall efficiency for work and play
Whereas the Tab S8 Extremely would maybe maybe not have the tool make stronger of a old vogue notebook computer, it has bigger than ample muscle for heavy multitasking and informal gaming in core Android. Samsung’s tablet under no conditions slowed or stuttered under my widespread workload of bouncing between Slack, Google Docs, Discord and hundreds Chrome tabs.
The Tab S8 Extremely persisted to characteristic smoothly after I opened 16 diversified apps (including a 4K video and a sport), though I did impress a runt lengthen in typing on Docs under this heavy load. Demanding Android video games esteem Asphalt 8 and Call of Responsibility: Cell ran smoothly, even with their visual settings cranked as a lot as the max.
The Tab S8 Extremely’s tough day-to-day efficiency used to be backed up by our benchmark tests, where its Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 processor held up reasonably neatly. Indulge in in mind here’s one of many more recent processors to hit the market and moreover powers your complete (and in point of fact fleet) Galaxy S22 household. On the Geekbench 5 take a look at (which gauges overall efficiency), Samsung’s big slate grew to alter into in a multi-core ranking of 3,336 and a single-core ranking of 1,176.
That’s a shrimp development over the Galaxy Tab S7 household, and smokes less pricey Home windows capsules esteem the Ground Scurry 3. On the opposite hand, the Tab S8 Extremely is leagues within the encourage of the newest iPad Pro by diagram of raw horsepower, and didn’t moderately ranking as excessive as similar Home windows 2-in-1s esteem the Ground Pro 8. You likely won’t impress the adaptation between these machines when doing day after day browsing and messaging, but it’s value conserving this discrepancy in mind within the occasion it is most life like to have as mighty energy as likely for worrying inventive initiatives esteem video bettering and 3D rendering.
Out of the ordinary battery existence and a extraordinarily tough webcam
The Galaxy Tab S8 Extremely is neatly outfitted to procure you thru a pudgy workday of heavy expend — and plenty bigger than that within the occasion you’re shapely catching up on email as soon as or twice a day. Samsung’s slate obtained me thru nearly about a pudgy 24 hours of on-and-off expend and lasted thru a ambitious 10 hours and 32 minutes of right 4K video playback on our battery take a look at.
That runtime is shapely somewhat longer than what we obtained out of the outdated-generation Tab S7+ (10: 05), though it falls within the encourage of the anecdote 15-plus hours we seen on the smaller Tab S7. The Tab S8 Extremely moreover couldn’t moderately match the 12ish hours we obtained from the newest iPad Pro, but both potential, Samsung’s plus-dimension tablet provides bigger than ample juice for long days of working and taking part in video games. We have been ready to fully price the S8 Extremely in a miniature bit over an hour, due to the make stronger for as a lot as 45W charging, though you might maybe maybe maybe have to offer your have brick. Samsung sells one for $49, and manufacturers esteem Anker offer some less pricey likely selections.
On prime of having ample runtime to reside on a long day of video calls, the Tab S8 Extremely boasts an equally succesful webcam. The tablet aspects dual 12-megapixel cameras within the front, which delivered crisp, proper-to-existence shots that rival my widespread Logitech C920 by diagram of overall detail and coloration accuracy. There’s a helpful ultrawide mode that offered bigger than ample room to withhold a colleague and me comfortably in ogle. Samsung’s tablet even has a neat Auto Framing mode, which robotically kept my head in body as I moved round at some point soon of a Zoom name and worked equally neatly to the iPad Pro’s Heart Stage characteristic.
Oh, and within the occasion you’re by some means joyful taking photos with a 14-toddle tablet in public, the Extremely’s 13-megapixel rear camera took completely acceptable shots of my canine and the sunny skyline ogle from my balcony.
The Galaxy Tab S8 Extremely is a advantageous Android tablet. There’s moreover a proper likelihood that it’s no longer for you. This slate’s fully large 14.6-toddle display would maybe maybe very neatly be value the excessive impress of admission for some, as it in actuality makes motion photos and video games stumble on mountainous while serving as an succesful canvas for the utilization of the S Pen. It’s moreover obtained the roughly efficiency, battery existence and webcam quality you’d desire from a day-to-day work machine, which makes it the total extra disappointing that Android apps shapely aren’t prepared for prime time shapely but.
That said, the Tab S8 Extremely is aloof a proper value when in contrast to the iPad Pro and Ground Pro 8, which originate at identical costs but don’t consist of a stylus. The iPad Pro is aloof king by diagram of energy (and has extra apps that are optimized), while the Ground Pro is awfully perfect for folks who desire the flexibility of Home windows with the portability of a tablet.
When you’re planning on the utilization of Samsung’s slate for computing, you’re having a stumble on at an investment of nearly about $1,500 as soon as you part within the optional keyboard. Concerned about how wonky the desktop trip is here, those having a stumble on basically for a notebook computer are higher off hanging that money in direction of a neatly-specced Dell XPS 13 or MacBook Air.
And if all it is most life like to have is a mercurial tablet with an out of this world display and integrated stylus, the less pricey and smaller Tab S8 or S8+ have many of the Extremely’s key aspects (and extra coloration alternate choices). There’s one thing to be most standard relating to the sheer overkill of the Galaxy Tab S8 Extremely, but it’s finally a gargantuan tablet very perfect for art and leisure moderately than one thing that can replace your notebook computer — no longer decrease than for lawful now.
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| Price | 14.6-toddle Gigantic AMOLED display with 120Hz refresh fee | 11-toddle LED display with 120Hz refresh fee | 12.4-toddle Gigantic AMOLED display with 120Hz refresh fee |
| Show resolution | 2960 x 1848 | 2560 x 1600 | 2800 x 1752 |
| Processor | Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 | Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 | Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 |
| RAM | 8GB/12GB/16GB | 8GB | 8GB |
| Storage | 128GB/256GB/512GB | 128GB/256GB | 128GB/256GB |
| Cameras | 13-megapixel autofocus/6-megapixel ultrawide with flash (rear); 12-megapixel FF/12-megapixel ultrawide (front) | 13-megapixel autofocus/6-megapixel ultrawide with flash (rear); 12-megapixel ultrawide (front) | 13-megapixel autofocus/6-megapixel ultrawide with flash (rear); 12-megapixel ultrawide (front) |
| Battery | 11,200mAh Li-Ion | 8,000mAh Li-Ion | 10,090mAh Li-Ion |
| S Pen | Incorporated | Incorporated | Incorporated |
| Dimension and weight | 12.9 x 8.2 x 0.22 inches; 1.6 pounds | 10 x 6.5 x 0.25 inches; 1.1 pounds | 11.2 x 7.3 x 0.22 inches; 1.27 pounds |
| Price |
$1,099 |
$699 |
$899 |