Samsung just launched the Galaxy Tab S10 Ultra – a massive 14.6-inch tablet, and here is our hands-on preview!
Samsung Galaxy Tab S10 Ultra Hands-On Experience
I was one of the few who had the rare opportunity to get my hands on the Samsung Galaxy Tab S1o Ultra before its official launch, so here is my hands-on experience with the Samsung Galaxy Tab S10 Ultra.
I apologise for the shaky and sometimes out-of-focus video – Samsung still insists that I do not record videos with a smartphone, even though it’s their own Galaxy S24 Ultra!
The Galaxy Tab S10 Ultra is available globally in the Moonstone Grey colour, but Samsung will offer it in the Platinum Silver colour in certain regions.
The first thing I noticed when I picked it up was how large the Galaxy Tab S10 Ultra really is. Its key selling point, of course, is the massive 14.6-inch Dynamic AMOLED display, which boasts a WQXGA+ resolution of 2960 x 1848 pixels, as well as a 120 Hz refresh rate.
Its large size can be a little unwieldy, but it feels much thinner and lighter than I expected. It’s literally a really thin metal-glass slate that weighs about 720 grams, and just 5.4 mm thick – thinner than many smartphones!
The Samsung Galaxy Tab S10 Ultra has four speakers – two on each side. They are no longer pegged as “tuned by AKG“, in case you are wondering.
At the bottom, you will find pogo pin connectors, and magnetic locks for an optional keyboard, or keyboard case. Samsung said that the Galaxy Tab S10 Ultra will be compatible with existing Galaxy Tab S9 Ultra keyboard and keyboard case. However, the new keyboard will feature a new Galaxy AI key.
The USB Type C port, which is used for charging and data transfer, is located between two speakers on the right side. At the top, you will find the SIM card and microSD card tray.
In a notch at the top of the Galaxy Tab S10 Ultra’s large display, you will find two 12 MP cameras – one with an ultra-wide angle lens. At the back, you will find the two cameras – a 13 MP Dual Pixel camera, and an 8 MP ultra wide-angle camera.
The Galaxy Tab S10 Ultra is built around the 4 nm MediaTek Dimensity 9300+, which is an 8-core flagship-class mobile SoC, that boasts:
one Cortex-X4 prime core running at 3.4 GHz,
three Cortex-X4 sustained performance cores running at 2.85 GHz,
four Cortex-A720 low-power cores running at 2.0 GHz
18 MB L3 + SLC cache
an ARM Immortalis-G720 MC12 GPU
an MediaTek NPU 790 generative AI engine
a larger vapour chamber for better sustained performance
The Galaxy Tab S10 Ultra comes with 12 GB of RAM and 256 GB of internal storage, with the option to add up to 1.5 TB of additional storage through a microSD card. It is powered by a massive 11,200 mAh battery, which supports super fast charging.
Finally, the Galaxy Tab S10 Ultra features an enhanced Armor Aluminium frame, to withstand drops on the sides. It is also IP68-rated for dust and water-resistance, so it will withstand immersion in up to 1.5 metres of freshwater for up to 30 minutes.
Samsung Galaxy Tab S10 Ultra Specifications
Here are the key specifications of the Samsung Galaxy Tab S10 Ultra tablet :
Support my work through a bank transfer / PayPal / credit card!
Name : Adrian Wong Bank Transfer : CIMB 7064555917 (Swift Code : CIBBMYKL)
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Dr. Adrian Wong has been writing about tech and science since 1997, even publishing a book with Prentice Hall called Breaking Through The BIOS Barrier (ISBN 978-0131455368) while in medical school.
He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.
Samsung just launched the Galaxy Tab S10 series of tablets in two colour options! Take a look at the two colour options, and tell us which YOU prefer!
Samsung Galaxy Tab S10 Series : Two Colour Options!
Samsung just launched the new Galaxy Tab S10 series of tablets, and they will be available in just two colour options for the Galaxy Tab S10+ model:
Moonstone Grey (5G or Wi-Fi only)
Platinum Silver (Wi-Fi only)
And only one colour for the Galaxy Tab S10 Ultra model:
Moonstone Grey
I was amongst the few to get an early look at the Galaxy Tab S10+ and the Galaxy Tab S10 Ultra, and here is my comparison video of the two tablets and their colour options! Do let us know which YOU prefer!
Support my work through a bank transfer / PayPal / credit card!
Name : Adrian Wong Bank Transfer : CIMB 7064555917 (Swift Code : CIBBMYKL)
Credit Card / Paypal : https://paypal.me/techarp
Dr. Adrian Wong has been writing about tech and science since 1997, even publishing a book with Prentice Hall called Breaking Through The BIOS Barrier (ISBN 978-0131455368) while in medical school.
He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.
Take a look at the performance of the Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 FE, and find out how well the Exynos 1380 performs against the competition!
Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 FE : Powered By Exynos 1380
Like the Samsung Galaxy A54, the Galaxy Tab S9 FE runs on the Samsung Exynos 1380 mobile platform that was officially launched on 23 February 2023.
Fabricated on the latest 4nm process technology, the Exynos 1380 comes with an Arm Mali-G68 MP5 GPU, as well as eight processor cores in a dual-cluster architecture :
four Arm Cortex-A78 high-performance cores, and
four Arm Cortex-A55 low-power cores.
On paper, this is a powerful mid-range mobile platform, but let’s take a look at how it actually performs!
We first tested the devices using PCMark, which simulates work applications like web browsing, playing video, writing text and editing photos.
Work 3.0
Galaxy Tab
S8 Ultra
Galaxy
Tab S7+
Galaxy Tab
S9 FE
Galaxy Tab
S7 FE
Mobile Platform
SD
8 Gen 1
SD
865+
Exynos
1380
SD
778G
Performance Score
12351
12348
11650
9747
Web Browsing
9696
11864
9028
7355
Video Editing
6194
7664
6193
6028
Writing
14411
12659
15302
10512
Photo Editing
31774
26230
27122
22188
Data Manipulation
10449
9511
9248
8505
The Samsung Exynos 1380 did well in this test, delivering performance close – within 6% – to that of older flagship-class processors like the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 and the Snapdragon 865+. Interestingly, the Exynos 1380 did better in the Galaxy A54, delivering a score of over 13.5K.
In any case, the Exynos 1380 is fast enough, even if we did not run this test – Galaxy Tab S9 FE did not feel slow at any app we tried.
Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 FE : Gaming Performance
For gaming, we tested the devices using 3DMark, with these results :
3DMark
Galaxy
Tab
S8 Ultra
Galaxy
Tab S7+
Galaxy
Tab S7 FE
Galaxy Tab
S9 FE
Mobile Platform
SD 8 Gen 1
SD 865+
SD 778G
Exynos 1380
Wild Life
Extreme
Unlimited
2221
–
–
826
Wild Life Unlimited
9838
–
–
2997
Sling Shot Unlimited
10728
8793
6688
6223
Where the Samsung Exynos 1380 really falls is in gaming performance. Even in the easy Sling Shot Unlimited benchmark, it was 7% slower than the mid-range Snapdragon 778G, which is 2.5 years old.
That doesn’t mean the Galaxy Tab S9 FE is useless at games. It runs 2D games and simple 3D games like Roblox perfectly fine. It’s the more strenuous 3D games that it will struggle in.
Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 FE : Overall Performance
We then tested the Galaxy Tab S9 FE using AnTuTu, yielding these results :
AnTuTu
Galaxy Tab
S8 Ultra
GGalaxy Tab
S9 FE
Galaxy
Tab S7+
Galaxy
Tab S7 FE
Mobile Platform
SD 8 Gen 1
Exynos 1380
SD 865+
SD 778G
AnTuTu Score
950630
591126
577726
508008
CPU
213689
193122
161243
157465
GPU
417669
136759
230859
155115
Memory
161903
118456
98269
79972
UX
157369
142789
87355
115456
The AnTuTu benchmark showed that this Fan Edition tablet performs at around the same level as the Snapdragon 865+, which is a flagship-class mobile SoC, albeit from 2020.
As you can see, its CPU is particularly fast, while its GPU is slow. In other words, this entry-level tablet will do great in work applications and simple games, but don’t rely on it for high-end 3D games!
Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 FE Performance Summary
Built around the Samsung Exynos 1380, the Galaxy Tab S9 FE has a very fast CPU, but a relatively weak GPU.
What that means is that it offers snappy performance for most part – web browsing, work applications, casual gaming, etc. It only has trouble delivering high frame rates for graphics-intensive 3D games, and AI or 3D apps may take longer to process in comparison to flagship tablets.
This should not be a surprise – the Exynos 1380 is a mid-range mobile platform, after all. And it is a fast one for the most important workloads. This makes the Galaxy Tab S9 FE great for people who need an affordable and fast Android tablet for work and study.
Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 FE : Price + Availability
This Fan Edition tablet comes with colour options of Mint, Lavender, Gray and Silver. It comes with two RAM and storage options:
Support my work through a bank transfer / PayPal / credit card!
Name : Adrian Wong Bank Transfer : CIMB 7064555917 (Swift Code : CIBBMYKL)
Credit Card / Paypal : https://paypal.me/techarp
Dr. Adrian Wong has been writing about tech and science since 1997, even publishing a book with Prentice Hall called Breaking Through The BIOS Barrier (ISBN 978-0131455368) while in medical school.
