While the Galaxy S22, with its somewhat bizarre Bridgerton-themed unveiling may have gotten most of the attention during February’s Unpacked event, Samsung’s new trio of bigger-than-ever tablets were arguably the most interesting of the new products launched by the Korean manufacturer.

Most high-end tablet manufacturers have bowed out of the market thanks to the iPad Pro’s dominance, however Samsung have persisted in keeping the Android flame burning. With improved video conferencing, beefed-up new octa-core processors inside, and a supersized model that looks set to usher in a whole new class of tablet, these new models offer plenty of compelling features to maintain the Tab’s status as the premium alternative of choice to Apple’s offering.

Coming in three flavors - the standard 11-inch Tab S8, the 12.4-inch Tab S8+ and humongous 14-inch flagship that is the Tab S8 Ultra, read on as we detail the specs of the new range and offer advice on which option best suits your needs.

  • Samsung Galaxy Tab S8
    Samsung Galaxy Tab S8

    The base model Galaxy Tab S8 is anything but basic. It's packed with premium hardware driving the unbeatable experience that Samsung's OneUI Android flavor's known for, and it's the most portable of Samsung's high-end tablet lineup. If you want the best and the smallest, don't pass it up.

  • samsung-galaxy-tab-s8-plus-square
    Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 Plus

    When the standard Tab S8 is too small and the Tab S8 Ultra way too big, look to the Goldilocks S8+ for a solution. A buttery smooth 120 Hz refresh rate and impressive pixel density mean it looks better than ever, and it's still light and small enough to use comfortably on the go.

  • galaxy-tab-s8-ultra-1-1-ratio
    Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra

    While it's not cheap by any means, the Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra is the biggest on the market, and as close as you'll come to a laptop replacement tablet in the Android sphere. Its 14.6-inch screen is backed by the most powerful hardware we've yet seen in a slate PC, although you'll probably find it too large unless you have a specific need for that kind of real estate.

Samsung has been making some of the best Android tablets for a while now, and their newest flagship, Galaxy Tab S8, has continued to prove that the iPad doesn't have to be the only PC killer tablet on the market. The three versions have similar hardware, but due to each one's price, size, and weight, one of them will probably serve you better than the others.

Price, availability, and specs

As some of the best Android tablets around, they're all available at several popular retailers, including directly from Samsung. They're usually discounted at least a little from their list prices, partly because they've been out for almost a year. The base model starts at $700, the S8+ at $900, and the Ultra at $1,100, but you won't have to pay that much at this point.

As far as hardware goes, they're similar in most ways under the hood, with some critical differences in the display and minor ones in other areas. The only other difference in availability is that the Ultra comes in just a single color, Graphite, while the others also come in Silver or Pink Gold.

Samsung Galaxy Tab S8

Samsung Galaxy Tab S8+

Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra

SoC

Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1

Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1

Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1

Display

11-inch 2560 x 1600 120Hz LTPS TFT

12.4-inch 2800 x 1752 120Hz Super AMOLED (S8+)

14.6" 120Hz Super AMOLED

RAM

8GB

8GB

8/12/16GB

Storage

128/256GB with microSD slot

128/256GB with microSD slot

128/256/512GB with microSD slot

Battery

8,000mAh

10,090mAh

11,200mAh

Ports

USB Type-C 3.2 Gen 1

USB Type-C 3.2 Gen 1

USB Type-C 3.2 Gen 1

Operating System

Android 12 with One UI 4 (Upgradeable to Android 13, OneUI 5.1)

Android 12 with One UI 4 (Upgradeable to Android 13, OneUI 5.1)

Android 12 with One UI 4 (Upgradeable to Android 13, OneUI 5.1)

