Samsung Tab S8 Ultra — Laptop killer

A misunderstood device by some. But its users are rejoicing in the productivity options

There’s so much potential with the Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra, and so much power to unlock. A lot of people seem to be misunderstanding what this device really is or who it is for.

And I will admit.. I was confused at first. But the more I use it, the more I work with it, the more I truly enjoy it.

This is where the confusion started for me. Is it a tablet? Or is it a laptop?

Practicality is one of the most important aspects for a tablet and the Tab S8 Ultra is one of the most practical devices you will find but also the most impractical!

What I mean is, depending on what you are using this for this could indeed be more practical than a laptop and deliver everything a laptop can, with some added features.

If you want a smaller tablet, there are other options of course. As I am sure you will know by now, this is a massive tablet. But I think there’s a reason for that and Samsung may have been targeting a very specific market for this.

The Tab S8 Ultra has the potential to replace quite a few laptops.

If you are after something that behaves more like a tablet in its purest sense, then the iPad Air 5 or iPad Pro would be more suitable. But if you want to get work done as well as watch content in a high quality display, that’s when the Tab S8 Ultra comes in.

Getting stuff done

The Tab S8 Ultra is a fantastic device for productivity. In the last few weeks I think I only scratched the surface here on what this device can do but there’s so much that I am finding, and so many little details that makes this a real productivity ‘powerhouse’.

Sure I could get a Microsoft Surface or another ultra slim laptop with touch screen, but then I’d have to contend with Windows and the joys that come with it, such as updating antivirus and all of that ‘malarkey’.

And I am not knocking it, there’s definitely a use case for that. For many years I’ve used some applications that only work on Windows and I am sure that there are a lot of people in that same camp.

But is the Tab-S8 better than a Microsoft Surface? Could it do all of the things the Surface can do? No.

But the Tab S8 Ultra is not trying to be a Windows laptop. It’s simply trying to give people an option. And I love that.

For a lot of people, — especially Windows users — this IS a laptop replacement. If you don’t need (or want) a Windows laptop… This is it!

Samsung Dex — an underrated feature

Samsung Dex is one of those features that don’t get enough attention in my view. Dex is incredibly powerful.

The fact you can do so much on the browser within Dex, connected to an external monitor, using the Android apps that suit my workflow and get this desktop experience on a tablet, is really cool. It opens up so many options from a productivity perspective.

There is still a lot of potential for Dex as apps don’t seem to ‘know’ about each other as they operate in a containerised sort of way, but it’s a great start for a tablet.

Let’s not forget you could do the same thing with a Samsung smartphone.

But with the tablet, it sort of unshackles you from a physical desk, and cables, monitors, etc.

A real use case may be attending Zoom or Teams calls and then taking a break to watch some content, using the same device.

Taking a laptop to the lounge is not the same as just taking the tablet, despite it’s bigger size. And the display quality on the Tab S8 Ultra means I can alternate between work and media consumption seamlessly, and have a great experience with both.

The Tab S8 Ultra is so good that it made me realise something. If I wasn’t running a tech channel, I don’t see why I couldn’t run my other business just using this device. I run a tech consultancy business and most of my clients only use browser-based apps to interact and I only require very few Microsoft Office functionality.

With that huge benefit of it being extremely light and portable, I can really see me using this as a main computer. And as one of my viewers confirmed, there are other workloads out there like app development that can totally be done using this tablet alone.

How does it compare with multitasking on the M1 iPad Pro?

One might say that Universal Control on the iPad Air 5, M1 iPad Pro (or any iPad for that matter) is able to provide a similar experience.

Well, that’s partially true. I can use my mouse and keyboard between the MacBook Pro and iPad but as far as a ‘real world’ usage, it’s not really something I’ve struggle with when trying to be productive with those two devices.

Yes Universal Control is great for using Microsoft Office for instance, giving us that extra real estate and the copying and pasting between the two devices, so it does make me feel like I am using a single device.

However, that is very different to what multitasking on the Tab S8 Ultra is. And please don’t get me started on plugging the iPad into an external monitor!

There are some exceptions like Keynote or using Lumafusion (video editing app) and monitoring the footage externally. But most iPadOS apps just don’t work well on a big screen.

I am not knocking the M1 iPad Pro, as a tablet, when I combine the iPhone and Apple Watch, HomePod, that ecosystem does come to life and is unbeatable as a user experience for me. But from a productivity workflow, the Tab S8 Ultra offers quite a bit more in my opinion.

What about accessories for the Tab S8 Ultra?

It would seem that accessory brands still haven’t figured out what the Tab S8 Ultra is because the options are quite limited still, at time of writing this article. But there are a couple of options that are worth a mention.

And before I talk about accessories that you can buy for the Tab S8 Ultra, I have to mention the S-Pen.

I don’t know what ‘black magic’ Samsung did here, and this may be old news if you used other devices before like the Tab S7 or the Galaxy Note but I LOVE the feel of the S-Pen.

I wish, from a hardware perspective that it was a little bit bigger, but where it really matters which is how it feels when you are writing or drawing… It’s miles better than the Apple Pencil.

The Apple Pencil is too hard and slippery for me. The S-Pen with the Tab S8 Ultra feels really soft, it has a ton of features that you can configure such as actions including unlocking the device with gestures. It has a button too, which adds even more functionality. To me, it’s a much more capable accessory.

There aren’t many keyboards and covers available yet that are decent. I’d love if Logitech came up with a version of their Folio Combo for the Tab S8 Ultra.

The Samsung version seems to lack in quality and is very overpriced by the looks of it. So the best option I’ve found is to use a bluetooth keyboard and mouse. I’ve been using the Logitech CRAFT and my MX3 mouse and they pair up really well.

For my workflow this is fantastic as I can switch between the MacBook Pro and Tab S8 Ultra and a 3rd device if I want to, by simply pressing these switches. Absolutely brilliant.

Stands

As I mentioned in my last Tab S8 Ultra article, to get work done, it’s just more comfortable to have this device propped up. So I got stands that I’ve been trying and I still maintain that it’s a must buy really for this device.

The Satechi one picture here is actually for iPads but I found it works really well with the Tab S8 Ultra.

Gaming

Gaming on the Tab S8 Ultra is just the icing on the cake for me. The graphics are incredible. Because the speakers are so good, you get a really immersive experience when gaming. I wish it would support the PS5 Dualsense haptics but I don’t know what the issue is there, and we have the same problem on the iPad.

But other than that, I have tried quite a few different games, really pushing the settings to the max — where the game allows — and I haven’t really seen any dropped frames or overheating issues.

Battery performance

The battery does drop off when I’ve been testing games and working all day with the Tab S8 Ultra but I am always close to a charger at home and when I am travelling, I carry the Anker PowerCore which has 19,000 mAh capacity which is more than enough to charge the Tab S8 Ultra fully and still have power left for a second charge.

In my view, the Tab S8 Ultra does replace a laptop. You may lose some of the tablet functionality because of its sheer size, but this tablet is the closest to a ‘laptop killer’ that I’ve ever used.

I love Apple products, but there’s a lot that the Tab s8 Ultra does, giving us freedom to do more as consumers. And I love that!

Check out my full review on YouTube and I am sure I will be back here as I use the Tab S8 Ultra more and more. I am definitely keeping this one.