He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.
Take a look at the battery recharging speed of the Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 FE, and find out how its two refresh rate options affect battery life!
Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 FE : Two Refresh Rate Options!
The Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 FE offers two refresh rate options (Settings > Display > Motion smoothness) for its display:
Adaptive : Get smoother animation and scrolling by automatically adjusting your screen refresh rate up to 90 Hz
Standard : Get longer battery life with a 60 Hz screen refresh rate
By default, the Galaxy Tab S9 FE uses the Adaptive mode for smoother graphics, but you can choose to switch to the Standard mode for a longer battery life.
On investigation, I found that the Galaxy Tab S9 FE’s display has three fixed refresh rates, switching between 30 Hz, 60 Hz and 90 Hz, when set to the Adaptive mode.
In the next section, we will look at how the two refresh rate options affect the Galaxy Tab S9 FE’s battery life.
The Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 FE comes with a large 8,000 mAh battery, which supports 45 watt super fast charging. It even supports 15 watt reverse fast charging. However, it does not come with any bundled charger, and the bundled USB cable can only support 25 watt fast charging.
To test its battery life, we turned off Automatic Brightness, fix the brightness level, and make sure the screen brightness does not change as the ambient brightness changes. We also set its display brightness to 50%, which is slightly higher than the average indoor brightness level of 40% during the day.
We then ran the PCMark Work 3.0 battery life test until its battery capacity dropped to 20% several times, and this was the best result we obtained with the Standard and Adaptive refresh rates :
Not bad! The Galaxy Tab S9 FE lasted almost 10 hours on the Standard refresh rate, and just over 9 hours on the Adaptive refresh rate.
With such results, it makes sense to just leave the Tab S9 FE on its default setting of Adaptive refresh. After all, it only saps its battery life by 8% (46 minutes).
This Fan Edition tablet delivered the best battery life with the Standard refresh rate of 60 Hz.
Thanks to its power-efficient Exynos 1380 processor and smaller display, it sips power compared to the other two larger and more powerful tablets.
Work 3.0
Tab S9 FE
(60 Hz)
Tab S7 Plus
(60 Hz)
Tab S8 Ultra
(60 Hz)
Display Size
10.9-inch
12.4-inch
14.6-inch
Battery Capacity
8,000 mAh
10,090 mAh
11,200 mAh
Battery Life
9 hrs
49 mins
7 hrs 55 mins
8 hrs 3 mins
Utilisation
per min.
10.87 mAh
16.99 mAh
18.55 mAh
Adaptive Refresh Rate (90 Hz / 120 Hz)
Switching on the Adaptive refresh rate allowed the display to switch between 30 Hz, 60 Hz and 90 Hz, and only cut down its battery life by 46 minutes (8%).
But as my evaluation shows – the Galaxy Tab S9 FE uses considerably less power than the two larger and more powerful tablets. In fact, it uses just over half as much as the Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra!
Work 3.0
Tab S9 FE
(90 Hz)
Tab S7 Plus (120 Hz)
Tab S8 Ultra
(120 Hz)
Display Size
10.9-inch
12.4-inch
14.6-inch
Battery Capacity
8,000 mAh
10,090 mAh
11,200 mAh
Battery Life
9 hrs
3 mins
6 hrs
11 mins
6 hrs
38 mins
Utilisation
per min.
11.79 mAh
21.76 mAh
22.51 mAh
Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 FE Battery Recharging Speed!
The Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 FE supports up to 45 watts of wired fast charging. However, it does not come with any bundled charger, and the bundled USB cable can only support 25 watt fast charging.
So we tested it using the standard 15 watt and 25 watt Samsung fast chargers that shipped with their previous smartphones, which is what we believe most users will end up doing.
Recharging Speed
Tab S8 Ultra
Tab S7 Plus
Tab S9 FE
(25W)
Tab S9 FE
(15W)
Display Size
14.6-inch
12.4-inch
10.9-inch
10.9-inch
Battery Capacity
11,200 mAh
10,090 mAh
8,000 mAh
8,000 mAh
Charger Output
15 watts
15 watts
25 watts
15 watts
Battery Life
86.5 mins
86 mins
90.5 mins
145.5 mins
Recharging Speed
(per minute)
103.6 mAh
93.9 mAh
70.7 mAh
44.0 mAh
Well, isn’t that interesting? Even with a more powerful 25W super fast charger, the Galaxy Tab S9 FE recharges slower than the Tab S7 Plus or the Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra using the standard 15W charger!!
The 15W charger took almost 2.5 hours to fully recharge its 8,000 mAh battery from 20% to 100%. Upgrading to the 25W charger cut that down to just 1.5 hours, shaving off almost a full hour. The good news is that the Galaxy Tab S9 FE sips power, so you won’t need to recharge it quite so often.
If possible, you should purchase the optional 25 watt USB-C super fast charger. It will cut your charging time by almost an hour, and give you an hour of battery life for every 9.5 minutes you recharge:
Support my work through a bank transfer / PayPal / credit card!
Name : Adrian Wong Bank Transfer : CIMB 7064555917 (Swift Code : CIBBMYKL)
Credit Card / Paypal : https://paypal.me/techarp
Dr. Adrian Wong has been writing about tech and science since 1997, even publishing a book with Prentice Hall called Breaking Through The BIOS Barrier (ISBN 978-0131455368) while in medical school.
He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.
In our in-depth review of the Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 FE, we will share with you everything you need to know about this affordable Fan Edition tablet.
Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 FE : Smaller Fan Edition Tablet
Samsung is offering two Tab S9 Fan Edition models – the Tab S9 FE with a 10.9-inch display, and the Tab S9 FE+ with a 12.4-inch display.
They both run on the same Samsung Exynos 1380 mobile platform, featuring four high-speed Cortex-A78 cores, and four low-power Cortex-A55 cores, and a Mali-G68 MP5 GPU.
Surprisingly, they both come with an S Pen stylus, like their pricier brethren. Their displays also support a dynamic refresh rate of up to 90 Hz.
The unit we are looking at today is the Galaxy Tab S9 FE, which is currently the smallest and most affordable Fan Edition variant of the Galaxy Tab S9 family of Android tablets.
45 watt super fast charging
15 watt reverse fast charging
Dimensions
254.3 mm wide
165.8 mm tall
6.5 mm thick
Weight
523 grams
Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 FE Unboxing
Because this is an entry-level tablet, it comes with the bare minimum. Inside the box, you will find these items:
Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 FE smartphone
Set of documents – quick start guide in two languages, and a warranty card
EP-DN980 (3A PD) USB Type C to Type C cable
SIM card extractor pin
Even though the Galaxy Tab S9 FE supports 45 W super-fast charging, it does not come with any charger. Neither does it come with a case, like the more premium Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra.
In case you are thinking of buying a 45 watt super fast charger, please note that the bundled EP-DN980 cable can only support 3A PD charging, which is good enough for 25 watt, but not for 45 watt.
The Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 FE is an entry-level model which will not appeal to some. However, it has some surprises, so let’s take a closer look at its key features.
10.9-inch Display
The Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 FE is a smaller sized, entry-level model, and comes with a 10.9-inch TFT display. It has a WQXGA resolution of 2560 x 1600 pixels, with a wider DCI-P3 colour gamut.
It supports a dynamic refresh rate of up to 90 Hz, which is limited to switching between three refresh rates – 30 Hz, 60 Hz, and 90 Hz.
Mid-Range Performance
The Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 FE runs on the Exynos 1380 mobile platform, which comes with an Arm Mali-G68 MP5 GPU, as well as eight processor cores in a dual-cluster architecture :
four Arm Cortex-A78 high-performance cores, and
four Arm Cortex-A55 low-power cores
The Samsung Exynos 1380 also has an neural processing unit (NPU) with a processing capacity of 4.9 TOPS, as well as an integrated 5G modem that supports download speeds up to 3.79 Gbps, and upload speeds of up to 1.28 Gbps.
RAM + Storage Options
Samsung is offering this tablet with two RAM and storage options :
6 GB RAM + 128 GB storage
8 GB RAM + 256 GB storage
You don’t have to worry too much about running out of storage, as it comes with a microSD card slot, allowing you to add up to 1 TB of additional storage.
Cameras
The Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 FE comes with a 12 MP front camera, and an 8 MP rear camera. Both cameras can record videos at up to 4K resolution (30 fps).
Pretty Tough
The Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 FE is protected by a tough aluminium frame all around its edges, and Corning Gorilla Glass 5 on its display.
IP68 Water Resistance
Even though this is an entry-level tablet, the Galaxy Tab S9 FE is IP68 rated for dust- and water-resistance!
While Samsung does not recommend it for beach or pool use, the Galaxy Tab S9 FE is rated to withstand submersion in up to 1.5 metres of freshwater for up to 30 minutes.
S Pen Stylus
The Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 FE also comes with a stylus, which is also IP68-rated for dust and water resistance.
Large Battery
The Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 FE comes with a large 8,000 mAh battery, which supports 45 watt super fast charging. It even supports 15 watt reverse fast charging.
However, it does not come with any bundled charger, and the bundled USB cable can only support 25 watt fast charging.
AKG Tuned Speakers
The Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 FE does not come with quad speakers like its more expensive brethren. However, its dual AKG-tuned speakers do a pretty good job.
