Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 and S8 Plus evaluation: welcome to the S ecosystem

If you’ve been in search of a pill to enhance your Android cellphone, for a few years, your decisions have been few and much between. In reality, the Android pill market has offered so few compelling choices that even many Android enthusiasts would suggest that you simply simply purchase an iPad if you would like a pill.

The downside with shopping for an iPad when you personal an Android cellphone is that you simply miss out on plenty of the system integrations that include utilizing an iPhone and an iPad collectively. Apps that you simply personal in your cellphone should be repurchased on the pill, you don’t get system-level issues like the power to hotspot your cellphone from the pill, and the 2 units by no means really feel as linked or coherent as in the event that they each ran the identical platform.

That’s the place Samsung’s newest Tab S8 and S8 Plus have a possibility, no less than when you personal Samsung’s taste of Android. (Samsung additionally has a 3rd pill within the Tab S8 line, the Ultra, that’s bigger and dearer — I’ve reviewed it individually right here.) Though they appear and performance very equally to Samsung’s prior pill efforts — and nonetheless have a lot of the identical baggage — Samsung has made progress growing integrations and an ecosystem of its personal between its units which may be sufficient of a motive to decide on a Samsung pill over an iPad when you additionally occur to hold a Samsung cellphone and use Samsung wi-fi earbuds.

That isn’t to say Samsung has come so far as Apple in these integrations, neither is it to say that the standard Android pill gripes — particularly, a a lot smaller pool of optimized apps — don’t apply right here. The Tab S8 and S8 Plus are additionally costly tablets, beginning at $699.99 and $899.99, respectively, earlier than you add any equipment like a case or keyboard. But they do present us a glimpse of an Android-first ecosystem that hasn’t actually existed earlier than.

The {hardware} variations between 2020’s Tab S7 / S7 Plus and this 12 months’s Tab S8 variations are such:

• New Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 processor
• Wi-Fi 6E assist
• Higher decision entrance digital camera
• Improved lens on the again digital camera
• Lower latency on the S Pen

The commonplace Tab S8 is barely out there in Wi-Fi configurations; the Tab S8 Plus could be bought with 5G mobile connectivity. It’s odd that this isn’t uniform throughout the road.

Visually, the brand new tablets are an identical to the prior fashions. They include the identical 11-inch 120Hz LCD or 12.4-inch 120Hz OLED screens and have the identical Dolby Atmos quad audio system. Just like earlier than, the {hardware} is spectacular, and both pill supplies a wonderful video watching expertise. Performance can be superb, with clean responsiveness, fast app loading, and no “jelly scrolling” points to be discovered. These are priced like premium tablets, and so they really feel prefer it, which is an effective factor.

Between the 2, I want the smaller Tab S8, which is simpler to carry in a single hand and extra snug for the sorts of duties I do on a pill, resembling studying books or information articles. If you need the higher pill for watching films, the S8 Plus’ OLED display screen has the sting, although it doesn’t fairly have the identical punch and brightness as Apple’s 12.9-inch iPad Pro.

Both fashions even have 16:10 side ratio screens, which is best suited to larger-screen laptops than tablets. It makes them really feel cramped when shopping web sites in panorama and awkwardly tall when held in portrait orientation.

The Tab S8 has the identical fingerprint scanner constructed into its sleep / wake button because the Tab S7; equally, the Tab S8 Plus has the identical under-screen fingerprint scanner because the Tab S7 Plus. Both labored tremendous in my testing, although neither are as fluid or fast to make use of as facial recognition logins. (You can allow face login on both pill, however it’s not as safe because the fingerprint scanners or Apple’s Face ID.) Neither pill has a 3.5mm headphone jack and depends on only one USB-C port for all of its I/O.

Either mannequin could be had with a good 128GB or 256GB of built-in storage. And in contrast to an iPad, the Tab S8 line helps microSD card storage enlargement (as much as 1TB), so you possibly can add extra to it after the actual fact.

