Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 carries the best update policy in Android tablets from $699

Ben Schoon | Feb 9 2022 - 7:02 am PT

Android tablets seemingly have a renewed focus inside of Google, but it’s Samsung that has been leading the effort for the past few years. Today, alongside the Galaxy S22 series, Samsung is launching the Galaxy Tab S8, Tab S8+, and massive Tab S8 Ultra. Here’s what you need to know.

Samsung’s latest flagship Galaxy tablets are mostly minor updates over last year’s Galaxy Tab S7 series, though the company did add of one of the biggest tablets on the market.

The Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra is a 14.6-inch behemoth that has a high screen-to-body ratio and premium features. The massive tablet features a SuperAMOLED display at 120Hz. It has thin bezels on all sides with a small notch in the center of the top bezel (when in landscape) to house a pair of 12MP cameras. Like Apple’s latest iPad Pro, one of those cameras has a much wider field of view, with auto-reframing software zooming in and out on the picture to keep the focus on you or a group.

For an idea of just how massive this tablet is, the official measurements land at 208.6 x 326.4 x 5.5 mm. That makes for a very thin tablet that’s the same width as four Galaxy S22 Ultra’s side by side.

This the Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra and its keyboard cover

You can see the Tab S8 Ultra’s notch here

On the more reasonable side of the spectrum, the Galaxy Tab S8 and Tab S8+ offer 11-inch and 12.4-inch screens, respectively. Both are 120Hz panels, but only the S8+ uses SuperAMOLED, while the S8 sticks with LCD. Both the Tab S8 and S8+ are available with 8GB or 12GB of RAM and 128GB or 256GB of storage. The S8 Ultra can offer up to 16GB of RAM and 512GB of storage, and all three have microSD card slots.

These tablets share the same core specs as the Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra but lose the additional wide camera on the front (leaving only ultrawide). Beyond that, the three differ on the spec sheet only when it comes to their sizes. The tablets all share the same Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 processor, 13MP + 6MP ultrawide cameras on the back, Wi-Fi 6E, S Pen support, and optional 5G and LTE. The Tab S8 has an 8,000 mAh battery, while the Tab S8+ lands at 10,090 mAh, and the Ultra at 11,200 mAh. 45W charging is available for each.

All three tablets further share three microphones for video calling and quad speakers with Dolby Atmos support. The Tab S8 has a fingerprint sensor in its power button, while the Tab S8+ and Ultra both have in-display fingerprint sensors.

In terms of the software, the Galaxy Tab S8 series ships with Android 12 and One UI 4.1. Samsung is also bringing enhanced multi-window to its tablets this year, with up to three apps on screen at once, much like what is possible on the Galaxy Z Fold 3. Samsung DeX has also added support for vertical orientation, and Samsung Health is now available on Galaxy tablets too.

Perhaps the most exciting thing, though, is that these tablets carry the best update policy in any Android tablet — four years of both major Android updates and five years of security updates.

The Galaxy Tab S8 and S8+ come in three colors, but the Ultra is only available in “Graphite”

The Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 starts at $699 in the United States, with the Tab S8+ hitting $899 and the Tab S8 Ultra at $1,099. Pre-orders open up today, and Samsung is offering a free “Slim Book Cover Keyboard” accessory with the Tab S8 and Tab S8+ and a “Backlit Book Cover Keyboard” with the Ultra. If you pre-order any Galaxy S22, you can get 25% off a Galaxy Tab S8 series device, too.