No Support For Samsung DeX
This may be a deal breaker for power users or travellers – the Galaxy Tab S9 FE does not support Samsung DeX.
For one thing – it only has a USB 2.0 port, so it cannot output video through a USB to HDMI dongle. On top of that, it doesn’t support wireless DeX either.
Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 FE : Battery Life Comparison!
This Fan Edition tablet comes with a large 8,000 mAh battery. To test its battery life, we turned off Automatic Brightness, and set its display brightness to 50%.
Why 50%? That is actually slightly higher than the average indoor brightness level of 40% during the day, and is what we usually use in all our mobile battery life tests.
It is important to fix the brightness level, to make sure the screen brightness does not change as the ambient brightness changes.
We then ran the PCMark Work 3.0 battery life test until its battery capacity dropped to 20% several times, and this was the best result we obtained with the standard, and the adaptive refresh rates :
Not bad! The Galaxy Tab S9 FE lasted almost 10 hours on the Standard refresh rate, and just over 9 hours on the Adaptive refresh rate.
With such results, it makes sense to just leave the Tab S9 FE on its default setting of Adaptive refresh. After all, it only saps its battery life by 8% (46 minutes).
This Fan Edition tablet delivered the best battery life with the Standard refresh rate of 60 Hz.
Thanks to its power-efficient Exynos 1380 processor and smaller display, it sips power compared to the other two larger and more powerful tablets.
Work 3.0
Tab S9 FE
(60 Hz)
Tab S7 Plus
(60 Hz)
Tab S8 Ultra
(60 Hz)
Display Size
10.9-inch
12.4-inch
14.6-inch
Battery Capacity
8,000 mAh
10,090 mAh
11,200 mAh
Battery Life
9 hrs
49 mins
7 hrs 55 mins
8 hrs 3 mins
Utilisation
per min.
10.87 mAh
16.99 mAh
18.55 mAh
Adaptive Refresh Rate (90 Hz / 120 Hz)
Switching on the Adaptive refresh rate allowed the display to switch between 30 Hz, 60 Hz and 90 Hz, and only cut down its battery life by 46 minutes (8%).
But as my evaluation shows – the Galaxy Tab S9 FE uses considerably less power than the two larger and more powerful tablets. In fact, it uses just over half as much as the Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra!
Work 3.0
Tab S9 FE
(90 Hz)
Tab S7 Plus (120 Hz)
Tab S8 Ultra
(120 Hz)
Display Size
10.9-inch
12.4-inch
14.6-inch
Battery Capacity
8,000 mAh
10,090 mAh
11,200 mAh
Battery Life
9 hrs
3 mins
6 hrs
11 mins
6 hrs
38 mins
Utilisation
per min.
11.79 mAh
21.76 mAh
22.51 mAh
Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 FE : Battery Recharging Speed!
This tablet surprisingly supports up to 45 watts of wired fast charging, but unfortunately, does not come with the charger in-the-box. On top of that, its bundled cable only supports 25 watt fast charging.
So we tested it on the standard 15 watt Samsung fast charger, and the optional 25 watt Samsung super fast charger.
Recharging Speed
Tab S8 Ultra
Tab S7 Plus
Tab S9 FE
(25W)
Tab S9 FE
(15W)
Display Size
14.6-inch
12.4-inch
10.9-inch
10.9-inch
Battery Capacity
11,200 mAh
10,090 mAh
8,000 mAh
8,000 mAh
Charger Output
15 watts
15 watts
25 watts
15 watts
Battery Life
86.5 mins
86 mins
90.5 mins
145.5 mins
Recharging Speed
(per minute)
103.6 mAh
93.9 mAh
70.7 mAh
44.0 mAh
Well, isn’t that interesting? Even with a more powerful 25W super fast charger, the Galaxy Tab S9 FE recharges slower than the Tab S7 Plus or the Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra using the standard 15W charger!!
The 15W charger took almost 2.5 hours to fully recharge its 8,000 mAh battery from 20% to 100%. Upgrading to the 25W charger cut that down to just 1.5 hours, shaving off almost a full hour.
The good news is that the Galaxy Tab S9 FE sips power, so you won’t need to recharge it quite so often.
We first tested the devices using PCMark, which simulates work applications like web browsing, playing video, writing text and editing photos.
Work 3.0
Galaxy Tab
S8 Ultra
Galaxy
Tab S7+
Galaxy Tab
S9 FE
Galaxy Tab
S7 FE
Mobile Platform
SD
8 Gen 1
SD
865+
Exynos
1380
SD
778G
Performance Score
12351
12348
11650
9747
Web Browsing
9696
11864
9028
7355
Video Editing
6194
7664
6193
6028
Writing
14411
12659
15302
10512
Photo Editing
31774
26230
27122
22188
Data Manipulation
10449
9511
9248
8505
The Samsung Exynos 1380 did well in this test, delivering performance close – within 6% – to that of older flagship-class processors like the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 and the Snapdragon 865+. Interestingly, the Exynos 1380 did better in the Galaxy A54, delivering a score of over 13.5K.
In any case, the Exynos 1380 is fast enough, even if we did not run this test – Galaxy Tab S9 FE did not feel slow at any app we tried.
Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 FE : Gaming Performance
For gaming, we tested the devices using 3DMark, with these results :
3DMark
Galaxy
Tab
S8 Ultra
Galaxy
Tab S7+
Galaxy
Tab S7 FE
Galaxy Tab
S9 FE
Mobile Platform
SD 8 Gen 1
SD 865+
SD 778G
Exynos 1380
Wild Life
Extreme
Unlimited
2221
–
–
826
Wild Life Unlimited
9838
–
–
2997
Sling Shot Unlimited
10728
8793
6688
6223
Where the Samsung Exynos 1380 really falls is in gaming performance. Even in the easy Sling Shot Unlimited benchmark, it was 7% slower than the mid-range Snapdragon 778G, which is 2.5 years old.
That doesn’t mean the Galaxy Tab S9 FE is useless at games. It runs 2D games and simple 3D games like Roblox perfectly fine. It’s the more strenuous 3D games that it will struggle in.
Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 FE : Overall Performance
We then tested the Galaxy Tab S9 FE using AnTuTu, yielding these results :
AnTuTu
Galaxy Tab
S8 Ultra
GGalaxy Tab
S9 FE
Galaxy
Tab S7+
Galaxy
Tab S7 FE
Mobile Platform
SD 8 Gen 1
Exynos 1380
SD 865+
SD 778G
AnTuTu Score
950630
591126
577726
508008
CPU
213689
193122
161243
157465
GPU
417669
136759
230859
155115
Memory
161903
118456
98269
79972
UX
157369
142789
87355
115456
The AnTuTu benchmark showed that this Fan Edition tablet performs at around the same level as the Snapdragon 865+, which is a flagship-class mobile SoC, albeit from 2020.
As you can see, its CPU is particularly fast, while its GPU is slow. In other words, this entry-level tablet will do great in work applications and simple games, but don’t rely on it for high-end 3D games!
The Galaxy Tab S9 FE is Samsung’s entry-level Android tablet, built around a mid-range mobile platform, and a 10.9-inch display with a refresh rate that goes up to 90 Hz.
Even though it’s “just” an entry-level tablet, I was pleasantly surprised to find out that it is IP68-rated against dust and water. It also comes with an IP68-rated S Pen stylus!
It has decent performance, with a strong focus on work performance. And it offers a long battery life, thanks to its 8,000 mAh battery, and more power-efficient display and processor.
In other words – this Fan Edition tablet is not sexy, but it gets the job done.
If there is a major turn-off for some potential buyers, it will be the lack of Samsung DeX. There is no support for wireless DeX, or video output via its USB port. But of course – this limitation only concerns those who want to use Samsung DeX.
Otherwise, the Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 FE is a decent package of features and capabilities in a tough, and water-resistant tablet.
If you are looking for an affordable Android tablet for work or study, you really can’t go wrong with the Galaxy Tab S9 FE.
Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 FE : Price + Availability
This Fan Edition tablet comes with colour options of Mint, Lavender, Gray and Silver. It comes with two RAM and storage options:
45 watt super fast charging
15 watt reverse fast charging
Dimensions
254.3 mm wide
165.8 mm tall
6.5 mm thick
Weight
523 grams
Please Support My Work!
Support my work through a bank transfer / PayPal / credit card!
Name : Adrian Wong Bank Transfer : CIMB 7064555917 (Swift Code : CIBBMYKL)
Credit Card / Paypal : https://paypal.me/techarp
Dr. Adrian Wong has been writing about tech and science since 1997, even publishing a book with Prentice Hall called Breaking Through The BIOS Barrier (ISBN 978-0131455368) while in medical school.
He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.
Samsung just sent me the new Galaxy Tab S9 FE – Fan Edition – tablet, and here is my unboxing video, as well as my first impressions!
Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 FE : What’s In The Box?
Samsung just sent me the new Galaxy Tab S9 FE – Fan Edition – tablet, and here is my unboxing video. Inside the box, you will find these items:
Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 FE smartphone
Set of documents – quick start guide in two languages, and a warranty card
EP-DN980 (3A PD) USB Type C to Type C cable
SIM card extractor pin
Even though the Galaxy Tab S9 FE supports 45 W super-fast charging, it does not come with any charger. Neither does it come with a case, like the more premium Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra.