Both include Samsung’s S Pen stylus within the field, which has been improved to be barely extra responsive this 12 months. I just like the S Pen so much, notably for taking handwritten notes on the display screen. It has a softer tip in comparison with the Apple Pencil, which reduces the slipperiness when writing on glass and means I don’t have to put a particular display screen protector on the Tab S8 like I often do with an iPad. And it’s doubly nice that it doesn’t value a further $129 on prime of the price of the pill. I’m not an artist by any means, so when you’re in search of that perspective, I recommend trying out Brad Colbow’s videos on YouTube about the S8 line, however for taking handwritten notes, marking up screenshots, or simply navigating the pill’s software program all through the day, the S Pen is nice.

The S Pen magnetically attaches to a strip on the again of the pill for charging and storage (although it’ll solely cost if it’s dealing with a particular orientation — bizarre). The pen will work as an enter system with none cost — charging it up permits you to join it to the pill by way of Bluetooth and use further features like air gesture controls that I’ve by no means actually gotten the grasp of. The magnets on the again of the pill holding the S Pen in place aren’t particularly sturdy, and for the reason that pen stands out off the again, it’s straightforward to knock it off in your bag. Some of Samsung’s instances magnetically connect to the again of the tablets and supply a canopy over the S Pen, which retains it in place significantly better, however such a case will value between $70 and $80.

Speaking of instances, the Tab S8 and S8 Plus are appropriate with the identical choices because the Tab S7. I used to be capable of check out the awkwardly named $139.99 / $159.99 Book Cover Keyboard Slim for each sizes, which pairs a folio design with a trackpad-less keyboard. The keyboard works tremendous — there’s no Bluetooth pairing complications or charging vital due to pogo pins that permit it talk with the pill — however I missed having a trackpad out there. It additionally solely supplies one angle of view, which is limiting, and the rear cowl has a gap for the S Pen to cross via as an alternative of the quilt to maintain it in place. If you need to spend more cash, you possibly can repair all three of these issues with the $199.99 / $229.99 Book Cover Keyboard, which is unchanged from once I examined it with the Tab S7 fashions, and comes with its personal set of limitations (particularly, it’s very awkward to make use of on a lap).

Frustratingly, neither the $700-plus Tab S8 nor the $900-plus Tab S8 Plus comes with a charging brick within the field, regardless that they assist as much as 45-watt quick charging. Though this has change into frequent amongst high-end telephones, these are the primary tablets I’ve seen that don’t include a charger within the field.

With a lot of the {hardware} being carried over from the final technology, the most important developments could be seen within the software program.

Samsung can’t actually repair the perennial Android downside of poorly optimized apps that both don’t format properly to bigger screens, don’t assist keyboard shortcuts, or don’t work properly with Samsung’s desktop-style Dex software program mode. So Samsung has spent its time on optimizing its personal apps and making the Tab S8 and S8 Plus play properly with Samsung telephones.

Many of the issues that Samsung has developed might be acquainted to house owners of iPhones and iPads. I used to be capable of remotely activate my Galaxy Z Fold 3’s cell hotspot characteristic from the settings menu of the Tab S8; the Galaxy Buds Pro I had in my ears switched between the Tab S8 and my Fold 3 routinely relying on which system was taking part in audio. Samsung even has a tackle Apple’s Handoff characteristic to allow you to proceed utilizing an app on one other system, although it’s at the moment restricted to only Samsung’s browser and notes apps and doesn’t work with any third-party apps.

If you’ve gotten a Windows PC, you need to use the Tab S8 fashions as exterior shows, identical to Apple’s Sidecar characteristic. You may even use the keyboard case with a number of units, although switching between them includes Bluetooth pairing and isn’t almost as seamless as Apple’s new Universal Control characteristic.

Samsung’s personal apps, resembling Internet, its browser, have been optimized to work properly on the bigger screens. You can synchronize tabs and historical past between your cellphone and pill simply, and the browser does a superb job loading and dealing with desktop web sites on the pill. Since so few of the Android apps I take advantage of commonly have been optimized to work properly on a pill display screen, I ended up spending plenty of time within the browser, particularly once I had the keyboard case connected.

