Amid all the noise about its new S22 smartphones, Samsung has revamped its tablet line-up, to compete better with market leader Apple’s iPads.
Samsung has announced its 2022 family of Android tablets, the Galaxy Tab S8 series. The new line-up includes a large-screen flagship in the shape of the 14.6-inch Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra, which will undoubtedly get the most attention. There are two other Tab S8 series devices: the 12.4-inch Tab S8+ and the 11-inch Tab S8, which update the existing Tab S7+ and Tab S7. According to IDC,46 million tablets shipped worldwide in Q4 2021, an 11.9% decline year over year as demand slowed following strong tablet sales driven by virtual learning, remote work and media consumption during the pandemic. However, shipments were up 3.2% for the full year (168.8m units), with Apple leading the way at 34.2% market share, followed by Samsung (18.3%) and Lenovo (10.5%). All three Galaxy Tab S8 models are built on frames made from Samsung’s durable Armor Aluminum and come in Wi-Fi-only ( Wi-Fi 6E) and 5G versions (4G LTE is also supported on latter). Prices start at $699.99 for an entry-level Wi-Fi-only Tab S8 with 8GB of RAM and 128GB of internal storage. The Tab S8+ costs from $899.99, while the flagship Tab S8 Ultra starts at $1,099.99. Adding 5G, RAM (on the Ultra), storage and optional accessories can boost the cost to premium-laptop levels. Samsung claims that the Tab S8 Ultra features the company’s ‘slimmest bezel ever’ at 6.3mm, resulting in ‘the best screen-to-body ratio for a Galaxy Tab S device’ (which we calculate to be 90.8%, compared to 84.6% for the S8+ and 83.6% for the S8). However, the trade-off for this slim bezel is that the S8 Ultra’s Super AMOLED screen is interrupted by a notch that accommodates its dual 12MP front-facing cameras, a move that may not prove universally popular. Features available across the board include Qualcomm’s 4nm,8-core Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 Mobile Platform, Android 12 with Samsung’s One UI Tab 4,16:10 screen aspect ratios with refresh rates up to 120Hz, an S Pen stylus, an ultra-wide-angle (120°) front camera and intelligent auto-framing software, dual rear cameras (wide angle and ultra-wide angle), a MicroSD card slot, a USB-C 3.2 port, improved Samsung DeX functionality, three noise-cancelling mics, quad AKG speakers with Dolby Atmos,4K video recording (30fps) and 8k playback (60fps), and Samsung Knox security. Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 series specifications Key differences between the Tab S8 models, include the display type and resolution (LTPS TFT at 276ppi on the S8, Super AMOLED on the S8+ and S8 Ultra at 266ppi and 240ppi respectively), weight (503/507g for the S8,576/572g for the S8+,726/728g for the S8 Ultra), S Pen latency (6.
