Samsung’s Galaxy Tab S8 vs. S8+, Which One Should You Consider
Choosing between the Tab S8 and the Tab S8+ can be challenging. There are a lot of overlapping features, but there are also some essential upgrades.
So at the end of the day, you have to ask yourself, is the Tab S8+ worth the extra money?
In the U.S., we’re looking at $700 for the Tab S8 and $900 for the Tab S8+. It’s a fairly significant increase in cost. So let’s see what you get for the money.
The first thing you’ll notice is that the Tab S8+ display is more prominent. And as you would expect from Samsung, both displays are excellent, but they’re not the same. So let’s talk about the specs and how the differences impact real-life use.
Display
The Tab S8 has an 11-inch TFT display with a resolution of 2,560 by 1,600, 120 Hertz adaptive refresh rate, and 264 pixels per inch. The Tab S8+ has a larger 12.4-inch Super AMOLED display with a higher resolution of 2,800 by 1,752. It’s a 120 Hertz display. And it has a slightly lower pixel density of 266 pixels per inch.
In terms of size, there is no question that you get a noticeably larger image on the Tab S8+. Both have an aspect ratio of 16 by 10, and it makes them great for watching the content because we’re getting pretty small black bars on the top and the bottom.
The high resolution of the Tab S8+ also means that when you’re surfing the web, when you’re using different apps, or even just navigating around the settings, you can see more content without having to scroll. It’s also definitely an advantage for multitasking, which I’ll cover in a minute. Now, the actual displays themselves are also different.
So with the Tab S8+, we’re getting a higher Super AMOLED display with richer colors. We’re also getting additional control over white balance, which can help white continue to appear as white rather than yellow or blue. The Tab S8 has a TFT display. It’s still a very nice display. It’s just not as lovely as the one on a Tab S8+.
Design
When we look at the actual design, the two tablets are almost identical. We’ve got small bezels around, rounded corners, squared-off edges, four-speaker grills, and a USB-C port for charging and accessories. Both tablets offer two forms of biometric authentication. We’ve got facial recognition with the front-facing camera. Then we have different implementations of a fingerprint sensor. On the Tab S8, it’s integrated into the power button. And on the Tab S8+, there’s an on-display fingerprint reader. So far, both have worked pretty well for me. I prefer the position of the on-display reader. Still, I like the reliability of the one on the power button from an ergonomic standpoint.
The size difference is noticeable. The Tab S8 is about an inch and a quarter, or 3.1 centimeters, longer, and it’s about 0.8 inches, or two centimeters, wider. And because I always have my tablet in a case
and a backpack, this additional size doesn’t make a difference to me from a portability standpoint. But if I’m playing a game where I’m holding the tablet up without supporting it, I prefer the smaller Tab S8.
The Mighty Tab S8 Ultra
If you’re looking for something even more significant than these two, check out the larger Tab S8 Ultra. You’re getting the same design as the Tab S8+ but with an incredible 14.6-inch Super AMOLED display. S8 Ultra is an unbelievable tablet to watch content on. The image is bright. It’s big. And it’s going to feel like you’re holding some futuristic device. If you use your tablet for work, you’ll love how much content you can fit on this display at once. The Tab S8 Ultra also includes an S Pen with extremely low latency. You can use it to take notes, draw, or even as a wireless remote for media playback and camera control. And speaking of the camera, the Tab S8 Ultra has a dual front-facing camera system with auto framing. I love using it for video calls when I’m walking around because it makes it look like the camera follows me. So if you’re looking to step up your productivity game, want a great tablet to watch content on, or have an unbelievable mobile gaming experience, check out the Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra.
Performance
Back to the Tab S8 and the Tab S8+. When we look at processing power, both featured the new Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chip. It’s been competent so far. I’ve used these tablets for basic things like surfing the web and watching videos or social media. And then for more demanding stuff like multitasking, photo editing and gaming. And both tablets are available at 128 and 256 gigabytes of internal storage, and all models come with eight gigs of RAM. So the nice thing is, you only need to choose the size of the internal storage, and you’re going to get the same amount of RAM, no matter what. If you need even more storage, you can always use the micro S.D. card slot and then expand the internal storage by up to one terabyte, which should give you plenty of space. You can use this additional storage for files, and you could also move a lot of apps from the internal storage to the micro S.D. card. It won’t work with every app, but I’ve been able to transfer some large apps and games without any issues and any noticeable difference in performance.