Other inventory apps, resembling Samsung’s Calendar, work properly on the big show, as do a few of Microsoft’s apps, resembling Outlook and Office (each of which come pre-installed). Google’s apps tend to be more hit or miss, and productiveness apps I depend on, resembling Slack and Asana, are simply terrible stretched-out variations of their cellphone apps and don’t reap the benefits of the bigger display screen in any respect. Obviously, your expertise will differ relying on which apps you intend to make use of, however it’s secure to say that Android nonetheless has an extended technique to go in comparison with Apple’s pill app ecosystem.

Samsung has its personal tackle multitasking that it’s constructed on prime of Android’s native means to run two apps aspect by aspect in a split-screen mode. On the Tab fashions, you possibly can cut up the display screen 3 ways, plus add a floating app on prime to view 4 apps on the identical time. It is usually a little complicated and cumbersome to make use of, however at least the iPad’s unusual method to multitasking.

Beyond that, Samsung additionally has its DeX mode, which supplies a desktop-like surroundings to run windowed Android apps in. It’s meant to bridge the hole between a cell working system like Android and a extra conventional desktop one like Windows. Though DeX has its followers (hello, sure, I see you within the feedback), I’ve by no means been capable of get alongside properly with it, and that hasn’t modified on the Tab S8.

Though Samsung’s apps work tremendous in DeX, many Android apps don’t know what to do when they’re compelled right into a windowed mode, with small textual content, odd layouts, and generally they’ll’t even launch. There are different bizarre limitations, too, like the shortcoming to make use of the mouse pointer to pick out textual content within the browser or an app — an motion I do many occasions per day as an editor. DeX stays an choice to make use of in a pinch, however it’s not one thing I’d need to work in for lengthy intervals of time.

Android does carry some benefits relying in your use case and desires. If you’re into streaming video games or operating gaming emulators, it’s a lot simpler to take action on Android than it’s on an iPad. You can pair a controller to both Tab S8 mannequin and have a reliable transportable gaming rig that comes with a wonderful display screen and superb audio system.

On the flip aspect, Samsung and Android are nonetheless behind in the case of different companies that may reap the benefits of the bigger display screen. On an iPad, I take advantage of Apple News with a News Plus subscription to learn all kinds of paywalled magazines and newspapers for a easy month-to-month price — there’s simply nothing comparable that I’ve been capable of finding for Android. Fortunately, the Tab S8 / S8 Plus have entry to the entire common streaming companies, together with Netflix, HBO Max, Disney Plus, Hulu, and extra. The huge one lacking is Apple TV Plus (you possibly can watch it within the browser, however that’s a sub-par expertise to a devoted app).

After years of not seeing an incredible motive to purchase an Android pill, I’ve to confess that Samsung has offered a compelling pitch this time round — offered you’re already within the Samsung Android ecosystem. The Tab S8 and S8 Plus combine properly sufficient with different Samsung merchandise, they’re glorious {hardware} on their very own deserves, and in case you have particular use instances which are poorly served by Apple’s strict management over iOS, these tablets may simply be what you’re in search of.

Samsung nonetheless has some work to do fleshing out its ecosystem, and hopefully, Google’s renewed curiosity in Android tablets will produce higher third-party app assist (I’m not holding my breath there, although). And it’s a bummer that in case you have a Pixel or different Android cellphone, you possibly can’t actually reap the benefits of plenty of the integrations Samsung has developed.

But I feel the most important hurdle with the Tab S8 and S8 Plus as they’re is their pricing. These are premium tablets with huge value tags — particularly when you begin to add equipment to them. Samsung will probably launch some extra attractively priced tablets to interchange a few of its older fashions, and it has been good about delivering software program updates to carry a few of these new options to present units, although the an organization spokesperson declined to touch upon future updates once I requested..

For now, although, if you would like a superb Android pill expertise and also you aren’t involved in residing the dual-platform life, the Tab S8 or S8 Plus is about nearly as good because it will get.