If you’re in the market for a flagship Android tablet, then you will have considered the Samsung Galaxy Tab S series, and this year’s Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 series is better and bigger than ever before. Samsung has expanded the range beyond the regular S8 and S8+, and added the S8 Ultra model, which gets all the bells and whistles the company could think of. But what if you don’t need all the bells and whistles. What if you just needed a big screen and peak performance? Well, that’s where this Galaxy Tab S8+ comes in.
Design & Display
The Galaxy Tab S8+ sports a very familiar design to the previous Tab S7 series, in fact it’s nearly identical in form factor to the Tab S7+ and the more recent Tab S7 FE. There’s a large 12.4-inch screen on the front with slim bezels and a horizontally-mounted front-facing camera.
The Tab S8+ is really quite slim at just 5.7mm, and weighs 572g, making it much easier to lug around as compared to even a compact laptop.
On the sides you’ll see four speaker grilles, two on each side. This quad speaker setup is tuned by AKG and features support for Dolby Atmos, so whether you’re playing games or watching content, the sound experience is great. There’s excellent audio separation, music doesn’t sound tinny, and the speakers get quite loud at max volume.
This audio experience is paired with a massive 12.4-inch Super AMOLED display that features a 2800 x 1752 resolution and a 120Hz refresh rate. As expected, colour reproduction on this screen is very vibrant with quite a bit of contrast, which makes content-watching an absolute treat. It also helps that it’s a 16:10 aspect ratio, so movies and videos won’t have giant black bars surrounding them and ruining the experience.
Honestly, for me that’s one of the best use cases of this device, the Tab S8+ served as the perfect portable content consumption device thanks to its large screen and great display.
Also watch: Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 FE Review: I like big Tabs and I cannot lie!
Performance & Battery Life
In terms of performance, the Tab S8+ packs in the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 processor, which in simple terms is one of the best chips you can get on an Android device in this day and age. It’s great for doing simple things like watching movies, sure, but out the screws to it productivity-wise, and the performance is there.
Whether it’s multi-tasking, or graphic-intensive gaming, the Tab S8+ has more than enough juice for whatever you throw at it, and didn’t struggle through any of the reasonable workloads I put it through. This included video calling, document editing, running Samsung’s DeX mode and plenty of mobile gaming on the large screen.
Speaking of DeX mode, I still think it’s the key to unlocking the true power of the Tab S8+, and if you’re not using it, well, you’re missing out. Now DeX isn’t new, and we’ve reviewed it on previous Samsung Tab devices before, but if you’re moving to a Samsung tablet for the first time, it’s still quite a novel feature.
DeX mode offers a Windows-like user experience, complete with a desktop and toolbar. I’ll discuss more of its features later on the video, but suffice it to say it managed to run all of its functions pretty smoothly thanks to the powerful Snapdragon chip.
It's also worth mentioning that while the previous Tab S7+ sported the 5G-capable Snapdragon 865+ chipset, it was only offered with LTE in India, while this new Tab S8+ has 5G-enabled for future high-speed connectivity.
All of this performance takes some heavy juice, so it’s good that the Tab S8+ features a 10,090mAh battery, like the previous generation. With moderate usage, I averaged over two days of general battery life with the display set to 120hz refresh rate, and even if you’re a power user, it should get you over a day’s worth of battery life on a full charge.
Also watch: Samsung Tab S7+ Review: step aside, iPad Pro
Utility & Keyboard
The Tab S8+ is all about utility, well, almost. Apart from a 3.5mm headphone jack that I wish was included on a device this big, the Tab S8+ has everything you’ll need.
There’s a SIM card tray on this 5G model that I have here, that also features an integrated microSD card slot. There’s also support for upto 45W fast charging on this tablet, but unfortunately, the Tab S8+ does not get an adapter included in the box. Now this is a shame, considering how large the battery is, and a high-power adapter would be a welcome add-on to such a powerful and expensive device. I will admit, though, that charging it from flat to full with a 25W Samsung adapter I had with me, took under 2 hours, which is impressive for a battery this size.
You also get some upgraded optics with this new tab, both on the front and the back. The seflie camera now sports an upgraded 12MP sensor, up from the previous generation's 8MP, and it offers a sharp and clear picture for video calls. The rear cameras on tablets aren't really for taking pictures like you do with a smartphone, but the dual camera setup here offers a capable 13MP primary sensor, and a 6MP secondary sensor for ultrawide shots that offered less detail and more noise compared to the main sensor.
Perhaps the best utility on the Tab S8+, however, is its S-Pen stylus, which is still thankfully included in the box. It’s gotten significantly upgraded, and now features as little as 2.8ms of latency, compared to nearly 9ms of latency on the previous generation. This means that both note-taking and digital illustration feel like a much more natural experience.
Apart from all of this out of the box, you can also purchase a keyboard cover to enhance your productivity experience. Samsung sent us this Book cover keyboard, which is actually the same one that was provided with the Tab S7 series, except this one doesn’t get a trackpad. If you’re going to use this as a productivity device, and especially with Samsung DeX, then you’ll need to invest in a different cover, that comes with an included trackpad, or rely on a Bluetooth mouse. It’s worth noting that getting either cover will set you back around 12-14 thousand rupees.
Software
Now software is one of the most interesting aspects of the Samsung Tab series, because it’s what sets it apart from other Android tablets out there. The most significant difference is, of course Samsung DeX, which like I said, offers a Windows-like experience. It can run apps in resize-able, free-form windows and thanks to One UI 4 based on Android 12, there’s a few upgrades in that department as well. For instance, DeX can now pin apps to always be visible on screen, and remember the sizing and position of apps pulled out of the side-bar.
One UI 4 also brings mouse shortcuts for the Tab S series, that allow you to drag the pointer to any corner of the screen to trigger a customisable shortcut.
Overall, I think Samsung has made a fair number of improvements to both One UI and DeX, and despite DeX not being able to run every app out there, it’s miles ahead of any other tablet out there in terms of providing a work-focused user experience.
Pricing & Verdict
Now look, I’m not going to pretend like the Tab S8+ is a revolutionary new device, in fact it’s similar to the previous Tab S7+ in more ways than it’s different, but I don’t think that’s necessarily a bad thing. The last generation was already a very competent portable powerhouse, and thanks a beefier chipset, faster S-Pen and other little touches here and there, I think Samsung has a real winner on their hands. I’ll admit, it’s not exactly affordable, with this particular 5G model starting at nearly 88 thousand rupees, but if you’re looking for the ultimate Android tablet experience and don’t have your heart set on the Tab S8 Ultra, then this Tab S8+ is definitely the one to get.
Also watch: Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra Review: Hello, my familiar friend!
Also watch: Samsung Galaxy S22 & S22+ Review: The most ‘refined’ Android phones?