In case you are thinking of buying a 45 watt super fast charger, please note that the bundled EP-DN980 cable can only support 3A PD charging, which is good enough for 25 watt, but not for 45 watt.
The Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 FE (Fan Edition) is a more affordable version of the Galaxy Tab S9 tablet, released earlier this year. And it really gives a lot of bang for your buck!
The Fan Edition looks quite alike the Galaxy Tab S9, with a classy matte metal chassis. Most of the differences are internal or not readily visible. The two key differences are probably how Samsung managed to cut down its cost – its display, and its processor.
The Tab S9 FE comes with a 10.9-inch IPS display, instead of an 11-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X display. It also supports a maximum refresh rate of 90 Hz, instead of 120 Hz.
The Galaxy Tab S9 FE is also built around the Samsung Exynos 1380, instead of the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2. The Exynos 1380 is a mid-range processor that powers mid-range smartphones like the Galaxy A54, but it still feels speedy.
The Fan Edition has a slightly smaller 8,000 mAh battery, but I have had no problems using it for over 6 hours at a go. I’m currently running performance and battery benchmarks, which I will share shortly.
Samsung does not skimp where it really matters. For example, this tablet comes with a generous 8 GB of RAM and 256 GB of internal storage, which will be plenty enough for most users. Those who need less storage can opt for the even cheaper 6 GB + 128 GB model.
The Galaxy Tab S9 FE also comes with an S Pen stylus to round out the tablet experience. I’m so glad Samsung did not penny-pinch its fans by making this an “optional purchase”!
On top of that, Samsung also included support for 45 watt super fast charging. Sure, there’s no in-box charger, but you can pretty much use any PD power bank or charger to quickly recharge the Tab S9 FE.
Overall – this Fan Edition tablet has impressed me right out of the box. It’s certainly not the best tablet money can buy, but my first impressions is that it really offers a lot of value for our money!
Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 FE : Specifications
Here are the key specifications for the Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 FE tablet :
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Name : Adrian Wong Bank Transfer : CIMB 7064555917 (Swift Code : CIBBMYKL)
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Dr. Adrian Wong has been writing about tech and science since 1997, even publishing a book with Prentice Hall called Breaking Through The BIOS Barrier (ISBN 978-0131455368) while in medical school.
He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.
Samsung just launched the Galaxy S23 FE, Galaxy Tab S9 FE, Galaxy Tab S9 FE+, and Galaxy Buds FE, and here are their special offers for Malaysia!
Galaxy S23 FE | Tab S9 FE | Buds FE Launched In Malaysia!
Samsung just announced the launch of Galaxy S23 FE, Galaxy Tab S9 FE and S9 FE+, and Galaxy Buds FE in Malaysia, offering premium design, advanced performance, cutting-edge camera and audio capabilities.
These new 2023 Galaxy FE devices will enable more Malaysians to experience a hyper-connected lifestyle and live out their passions to the fullest.
“In conjunction with the launch of the most Epic FE devices yet, we are celebrating the fans with exclusive experiences and merchandise curated for #GalaxyTroop, as well as rewards and promos that they cannot get elsewhere,” says KM Liew, Vice President & Head of Mobile eXperience (MX), Samsung Malaysia Electronics. “Be a part of the #GalaxyTroop to enjoy Epic benefits only on Galaxy and belong to a community that embraces unrivalled, premium tech.”
Galaxy S23 FE | Tab S9 FE | Buds FE Exclusive Offers In Malaysia!
In conjunction with its launch, these exclusive offers for the 2023 Galaxy FE series will be made available in Malaysia, from Tuesday, 10 October 2023, until 30 November 2023.
Samsung Galaxy S23 FE Offers For Malaysia
The Samsung Galaxy S23 FE comes with storage capacities of 128 GB and 256 GB, with colour options of Mint, Cream, Graphite and Purple.
Here are the exclusive offers for the Galaxy S23 FE in Malaysia:
Register to be a #GalaxyTroop, and get a Fan Exclusive promo of RM500
Get double storage, with RM300 off the 256 GB model.
Save up to RM350 with trade-in rebate.
Up to 30% off purchase-with-purchase on Samsung Care+, selected Galaxy Tablets and Buds Series, and Samsung Accessories
Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 FE Offers For Malaysia
The Samsung Galaxy S23 FE comes with colour options of Mint, Lavender, Gray and Silver, with these RAM and storage options:
8 GB + 128 GB
8 GB + 256 GB
Here are the exclusive offers for the Galaxy S23 FE in Malaysia:
Register to be a #GalaxyTroop, and get a Fan Exclusive promo of RM300
Up to 30% off purchase-with-purchase on Samsung Care+, selected Galaxy Tablets and Buds Series, and Samsung Accessories
Samsung Galaxy Buds FE Offer For Malaysia
Galaxy Buds FE is available at RM399 in two colors, Graphite and White. Those who purchase from 10 – 31 October 2023 can get a Minion Bob Eco-Friends Cover worth RM169 for free!
How To Register As #GalaxyTroop For Galaxy FE Offers!
To enjoy the Fan Exclusive promo for the Galaxy S23 FE, Galaxy Tab S9 FE and S9 FE+, and Galaxy Buds FE in Malaysia, just sign up as a #GalaxyTroop, from now until 6 November 2023.
You will also get to enjoy Samsung’s Finally Monday Epic Rewards, offering everything from entertainment to desserts! There’s something for everyone!
Step 1: Galaxy users and Samsung Members will receive an email to register their details.
Step 2: Those who register will receive the emails that contain the weekly giveaways.
Step 3: Check your email every Monday for the link to the Samsung Members app to download the limited vouchers.
It’s that simple!
Please Support My Work!
Support my work through a bank transfer / PayPal / credit card!
Name : Adrian Wong Bank Transfer : CIMB 7064555917 (Swift Code : CIBBMYKL)
Credit Card / Paypal : https://paypal.me/techarp
Dr. Adrian Wong has been writing about tech and science since 1997, even publishing a book with Prentice Hall called Breaking Through The BIOS Barrier (ISBN 978-0131455368) while in medical school.
He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.
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KartRider Drift : How To Get Free Lucci Coupon Code!
The KartRider Drift team is giving away a free coupon code for 5,000 Lucci, which can be redeemed in-game on any platform – PlayStation, Xbox, Android, PC (Windows) and iOS.
Make sure you follow these steps to get the 5,000 Lucci for FREE before May 11, 2023 at 12:00 AM UTC.
Install KartRider Drift (Steam), which is a free-to-play game.
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On iOS devices, go to Web Coupon Page.
Key in this coupon code : F481NKBRIYS5
That’s it! You now have 5,000 Lucci in your KartRider Drift account!
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Please Support My Work!
Support my work through a bank transfer / PayPal / credit card!
Name : Adrian Wong Bank Transfer : CIMB 7064555917 (Swift Code : CIBBMYKL)
Credit Card / Paypal : https://paypal.me/techarp
Dr. Adrian Wong has been writing about tech and science since 1997, even publishing a book with Prentice Hall called Breaking Through The BIOS Barrier (ISBN 978-0131455368) while in medical school.
He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.
In our in-depth review of the Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra, we will share with you everything you need to know about this premium tablet.
Find out why we are so impressed with the Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra tablet, that we gave it our Editor’s Choice Award!
Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra : Flagship Tablet
The Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra is a premium tablet built around the most powerful mobile SoC available for Android devices – the latest Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1.
It boasts a massive 14.6-inch Super AMOLED display, quad AKG speakers and a large 11,200 mAh battery – all packed into a compact chassis that weighs just 726 grams!
In this review, we will check out its key features, and show you why it is really the best Android tablet you can buy in 2022!
Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra Unboxing : A Complete Package
What we really like about the new Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 tablet is that it comes as a complete package.
Unlike competing tablets, it comes with an awesome keyboard cover and S Pen in the package. There is no need to pay extra for either. Everything you need is in the box. Well, almost everything.
Once you fully unbox it, this is what you will find inside the box :
Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra tablet
Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra Book Cover Keyboard
Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra S Pen
Set of Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 documents
USB Type A to Type A data and power cable
microSD tray ejector pin
The only thing missing is the charger. The package does not include the 45 watt power adaptor. Not even a standard 15 watt Samsung charger.
But that’s how most of the brands are rolling these days, in the name of reducing digital waste, so we won’t hold it against them.
The Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra is arguably the largest and most powerful tablet you can buy in 2022, so let’s take a closer look at its key features.
14.6-inch Super AMOLED Display
This first thing that you will notice when you see the Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra for the first time, is just how large and beautiful its display really is.
That is a 14.6-inch Super AMOLED display you are looking at – larger than the display on most laptops; with a WQXGA+resolution of 2960 x 1848 pixels, and support for two fixed refresh rates :
High : Get smoother animations and scrolling with a 120 Hz screen refresh rate
Standard : Get longer battery life with a 60 Hz screen refresh rate
This large, high-resolution display allows you to fit multiple windows, and open different apps at the same time, for greater productivity.
This display is protected by Corning Gorilla Glass 5, and also by the bundled Keyboard Cover when it’s not in use.
