The Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra is as big a tablet as your average laptop, and that alone is probably enough to inspire excitement in some people and confusion in others.
Samsung's line of tablets is often seen as the Android ecosystem's alternative option to the iPad Pro, but the Ultra still outclasses the 9-inch iPad in terms of size, with its screen measuring XNUMX inches. In other words, it's huge.
How big is too big? Well, that depends on how you like to use a tablet. We imagine that some people will find the Tab S8 Ultra too big to be practical, but others may want its large amount of display space. Hence, the size appears in the list of disadvantages and advantages of this initial review.
We've spent little time with the tablet, so we can't really test its usefulness as an entertainment or productivity tool, but we can give you our first impressions of this Ultra tablet.
Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra release date and price
As Samsung's largest tablet, it's also the most expensive we've seen from the company so far. oops
There are 3 different configurations for the device, and each one is available as either a Wi-Fi only version or a 5G connected version. There's one with 256GB of RAM and 512GB of storage, and if you pay more, you can bump it up to XNUMXGB/XNUMXGB or even XNUMXGB/XNUMXGB.
You can see the costs of these 6 different versions of the tablet now. We don't have all of them right now, but we'll add them as we do.
Cost Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra RAM/StorageConnectivityPrice in USA Cost in UKPrice in Australia8/128GBWi-Fi €1,099.99€9998/128GB5G €114912/256GBWi-Fi €109912/256GB5G €124916/512GBWi-Fi €124916/512GB5GSo, when are you going to be able to get your hands on the new tablets? Samsung hasn't said so, but hopefully we'll hear a release date in the coming weeks.
Design and display
Let's start with the screen of the Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra, its biggest selling point. At 8 inches, it's huge, bigger than the 8-inch and 4-inch Tab S9 and Tab SXNUMX Plus, like the iPad Pro, which comes in either XNUMX-inch or XNUMX-inch versions.
The resolution is an incredible XNUMX x XNUMX, with a XNUMXHz refresh rate and Super AMOLED technology that ensures vibrant colors and clean contrast.
While other Tab S8 models have their front cameras hidden in the bezel around the screen, the Ultra actually has a notch in the middle that covers the 2 lenses. Considering the size of the screen, the small black bump at the top is barely noticeable.
We couldn't test the Ultra in every single way we would for a full review, like streaming movies, playing games, viewing photos, and so on, but when we get more time with the board, we sure will.
From a distance, the Tab S8 Ultra looks like your standard Android tablet. It's a gray box with a screen, a small rear camera bump, and a USB-C port.
Oh, and there's a magnetic strip on the back that can hold and charge the S Pen, which seems like a curious place to house the stylus. This means that the cases must have a space and also you must remove the stylus already before leaving the tablet. We much prefer Apple's solution of having this space on one edge of the board.
We say 'remote' because as soon as you get close to the device, you see why it's not your average whiteboard. Due to its screen, it is much larger than other tablets and resembles both a skimboard or a medieval shield and a technological device.
The Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra is quite difficult to transport. We must have rocked it like a baby when walking with it, and it was quite impossible to hold or use it with one hand. We're also curious about how easily it slips into a backpack, as it might be too big for our normal work bag.
Cameras and battery life
While the Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra shares its siblings' rear cameras, with a 13MP main snapper and a 6MP ultrawide snapper, there are actually 2 front-facing ones, so there's a notch in the display.
These fronts are both 12MP and one has a wide lens while the other has an ultra wide lens. You'll probably use the former for most things, like selfies and video calls, but the latter also has a use, like longer selfies or video calls where you need to present something behind like a whiteboard.
The tablet's camera app is clunky compared to a smartphone, with fewer modes or AI processing, but you're probably not using a tablet for serious photography anyway, and the offerings here are more than enough. appropriate.
When it comes to battery life, we're in uncharted waters here. Having never used a tablet this large, we're not sure what to expect from the 200mAh battery that powers it.
It's a massive powerhouse, but we'll have to see how well it stacks up on the big screen in our full review.
Charging is done at XNUMXW, which is an average rate, and we also imagine it's going to take a few hours to charge the slate from full battery power.
Specifications, performance and software
Under the hood, the Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra is just like its non-Ultra siblings, well, except you opt for the XNUMXGB RAM version, since those other slates don't offer as much memory.
This means that the slate has the Snapdragon 1 Gen 8 chipset, the current top-tier processor used among the most powerful Android devices such as Xiaomi XNUMX and OnePlus XNUMX Pro; Aside from the other Tab SXNUMXs, we haven't seen any tablets with this yet. .
This will make the board suitable for work-intensive applications, such as photo or video editing software, as well as gaming and speedy browsing.
We have to mention that aside from the large amounts of storage space you can get for high-end whiteboard variations, there's also expandable space up to 1TB.
For software, go Android XNUMX with Samsung's unique UI on top. If you are familiar with Samsung devices, you are already familiar with the appearance of this interface.
We spent a good amount of time using the S Pen stylus with the tablet, and the experience is pretty amazing. In some ways it's better than using an Apple Pencil, but worse in others.
Functionally, the S Pen is a blast to draw with. It's simple to use pressure sensitivity to change the appearance of lines; you can press hard for a thick, attractive line, or light for a thinner, clearer line. The tip of the stylus is to be thanked for its smoothness, so you don't feel like you're damaging the screen, in contrast to the Apple Pencil.
However, in contrast to Apple's stylus, the Samsung device feels somewhat cheap in the hand due to the material. It is also somewhat short and thin, so the grip is not as good as it should be.
first verdict
More so than most devices, whether the Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra is good or not depends on what you're looking for. If you need a big screen for work or creative pursuits, this could be a good option, and we imagine it's also going to come in handy for gaming, especially if you're using something like Stadia or Xbox Games Pass.
If you're just a daily tablet user with a bit of extra cash to spend, we don't think it's worth it. It's built for business users, and the smaller Galaxy Tabs will fit you better.