Camera

13MP + 6MP (Ultra Wide) with flash, 12MP front

13MP + 6MP (Ultra Wide) with flash, 12MP front

13MP + 6MP (Ultra Wide) with flash, 12MP + 12MP UW front

Connectivity

Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.2, 5G optional

Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.2, 5G optional

Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.2, 5G optional

Dimensions

253.7 x 165.3 x 6.35 mm

284.9 x 184.9 x 5.5 mm

326.4 x 208.5 x 5.5", 1.60 lb

Weight

1.11 lb (503g)

1.25 lb (567g)

1.60 lb (726g)

Charging

45W wired

45W wired

45W wired

IP Rating

None

None

None

Colors

Graphite, Silver, Pink Gold

Graphite, Silver, Pink Gold

Graphite

Misc

S Pen (in box), power button fingerprint scanner

S Pen (in box), in-display fingerprint scanner

S Pen (in box), in-display fingerprint scanner

Design

Tab S8 stylus stuck to back

The Tab S8 family follows directly in the design footsteps of its predecessor. Its clean lines, rounded edges, and rugged aluminum frame are essentially unchanged other than moving the buttons around a little. And that's not necessarily bad since the Galaxy Tab S7+ was one of our favorite Android tablets then.

The only obvious design deviation is in the S8 Ultra's massive size. Otherwise, they're all built to a similar high standard as the Galaxy Tab S7 family.

Displays

The headline act of the new line-up is the Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra, which features a mammoth 14.6-inch Super AMOLED display that comes in at just under 4K resolution at 2,960 by 1,848 pixels. The S8+ sports a similar Super AMOLED panel; both look fantastic. The only way you get a better tablet screen is by leaving the Android ecosystem behind.

Here, however, is where the base model gets an unfortunate downgrade. Its IPS panel isn't exactly bad, but it's noticeably less bold and natural than the more premium OLED panels. In fact, we found it a little discouraging in our hands-on Tab S8 review, although it is one of the tablet's objectively few real downsides. Moreover, the IPS display needs a little more room, making the base model S8 a little thicker than the others. Luckily, they all boast the same 120Hz refresh rate.

In that light, it's essentially a tie between the S8+ and Ultra, at least regarding display quality. The size you need is an important personal consideration because 14.5 inches is awfully big.

Software

Tab-S8-Ultra-12-1

It's no secret that Samsung smartphones deliver the best Android experience out there, and its tablets are no different. They all ship with Android 12 and Samsung OneUI 4 installed, and Samsung's four-year OS update promise means they'll all probably see Android 16 someday in the distant future. This is a great testament toward buying any Galaxy S tablet, as you can be certain you'll continue to get major feature updates for years.

Aside from the generally great OneUI experience, the Tab S8 family's excellent performance enables seamless integration of Dex Mode. Samsung's Dex Mode lets you turn your tablet into a desktop PC alongside a compatible keyboard, mouse, and monitor, which can be a godsend for remote workers and traveling professionals.

Overall, we'd consider the software experience and support not only a tie among all three devices but a win for each one of them.

Performance

Tab S8 fingerprint power buton and camera macro

All three sport identical Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 SoCs, offering 8 GB of RAM, plus optional 12 and 16 GB versions of the S8 Ultra. The components combine to power the lightweight Android operating system with the same blazing speed found in today's high-end smartphones. They can all tackle games as flawlessly as they handle web browsing and word processing.

That's not without a caveat, though. If you're located outside the US or find a deal on an imported S8 family tablet, you'll probably be looking at one with Samsung's in-house Exynos 2200 chipset. This chipset is, in a few words, not the most efficient or reliable, and a couple of Samsung's flagship phones suffered from its less-than-perfect performance and frequent heat throttling. But if you're buying a US-market tablet, you'll absolutely be satisfied with the processing power.

The only other internal hardware difference is in the storage department. The S8 and S8+ come with 128 or 256 GB inside, while the Ultra offers a 512 GB option. Thankfully, all three support microSD card storage expansion.