Flagship Class Performance
The Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 runs on the latest Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 mobile platform, which boasts a powerful Adreno 730 GPU, as well as eight processor cores in a triple-tier architecture :
a Cortex-X2 prime core running at up to 3 GHz,
three sustained-performance Cortex-A710 cores running at up to 2.4 GHz, and
four energy-efficient Cortex-A510 cores running at 1.7 GHz.
Those eight processor cores are paired with a powerful Qualcomm Adreno 730 graphics processor.
Performance is not only the key advantage of the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1. Built on the latest 4 nm process technology, it also offers lower battery consumption.
We will show you just how fast it runs in the benchmarks, and how efficient it is, later in this review.
RAM + Storage Options
The Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra comes with a variety of RAM and storage options :
8 GB RAM + 128 GB storage
12 GB RAM + 256 GB / 512 GB storage
16 GB RAM + 256 GB / 512 GB storage
You don’t have to worry too much about running out of storage, as it comes with a microSD card slot, allowing you to add up to 1 TB of additional storage.
Two Front Cameras
Catering to the new hybrid workspace reality today, the Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra comes with two cameras in the front.
Both 12 MP cameras, one has a wider f/2.2 aperture for better low-light performance, while the other supports a wider angle – to fit more people in the same photo / video call.
Two Rear Cameras
This is a really large and hefty tablet, so you wouldn’t expect photography to be a focus. However, it still comes with two cameras at the back.
The main camera has a 12 MP sensor, with a wide f/2.0 aperture for better low-light performance.
It also comes with an ultra-wide camera at the back, but oddly enough, only with a 6 MP sensor.
Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra : S Pen, Book Cover, Speakers, Battery
The Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra is more than just a tablet, because it comes with both an S Pen stylus, and a Book Cover Keyboard.
Ultra-Low Latency S Pen
The Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra comes with a new S Pen with ultra-low latency of just 2.8 milliseconds!
This is a full-size stylus that feels like a typical pen or pencil, letting you draw and doodle with up to 4,096 pressure levels!
You can also write naturally with the S Pen, and turn your handwriting into text in Samsung Notes.
The S Pen magnetically locks onto a glass strip at the back, which acts as a recharging dock. The S Pen automatically recharges whenever you place it on this glass strip.
Don’t worry about losing it with the Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra, because it comes with a Book Cover Keyboard that has a special cover for the S Pen!
Book Cover Keyboard
This year, Samsung included the really awesome Book Cover Keyboard with every Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra tablet.
This cover not only provides really solid protection for the Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra, it also converts it into a 2-in-1 tablet with a kickstand!
You don’t just get a full-size keyboard with the Book Cover Keyboard, you also get a large touch pad! This really gives you a laptop-like working experience.
In addition, the Book Cover Keyboard has a special S Pen cover that prevents your precious S Pen from falling and getting lost.
As I shared in my Galaxy Tab S7 Book Cover Keyboard review last year, this is a must-have accessory, and I’m really glad Samsung included it as part of the Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra package.
Quad AKG-Tuned Speakers
Another premium Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra feature that Samsung does not really speak much of is the quad speaker system tuned by AKG.
They are not only powerful, they deliver really crisp sound from this tablet. They are also positioned to radiate from both sides with the Book Cover Keyboard installed.
Large Battery
To power all that, the Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra comes with a large 11,200 mAh lithium-ion battery.
It supports 45 watt fast recharging, but as pointed out earlier – it doesn’t come with any charger, so your mileage in this sense really depends on the charger you have.
In the next section, we will show you just how long this battery lasts, and how long it takes to recharge this massive battery!
Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra : Battery Life Comparison!
The Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra comes with a massive 11,200 mAh battery, which is more than the size of the Galaxy S22 Ultra’s battery!
To test its battery life, we turned off Automatic Brightness, and set its display brightness to 50%.
Why 50%? That is actually slightly higher than the average indoor brightness level of 40% during the day, and is what we usually use in all our mobile battery life tests.
It is important to fix the brightness level, to make sure the screen brightness does not change as the ambient brightness changes.
We then ran the PCMark Work 3.0 battery life test until its battery capacity dropped to 20% several times, and this was the best result we obtained with 60 Hz and 120 Hz refresh rates :
Astoundingly, the Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra only has a battery life of 6.5 hours with High refresh rate enabled, and a more acceptable 8 hours with the Standard refresh rate!
This is a slight improvement over last year’s Galaxy Tab S7 Plus. There is no doubt that its much larger 14.6-inch Super AMOLED display is a significant drain on battery life.
Let’s compare its battery life against the Galaxy Tab S7 Plus, and the Galaxy S22 Ultra smartphone which uses the same Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 mobile SoC.
Standard Refresh Rate (60 Hz)
The Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra delivers the best battery life with the Standard refresh rate of 60 Hz.
The Tab S8 Ultra appears to use 9% more power than the Tab S7 Plus, but I have to point out that it has a 39% larger display.
Fortunately, the battery life deficit is “covered” by its 11% larger battery.
Work 3.0
S22 Ultra
(60 Hz)
Tab S7 Plus
(60 Hz)
Tab S8 Ultra
(60 Hz)
Display Size
6.8-inch
12.4-inch
14.6-inch
Battery Capacity
5,000 mAh
10,090 mAh
11,200 mAh
Battery Life
14 hrs 15 mins
7 hrs 55 mins
8 hrs
3 mins
Utilisation
per min.
4.68 mAh
16.99 mAh
18.55 mAh
High Refresh Rate (120 Hz)
Switching on the High refresh rate of 120 Hz cut its battery life by 17.6% – almost 1.5 hours!
But the data shows that its larger 14.6-inch display only used 3.4% more power than the Tab S7 Plus.
The Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra supports up to 45 watts of wired fast charging, but unfortunately, does not come with the charger in-the-box.
So we relied on the standard 15 watt Samsung fast charger than shipped with their previous smartphones and tablets – something we believe most users will end up doing.
Recharging Speed
Tab S8 Ultra
Tab S7 Plus
S22 Ultra
Display Size
14.6-inch
12.4-inch
6.8-inch
Battery Capacity
11,200 mAh
10,090 mAh
5,000 mAh
Charger Output
15 watts
15 watts
15 watts
Battery Life
86.5 mins
86 mins
64.5 mins
Recharging Speed
(per minute)
103.6 mAh
93.9 mAh
62.0 mAh
Interestingly, the Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra recharged faster with a standard 15 watt charger, than the Tab S7 Plus or even the Galaxy S22 Ultra!
This is really good news. It means that Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra owners need not worry too much about its recharging speed with the older 15 watt chargers.
In fact, you don’t need to splurge on a new 45 watt fast charger. The Tab S8 Ultra fully recharges its massive battery from 20% to 100% in just under 1.5 hours with the standard 15 watt Samsung charger!
We first tested the Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra using PCMark, which simulates work applications like web browsing, playing video, writing text and editing photos.
Work 3.0
Galaxy
Z Flip 3
Galaxy
S22 Ultra
Galaxy Tab
S8 Ultra
Galaxy
Tab S7+
Galaxy Tab
S7 FE
Mobile Platform
SD 888
SD 8 Gen 1
SD 8
Gen 1
SD 865+
SD
778G
Performance Score
13317
12860
12351
12348
9747
Web Browsing
11637
10442
9696
11864
7355
Video Editing
7762
7444
6194
7664
6028
Writing
15316
15471
14411
12659
10512
Photo Editing
25357
30177
31774
26230
22188
Data Manipulation
11938
9691
10449
9511
8505
Surprisingly, the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Get 1 was slightly slower than the Snapdragon 888 used by the Galaxy Z Flip 3, but the difference was just 7%, which means you won’t actually notice the difference.
For certainly, it will easily handle anything you throw at it, whether it’s just posting your latest Instagram pictures or editing a 4K video.
Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra : Gaming Performance
For gaming, we tested the Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra using 3DMark, with these results :
3DMark
Galaxy
Tab
S8 Ultra
Galaxy
S22 Ultra
Galaxy
Z Flip 3
Galaxy
Tab S7+
Galaxy
Tab S7 FE
Device
SD 8
Gen 1
SD 8 Gen 1
SD 888
SD 865+
SD 778G
Sling Shot Unlimited
10728
11094
9248
8793
6688
Wild Life Unlimited
9838
9106
3952
–
–
Wild Life
Extreme
Unlimited
2221
2220
1174
–
–
Look at that! The Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 was a head above the competition when it comes to gaming!
It was 16% to 150% faster than the Snapdragon 888, and 22% faster than the Snadragon 865+!
For certain, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 will crush any game you throw at it.
Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra : Overall Performance
We then tested the Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra using AnTuTu, yielding these results :
AnTuTu
Galaxy Tab
S8 Ultra
Galaxy
S22 Ultra
Galaxy
Z Flip 3
Galaxy
Tab S7+
Galaxy
Tab S7 FE
Device
SD 8 Gen 1
SD 8 Gen 1
SD 888
SD 865+
SD 778G
AnTuTu Score
950630
889167
696767
577726
508008
CPU
213689
203090
206228
161243
157465
GPU
417669
402617
242573
230859
155115
Memory
161903
146002
133586
98269
79972
UX
157369
137458
114380
87355
115456
The AnTuTu benchmark confirmed that the Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra is a veritable beast of a performer, beating even the very fast Galaxy Z Flip 3 by 36%.