Keyboard Case
One area where I noticed a meaningful difference between the two is with keyboard cases. So I’m always going to add a case to my tablet because otherwise, I know I’m going to break it. And most of the time, I look for a keyboard case because it helps me type so much faster. There are two book cover options from Samsung, the original and then a slim. So it’s going to come down to what you want and which one’s going to work better for your situation. This slim is a single piece that wraps around your tablet, and it has a slot where you can store the S pen when you’re transporting it; it takes up less space on your desk when it’s set up, but it also doesn’t have a touchpad. The S Pen is not protected if you keep it on the back
where it can charge. The regular book cover keyboard consists of two parts, the keyboard itself and the back.
It has a touchpad, which I like. A flap on the back protects the S Pen. And I like that I can separate the back from the keyboard. So I can use either of these tablets in actual tablet mode while still protecting the back and the S Pen. In both cases, though, pun intended, I’m going to give the edge to the Tab S8+ because the keyboard cases are larger, and they’re more comfortable to type on.,
S Pen
If you’re like I was initially, you may be thinking, do I need an S Pen? Well, the good thing is that it comes included with both. So you don’t need to spend any additional money, and you can see whether there’s a place for it in your workflow. I now use a stylus every day, and I love that Samsung includes one with both of these.
I like the writing and drawing experience with it. And both of these get a Bluetooth-enabled S Pen. So you can use gestures for media playback, camera control, and a few other useful tasks.
Samsung DEX
There are fantastic multitasking capabilities if you’re looking to be even more productive with either of these. You can have two apps open side by side. You can even add a third app. And even with a ton of browser tabs open simultaneously, as the new processor crushes it. Suppose you’d instead work with a desktop-like interface. In that case, you can boot both of these in DeX mode, which will give you an actual desktop with icons, a taskbar, and resizable floating windows. You can use the tab with keyboard cases or hook up an external keyboard mouse and monitor to get a potent dual-display laptop or desktop replacement.
Suppose you already have a compatible laptop or desktop. You can go the other way and then use either of these as an additional display. Samsung calls this feature a second screen. And I use it when I want a dual-display on the go. And that probably doesn’t surprise you if you’ve seen my primary workstation.
So when it comes to multitasking DeX or second screen, I’m going to give the edge to the Tab S8+ because the larger and higher resolution display makes it easier to do more.
Camera And Speakers
Before we get to battery life and gaming, let’s quickly cover the camera and speakers. The camera systems are identical. We’re getting a rear-facing 13 megapixel wide, a six megapixel ultra-wide,
and then a 12-megapixel front-facing ultra-wide camera. Both tablets come with a feature called auto framing, which detects a subject and then zooms in and out to keep it adequately framed as it moves around.
If you’re someone who makes video calls where you’re not always sitting right in front of your tablet, this is a feature that you’re going to love. As far as the speakers, both tablets have four AKG tuned speakers with Dolby Atmos support, and these speakers are great. I might give the very slight edge to the Tab S8+ in terms of the level of distortion at total volume, but there’s no way that I’d be able to tell which is which if I could only hear one., if you’re a user that plans on using these speakers to watch content, listen to music, or game on, you will love both of these.
Battery
As far as battery life, we’re getting an 8,000 milliampere-hour battery on the Tab S8 versus a 10,090 milliampere-hour on the Tab S8+.both are easily lasting me for a typical full day of use. And I’ll have an update for you in my longer + term reviews. The one thing that always dents my battery life is gaming.
Gaming
Which one of these I liked better came down to what game I was playing. So if I play PUBG, I hold the tablet in the air. So for me, the Tab S8 is more comfortable to hold for a more extended session. One of my friends always plays with the tablet resting on the pillow. So for her, the larger display on the Tab S8+ would be a better option. And by the way, playing PUBG on both of these tablets, you can go to HDR for graphics with the frame rate set to extreme, or you can set graphics to Ultra H.D. and then frame rate to Ultra., I usually have it set up to either smooth or balance and then to the extreme to get a fluid gaming experience and better battery life. Both tablets are also easily crushed. Much more is resource-hungry games like Genshin Impact. And in both cases, the gameplay was smooth and responsive., if you have an Xbox Game Pass account, you can pair your Xbox controller and then play any cloud-based games. Both tablets played every game without an issue. And if I had to choose one of them to pair a controller with, that would be the Tab S8 Plus because of the larger display.
Pricing
When we look at the configuration, we have the same options. So it comes down to pricing. So both start with 120 gigabytes of internal storage and eight gigs of Ram. The Tab S8 is 699. And the Tab S8+ is 899. If you want to move to 256 gigs and eight, you’re looking at 779 versus 979.
Hopefully, this comparison was helpful. Remember,
Buy Nice or Buy Twice