Cameras

Tab S8 Ultra notch

Once again, you're looking at nearly identical hardware when it comes to image capture on any of the S8 family tablets. They all have 13MP and 6MP ultrawide cameras on the back and a 12MP selfie camera. Image quality is good, but not great, which is what we expect from a tablet. Working for Samsung is its continued work toward improving its imaging algorithms. While it's not yet on par with Google's unbeatable image processing, it gets a tiny bit closer with every iteration.

The S8 Ultra, however, stands out with an additional 12MP ultrawide lens on the selfie side. This lets you use the novel and useful auto-framing feature that Samsung's previously touted on some of its top smartphones. Auto-framing tracks moving objects it sees and, you guessed it, automatically frames the image so everything's easily visible and doesn't leave the picture. If you video conference in unfamiliar locations a lot, this can add a level of professionalism to your calls. The downside is the Ultra has a noticeable notch to accommodate the extra lens.

Battery life and charging speed

samsung-galaxy-tab-s8-review 9

While all three new tablets boast USB-C 45-watt fast charging, like their predecessors, they do not support wireless charging. They can, however, power other devices via USB cable.

As one might expect, the S8 has a moderately sized battery and the S8 Ultra a large one, while the S8+ is right in the middle. There's still no universal standard for battery life testing, but Samsung offers up to 13 and 14 hours of unplugged video playback on the S8+ and S8 Ultra, respectively. The S8+ supposedly squeaks out a little more at 15 hours, thanks to its less-demanding LCD panel. Naturally, those figures will vary significantly based on how you use the tablet.

Overall, we'd consider this a tie in terms of battery performance. If you want to get the most out of your tablet's charging capabilities, though, be aware that Samsung doesn't provide a charger in the box, and you'll need a reliable, compatible 45W charger to juice up as quickly as possible.

Shared features

Thanks to better programming algorithms, all three come with the “new and improved” S Pen stylus in the box, with even lower latency than the previous iteration. They all sport a three-microphone array, enabling noise-cancellation for calls and recording, plus Dolby Atmos-powered quad speakers that produce a simulated surround sound effect when watching compatible movies.

Which Galaxy Tab S8 should you buy?

tab-s8-ultra-keyboard

All three are virtually identical regarding processing power, design, storage space, and battery life. That leaves a couple of crucial areas to inform your purchase. With so many excellent OLED tablets out there, it's hard to justify spending several hundred dollars on the base model S8's less-than-perfect display. Regarding display quality, the S8+ and S8 Ultra clearly win out.

Then there's outright size to consider. A 12.4-inch tablet like the S8+ is already pushing the limits of comfortable use, but thankfully it's light enough to still be incredibly convenient. For most people, though, the S8 Ultra is quite simply overkill. It's too big for easy one-handed use and way too expensive if you don't plan to use it to get significant work done. While it's a fantastic device in the right hands, most people don't need it.

In other words, if you want an excellent, premium tablet right in the sweet spot, get the Galaxy Tab S8+. You won't regret it.

samsung-galaxy-tab-s8-plus-square
Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 Plus
Best overall

Right in the sweet spot

The Goldilocks of the Galaxy Tab S8 family, the S8+ combines a reasonable price, excellent display, great battery life, and unbeatable performance. It's the best option for anybody who doesn't want to use an iPad.

But if you need a workhorse and know you'll take advantage of its massive 14.6-inch screen, there's no arguing with the Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra. It's pricey, large, and a bit heavy, but it's still lighter and slimmer than most comparably sized laptops and delivers the best large-screen Android experience we can imagine.

galaxy-tab-s8-ultra-1-1-ratio
Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra
The professional's choice

Large, in charge, and unlike any other

It's big. It's expensive. It's a little heavy. And there's absolutely nothing else that can match up with this 14.6-inch behemoth. You'll probably know if you really need it right away because this isn't a simple little tablet meant for watching cartoons on the bus. This big boy will easily take advantage of the latest, greatest, increasingly optimized large-screen Android apps.