Its GPU performance was, in particular, spectacular, delivering 72% better performance than the Galaxy Z Flip 3, and 81% better performance than the Galaxy Tab S7+!
Interestingly, it was 7% faster than the Galaxy S22 Ultra, which uses the same Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 processor. This is likely due to better cooling – its temperature only increased by 0.3°C, whereas the S22 Ultra’s temperature spiked by over 10°C!
The Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra was meant to be the ultimate Samsung tablet for 2022, and it does not disappoint.
The display is a magnificently large and beautiful 14.6-inch Super AMOLED panel, which offers an expansive amount of space to play and work with.
Built around the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 – the fastest mobile SoC that exists for Android devices – you can count on the Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra to easily handle anything and everything you throw at it.
It also has surprisingly good battery life – delivering over 8 hours of non-stop use at 60 Hz, and over 6.5 hours at 120 Hz; despite sporting such a large display.
It also offers very good recharging speed, even using the standard 15 watt fast charger. So you don’t really need to invest in expensive 45 watt chargers.
But beyond those hardware features, what I really like is how the Samsung offer a complete experience by bundling the Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra with not just the S Pen, but also the Book Cover Keyboard.
The ultra-low latency S Pen gives you the premium pen-on-paper like experience working on a tablet, while the Book Cover Keyboard gives you a laptop experience. You literally have the best of both worlds in a single box!
If you want the best-possible Android tablet money can buy, you can’t do wrong with the Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra.
In fact, we like this premium tablet so much, we are giving it our Editor’s Choice Award!
Support my work through a bank transfer / PayPal / credit card!
Name : Adrian Wong Bank Transfer : CIMB 7064555917 (Swift Code : CIBBMYKL)
Credit Card / Paypal : https://paypal.me/techarp
Dr. Adrian Wong has been writing about tech and science since 1997, even publishing a book with Prentice Hall called Breaking Through The BIOS Barrier (ISBN 978-0131455368) while in medical school.
He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.
Take a look at the performance of the Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra, and find out how well this ultra-premium tablet performs!
Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra : Flagship Class Performance!
The Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra runs on the most powerful mobile SoC available for Android devices – the latest Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1.
Fabricated on the latest 4nm Samsung process technology, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 boasts a powerful Adreno 730 GPU as well as eight processor cores in a triple-tier architecture :
a Cortex-X2 prime core running at up to 3 GHz,
three sustained-performance Cortex-A710 cores running at up to 2.5 GHz, and
four energy-efficient Cortex-A510 cores running at 1.8 GHz.
On paper, this is about as powerful as it gets in 2022, but let’s take a look at how it actually performs!
Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra : Work Performance
We first tested the Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra using PCMark, which simulates work applications like web browsing, playing video, writing text and editing photos.
Work 3.0
Galaxy
Z Flip 3
Galaxy
S22 Ultra
Galaxy Tab
S8 Ultra
Galaxy
Tab S7+
Galaxy Tab
S7 FE
Mobile Platform
SD 888
SD 8 Gen 1
SD 8
Gen 1
SD 865+
SD
778G
Performance Score
13317
12860
12351
12348
9747
Web Browsing
11637
10442
9696
11864
7355
Video Editing
7762
7444
6194
7664
6028
Writing
15316
15471
14411
12659
10512
Photo Editing
25357
30177
31774
26230
22188
Data Manipulation
11938
9691
10449
9511
8505
Surprisingly, the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Get 1 was slightly slower than the Snapdragon 888 used by the Galaxy Z Flip 3, but the difference was just 7%, which means you won’t actually notice the difference.
For certainly, it will easily handle anything you throw at it, whether it’s just posting your latest Instagram pictures or editing a 4K video.
Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra : Gaming Performance
For gaming, we tested the Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra using 3DMark, with these results :
3DMark
Galaxy
Tab
S8 Ultra
Galaxy
S22 Ultra
Galaxy
Z Flip 3
Galaxy
Tab S7+
Galaxy
Tab S7 FE
Device
SD 8
Gen 1
SD 8 Gen 1
SD 888
SD 865+
SD 778G
Sling Shot Unlimited
10728
11094
9248
8793
6688
Wild Life Unlimited
9838
9106
3952
–
–
Wild Life
Extreme
Unlimited
2221
2220
1174
–
–
Look at that! The Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 was a head above the competition when it comes to gaming!
It was 16% to 150% faster than the Snapdragon 888, and 22% faster than the Snadragon 865+!
For certain, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 will crush any game you throw at it.
Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra : Overall Performance
We then tested the Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra using AnTuTu, yielding these results :
AnTuTu
Galaxy Tab
S8 Ultra
Galaxy
S22 Ultra
Galaxy
Z Flip 3
Galaxy
Tab S7+
Galaxy
Tab S7 FE
Device
SD 8 Gen 1
SD 8 Gen 1
SD 888
SD 865+
SD 778G
AnTuTu Score
950630
889167
696767
577726
508008
CPU
213689
203090
206228
161243
157465
GPU
417669
402617
242573
230859
155115
Memory
161903
146002
133586
98269
79972
UX
157369
137458
114380
87355
115456
The AnTuTu benchmark confirmed that the Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra is a veritable beast of a performer, beating even the very fast Galaxy Z Flip 3 by 36%.
Its GPU performance was, in particular, spectacular, delivering 72% better performance than the Galaxy Z Flip 3, and 81% better performance than the Galaxy Tab S7+!
Interestingly, it was 7% faster than the Galaxy S22 Ultra, which uses the same Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 processor. This is likely due to better cooling – its temperature only increased by 0.3°C, whereas the S22 Ultra’s temperature spiked by over 10°C!
Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra : Performance Summary
The Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra was meant to be the ultimate Samsung tablet for 2022, and it does not disappoint.
Built around the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 – the fastest mobile SoC that exists for Android devices – it offers a tremendous boost in GPU performance, which should make gamers and mobile content creators happy.
The benchmark results amply demonstrates, you can count on the Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra to easily handle anything and everything you throw at it.
Support my work through a bank transfer / PayPal / credit card!
Name : Adrian Wong Bank Transfer : CIMB 7064555917 (Swift Code : CIBBMYKL)
Credit Card / Paypal : https://paypal.me/techarp
Dr. Adrian Wong has been writing about tech and science since 1997, even publishing a book with Prentice Hall called Breaking Through The BIOS Barrier (ISBN 978-0131455368) while in medical school.
He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.
In this guide, we will show you how to setup your new Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra for the first time!
How To Setup Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra : A Video Guide!
We have the new Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra tablet with us, and soon you will get yours too.
Let us show you how to setup the Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra for the first time, as a new device!
The process is very easy as our video shows, so you will be able to enjoy using it within minutes!
How To Setup Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra : Step-By-Step Instructions
It is very easy to setup the Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra as a new device.
This should take no more than 10 minutes, will be much longer if you are transferring data from an older tablet.
Press the Power button to start up your Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra tablet.
It will take 23 seconds to boot up for the first time.
Click Start to begin the setup process.
The first thing you need to do is select a language.
Next, you will need to select your country or region.
Then, the Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra will reboot – a process that takes about 32 seconds.
After it boots up again, you will be asked to agree to the EULA (End User Licence Agreement) and the Privacy Policy.
You can skip sending Samsung your Diagnostic Data.
In the next screen, you will have the opportunity to turn off certain Samsung apps and services.
These are all key features that will greatly impact your use of the Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra, so I recommend that you leave them all enabled.
Next, you will be allowed to log into your Wi-Fi network for Internet connectivity.
Select your Wi-Fi network and key in the password to connect.
Once your Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra connects to the Wi-Fi network, it will automatically look for updates, and prepare the device.
It can take a few minutes to finish, so don’t fret.
Next, you will be given the option to transfer apps and data from your old tablet.
This is a long process, which you can do now, or do it later after setting up the Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra.
To do it later, or set it up as a new device, simply click on Don’t copy.
Now you will be asked to log into your Google Account, or create a new one.
To skip for now and do it after setting up the tablet, click on Skip.
But you will lose access to certain Google services until you log in.
Next, you will be given the option of disabling certain Google services.
Generally, I would recommend leaving them enabled, except sending Google your usage and diagnostic data.
Now you will be asked to protect your Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra by selecting a preferred login method – Face recognition, Fingerprint, Pattern, PIN or Password.
If you select the Face Recognition or Fingerprint option, you will need to select a secure screen lock method using Pattern, PIN or Password.
Next, you will need to go through the Face Recognition / Fingerprint training process
After that, you will be asked to log into your Samsung account, or create a new one.
To skip for now and do it after setting up the tablet, click on Skip.
But you will lose access to certain Samsung services until you log in.
That’s it! You have successfully setup the Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra as a new device! Enjoy!
Support my work through a bank transfer / PayPal / credit card!
Name : Adrian Wong Bank Transfer : CIMB 7064555917 (Swift Code : CIBBMYKL)
Credit Card / Paypal : https://paypal.me/techarp
Dr. Adrian Wong has been writing about tech and science since 1997, even publishing a book with Prentice Hall called Breaking Through The BIOS Barrier (ISBN 978-0131455368) while in medical school.
He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.
The Galaxy S22 Ultra has an Adaptive mode that dynamically refreshes between 1 Hz and 120 Hz for better battery life.
The 120 Hz refresh rate option in the Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra is fixed at 120 Hz. This guarantees you an ultra-smooth 120 Hz refresh rate all the time, at the expense of battery life.
In the next section, we will look at how the two refresh rate options affect the Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra’s battery life.
Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra : Battery Life Comparison!
The Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra comes with a massive 11,200 mAh battery, which is more than the size of the Galaxy S22 Ultra’s battery!
To test its battery life, we turned off Automatic Brightness, and set its display brightness to 50%.
Why 50%? That is actually slightly higher than the average indoor brightness level of 40% during the day, and is what we usually use in all our mobile battery life tests.
It is important to fix the brightness level, to make sure the screen brightness does not change as the ambient brightness changes.
We then ran the PCMark Work 3.0 battery life test until its battery capacity dropped to 20% several times, and this was the best result we obtained with 60 Hz and 120 Hz refresh rates :
Astoundingly, the Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra only has a battery life of 6.5 hours with High refresh rate enabled, and a more acceptable 8 hours with the Standard refresh rate!
This is a slight improvement over last year’s Galaxy Tab S7 Plus. There is no doubt that its much larger 14.6-inch Super AMOLED display is a significant drain on battery life.
Let’s compare its battery life against the Galaxy Tab S7 Plus, and the Galaxy S22 Ultra smartphone which uses the same Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 mobile SoC.
Standard Refresh Rate (60 Hz)
The Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra delivers the best battery life with the Standard refresh rate of 60 Hz.
The Tab S8 Ultra appears to use 9% more power than the Tab S7 Plus, but I have to point out that it has a 39% larger display.
Fortunately, the battery life deficit is “covered” by its 11% larger battery.
Work 3.0
S22 Ultra
(60 Hz)
Tab S7 Plus
(60 Hz)
Tab S8 Ultra
(60 Hz)
Display Size
6.8-inch
12.4-inch
14.6-inch
Battery Capacity
5,000 mAh
10,090 mAh
11,200 mAh
Battery Life
14 hrs 15 mins
7 hrs 55 mins
8 hrs
3 mins
Utilisation
per min.
4.68 mAh
16.99 mAh
18.55 mAh
High Refresh Rate (120 Hz)
Switching on the High refresh rate of 120 Hz cut its battery life by 17.6% – almost 1.5 hours!
But the data shows that its larger 14.6-inch display only used 3.4% more power than the Tab S7 Plus.
The Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra supports up to 45 watts of wired fast charging, but unfortunately, does not come with the charger in-the-box.
So we relied on the standard 15 watt Samsung fast charger than shipped with their previous smartphones and tablets – something we believe most users will end up doing.
Recharging Speed
Tab S8 Ultra
Tab S7 Plus
S22 Ultra
Display Size
14.6-inch
12.4-inch
6.8-inch
Battery Capacity
11,200 mAh
10,090 mAh
5,000 mAh
Charger Output
15 watts
15 watts
15 watts
Battery Life
86.5 mins
86 mins
64.5 mins
Recharging Speed
(per minute)
103.6 mAh
93.9 mAh
62.0 mAh
Interestingly, the Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra recharged faster with a standard 15 watt charger, than the Tab S7 Plus or even the Galaxy S22 Ultra!
This is really good news. It means that Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra owners need not worry too much about its recharging speed with the older 15 watt chargers.
In fact, you don’t need to splurge on a new 45 watt fast charger. The Tab S8 Ultra fully recharges its massive battery from 20% to 100% in just under 1.5 hours with the standard 15 watt Samsung charger!
Support my work through a bank transfer / PayPal / credit card!
Name : Adrian Wong Bank Transfer : CIMB 7064555917 (Swift Code : CIBBMYKL)
Credit Card / Paypal : https://paypal.me/techarp
Dr. Adrian Wong has been writing about tech and science since 1997, even publishing a book with Prentice Hall called Breaking Through The BIOS Barrier (ISBN 978-0131455368) while in medical school.
He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.
Samsung just sent us the Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra – their largest and most powerful tablet, with a massive 14.6-inch Super AMOLED display!
As you will see in this video – this is a really large tablet, and it is pretty hefty too at 726 grams. But it is very solidly built, and weighs half as much as a typical laptop.
It also comes with a new full-size S Pen with an ultra-low latency of just 2.8 milliseconds.
The Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra runs on the latest Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 mobile platform boasts a powerful Adreno 730 GPU as well as eight processor cores in a triple-tier architecture :
a Cortex-X2 prime core running at up to 3 GHz,
three sustained-performance Cortex-A710 cores running at up to 2.4 GHz, and
four energy-efficient Cortex-A510 cores running at 1.7 GHz.
Powering all that is a massive 11,200 mAh lithium-ion polymer battery, with 45 watt fast charging capability!
Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra Book Cover Keyboard : Hands-On!
This year, Samsung included the really awesome Book Cover Keyboard with every Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra tablet.
This cover not only provides really solid protection for the Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra, it also converts it into a 2-in-1 tablet with a kickstand!
In addition, the Book Cover Keyboard has a special S Pen cover that prevents your precious S Pen from falling and getting lost.
As I shared in my Galaxy Tab S7 Book Cover Keyboard review last year, this is a must-have accessory, and I’m really glad Samsung included it as part of the Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra package.
Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra : Specifications
Specifications
Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra
Display
14.6-inch Super AMOLED Display
– 60 Hz or 120 Hz refresh rate
Protection
Gorilla Glass 5 (Front + Back)
OS
One UI 4.1 (Android 12)
Platform
Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1
CPU
1 x Arm Cortex-X2 core (3.0 GHz)
3 x Arm Cortex-A710 cores (2.4 GHz) 4 x Arm Cortex-A510 cores (1.7 GHz)
Support my work through a bank transfer / PayPal / credit card!
Name : Adrian Wong Bank Transfer : CIMB 7064555917 (Swift Code : CIBBMYKL)
Credit Card / Paypal : https://paypal.me/techarp
Dr. Adrian Wong has been writing about tech and science since 1997, even publishing a book with Prentice Hall called Breaking Through The BIOS Barrier (ISBN 978-0131455368) while in medical school.
He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.
You may not be aware, but the new Samsung Galaxy Tab A8 is specially designed for families!
Find out why the new Galaxy Tab A8 tablet is such a great option for your family!
Why You Should Buy The Galaxy Tab A8 For Your Family!
Many people are not aware but Samsung created the Galaxy Tab A8 specifically for families, and here’s why it’s a great tablet for families.
Large Full HD+ Display
The Samsung Galaxy Tab A8 has a large 10.5-inch display, with a Full HD+ resolution that is great for both education and entertainment.
The large display not only gives you a more immersive viewing experience, its multi-window support allows you to split the screen in half to do two things at the same time!
You can adjust the window focus with a simple drag and drop, share content between apps, and even drag and drop a notification!
Sleek + Light
Despite the large display size, the Galaxy Tab A8 is a thin and lightweight tablet with a sleek 6.9 mm metal body that only weighs 508 grams.
This is an important consideration for families, as heavy tablets are not only unwieldy for younger children, they increase the risk of drops and other expensive accidents.
Powerful + Long-Lasting
Tablets for family use do not need extreme performance. They just need decent performance and a long battery life.
The Samsung Galaxy Tab A8 is built around an 8-core processor, with 3 GB of RAM and 32 GB of internal storage, which can be expanded through a dedicate microSD card slot.
What will impress your family the most is its massive 7,040 mAh battery, which supports 15W fast charging! Not only will it last many hours of non-stop use, it will recharge faster than usual.
Screen Recorder
The Samsung Galaxy Tab A8 comes with a built-in Screen Recorder feature that lets you easily record any online class, for revision later.
They can also mark and annotate directly on the recording, and take notes during the online class.
Samsung Kids
The Samsung Galaxy Tab A8 also comes with Samsung Kids built-in, allowing you to restrict younger children to a completely safe environment to explore and learn.
The improved Parental control lets you set limits on playtime, give selective access to apps, and see your children’s activities at a glance.
Quad Speakers + Dolby Atmos
Most tablets at this price point only comes with dual speakers, but believe it or not, this highly-affordable tablet comes with four speakers!
Its quad speaker system also supports Dolby Atmos surround sound, for exceptional audio clarity and depth!
Samsung Knox Security
Even at this price point, the Samsung Galaxy Tab A8 is protected on the hardware level by Samsung Knox.
Samsung Knox is a multi-layered security system that constantly inspects the tablet’s core software, to ensure its data integrity.
Incredible Price Point
Here’s the best part about the Samsung Galaxy Tab A8 tablet – its highly affordable price of just RM999 / US$229.99 / £204 / A$373 / S$448?
This will allow even families on a tight budget to afford the Galaxy Tab A8.
Samsung Galaxy Tab A8 : Specifications
Specifications
Samsung Galaxy Tab A8
Model
SM-X200
Display
10.5-inch TFT Display
– 1200 x 1920 pixels
OS
One UI 3 (Android 11)
Platform
UNISOC Tiger T618
CPU
2 x Arm Cortex-A75 cores (2.0 GHz)
6 x Arm Cortex-A55 cores (2.0 GHz)
GPU
Arm Mali-G52 MP2
Memory +
Storage
3 GB + 32 GB
4 GB + 64 GB
External Storage
microSD slot (up to 1 TB)
Front Camera
5 MP camera
Main Cameras
8 MP camera
Connectivity
Wi-Fi : Up to Wi-Fi 6
Bluetooth : BT 5.0
USB : USB Type C 2.0
Fingerprint Sensor
Yes, Side-Mounted
Other Sensors
Accelerometer, Gyroscope, Geomagnetic,
Hall Sensor, Light Sensor
GPS
GPS, GLONASS, QZSS
NFC
No
Audio
Quad speakers with Dolby Atmos
Battery
7,040 mAh Li-Po battery
Charging
15 watt fast charging
Dimensions
246.8 mm wide
161.9 mm tall
6.9 mm thick
Weight
508 grams
Samsung Galaxy Tab A8 : Price + Availability!
The Samsung Galaxy Tab A8 is available in three colour options – Gray, Silver and Pink Gold, with two variants globally :
3GB + 32GB
4GB + 64GB
Here in Malaysia, it is only available in 3GB + 32GB variant in either the Gray or Pink Gold colour options, with a recommended retail price (RRP) of RM999 (about US$238 / £178 / A$336 / S$322).
From now until 28 February 2022, every purchase will come with two freebies :
Support my work through a bank transfer / PayPal / credit card!
Name : Adrian Wong Bank Transfer : CIMB 7064555917 (Swift Code : CIBBMYKL)
Credit Card / Paypal : https://paypal.me/techarp
Dr. Adrian Wong has been writing about tech and science since 1997, even publishing a book with Prentice Hall called Breaking Through The BIOS Barrier (ISBN 978-0131455368) while in medical school.
He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.
Samsung just introduced the Galaxy Tab A8 – a tablet targeted at families!
Take a look at the new Samsung Galaxy Tab A8, and find out if this is the tablet for you!
Samsung Galaxy Tab A8 : What You Need To Know!
The Samsung Galaxy Tab A8 is a thin and lightweight tablet designed for learning and entertainment, with a very attractive price tag.
It has a large 10.5-inch display, with a sleek metal body that is only 6.9 mm thick and weighs just 508 grams.
Powered by an octa-core processor, it comes with 3 GB of RAM and 32 GB of internal storage, which can be expanded through a dedicate microSD card slot.
The large display not only gives you a more immersive viewing experience, its multi-window support allows you to split the screen in half to do two things at the same time!
On top of that, this highly-affordable tablet comes with four speakers that support Dolby Atmos surround sound, for exceptional audio clarity and depth.
Don’t worry about the Galaxy Tab A8 running out of juice. It has a massive 7,040 mAh battery, which supports 15W fast charging!
Samsung Galaxy Tab A8 : Specifications
Specifications
Samsung Galaxy Tab A8
Model
SM-X200
Display
10.5-inch TFT Display
– 1200 x 1920 pixels
Protection
NA
Water Resistance
NA
OS
One UI 3 (Android 11)
Platform
UNISOC Tiger T618
CPU
2 x Arm Cortex-A75 cores (2.0 GHz)
6 x Arm Cortex-A55 cores (2.0 GHz)
GPU
Arm Mali-G52 MP2
Memory +
Storage
3 GB + 32 GB
4 GB + 64 GB
External Storage
microSD slot (up to 1 TB)
Front Camera
5 MP camera
Main Cameras
8 MP camera
Connectivity
Wi-Fi : Up to Wi-Fi 6
Bluetooth : BT 5.0
USB : USB Type C 2.0
Fingerprint Sensor
Yes, Side-Mounted
Other Sensors
Accelerometer, Gyroscope, Geomagnetic,
Hall Sensor, Light Sensor
GPS
GPS, GLONASS, QZSS
NFC
No
Audio
Quad speakers with Dolby Atmos
Battery
7,040 mAh Li-Po battery
Charging
15 watt fast charging
Dimensions
246.8 mm wide
161.9 mm tall
6.9 mm thick
Weight
508 grams
Samsung Galaxy Tab A8 : Price + Availability!
The Samsung Galaxy Tab A8 is available in three colour options – Gray, Silver and Pink Gold, with two variants globally :
3GB + 32GB
4GB + 64GB
Here in Malaysia, it is only available in 3GB + 32GB variant in either the Gray or Pink Gold colour options, with a recommended retail price (RRP) of RM999 (about US$238 / £178 / A$336 / S$322).
From now until 28 February 2022, every purchase will come with two freebies :
Support my work through a bank transfer / PayPal / credit card!
Name : Adrian Wong Bank Transfer : CIMB 7064555917 (Swift Code : CIBBMYKL)
Credit Card / Paypal : https://paypal.me/techarp
Dr. Adrian Wong has been writing about tech and science since 1997, even publishing a book with Prentice Hall called Breaking Through The BIOS Barrier (ISBN 978-0131455368) while in medical school.
He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.
The new Galaxy Tab S7 FE is Samsung’s tablet for the masses, offering a massive 12.4-inch display with a powerful mid-range processor and dual AKG speakers!
It comes in a white cardboard box, containing these items :
Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 FE tablet
Quick Start Guide + Warranty Card
15 Watt Samsung Travel Fast Charger
USB Type A to Type C data and power cable
SIM tray ejection pin
Fortunately, Samsung included a fast charger in-the-box, albeit a standard 15 watt charger and not a 45 watt charger.
Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 FE : Hands-On + Key Features!
The Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 FE is a more affordable Fan Edition of the excellent but pricey Samsung Galaxy Tab S7+ that we reviewed earlier.
12.4-inch Display
The Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 FE boasts a 12.4-inch TFT display, which looks massive especially if you are upgrading from smaller tablets like the Apple iPad.
This is not an AMOLED display, but it is bright and looks sharp thanks to the high resolution of 2560 x 1600 pixels.
Performance + Storage
The Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 FE is built around the Qualcomm Snapdragon 778G mobile platform, which offers :
a Kryo 670 Prime (A78-based) core running at 2.4 GHz,
three Kryo 670 Gold (A78-based) cores running at 2.2 GHz,
four Kryo 670 Silver (A55-based) cores running at 1.8 GHz
Adreno 642L GPU running at 490 MHz
Qualcomm Snapdragon 778G is a new mid-range mobile SoC built on the 6 nm process, which should offer preppy performance without the higher power consumption of flagship mobile SoC.
RAM + Storage
The Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 FE comes with two memory and storage options :
4 GB of RAM + 64 GB of internal storage
6 GB of memory + 128 GB of internal storage
The good news is that it comes with a microSD card tray that supports up to 1 TB of additional storage.
Front + Rear Cameras
In the front, it has a 5 MP fixed focus camera, that is capable of taking photos with a 2576 x 1932 pixel resolution, and Full HD 1080p video at 30 fps.
This front camera is decent but unexceptional. Don’t expect to dazzle your clients on Zoom!
At the back, it has an 8 MP camera that is capable of taking photos with the resolution of 3264 x 2448 pixels.
Despite the higher resolution, it is only capable of recording 1080p video at 30 fps. It does, however, supports electronic image stabilisation (EIS).
You should note that this camera lacks an LED light. The hole you see in the camera bump conceals a microphone.
Buttons
There are only two buttons on the Galaxy Tab S7 FE – the Volume control buttons and the Power button.
They are located on the upper right side when held vertically, and left side of the top when held horizontally.
As with Samsung smartphones, double-pressing the Power button activates the Camera app, allowing you to quickly take photos or videos.
Only One Port
The Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 FE comes with a USB Type C port, which supports USB 3.2 Gen 1 connectivity.
It does not come with a 3.5 mm audio jack, or a USB-C to 3.5 mm adapter in the box.
Dual AKG Speakers
Like its premium brother – the Galaxy Tab S7+, the Galaxy Tab S7 FE has AKG-tuned speakers with Dolby Atmos support.
The only difference is the cheaper FE (Fan Edition) has just two speakers, while the Tab S7+ has four.
Battery + Charging
Powering all that is a massive 10,090 mAh lithium-ion polymer battery, which supports 45 watt fast wired charging.
When used with a 45 watt charger, Samsung says it will fully recharge in just 90 minutes!
This is a pretty small battery, and rather slow charging speeds. I’m currently testing its battery life and will share with you the results shortly.
Unfortunately, Samsung only provided a standard 15 watt fast charger in the box. In the next page, I will show you just how long it takes to fully recharge its battery on just 15 watts…
The Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 FE has a massive 10,090 mAh battery, which promises to deliver up to 13 hours of video playback time.
To test its battery life, we turned off Automatic Brightness, and set its display brightness to 50%.
Why 50%? That is actually slightly higher than the average indoor brightness level of 40% during the day, and is what we usually use in all our mobile battery life tests.
It is important to fix the brightness level, to make sure the screen brightness does not change as the room brightness changed.
We then ran the PCMark Work 3.0 battery life test until its battery capacity dropped to 20%, repeating several times.
Will you look at that – 12.5 hours of battery life! A little shy of the rated 13 hours, but still much longer than the 8 hours we got with the Galaxy Tab S7+!
With such a long battery life, you can confidently take it on-the-go for a full day’s work without worrying about charging it.
Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 FE : Battery Recharging Speed
The Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 FE supports the phenomenally-fast 45 watt super fast charging. Unfortunately, Samsung only bundles an anaemic 15 watt fast charger in the box…
Take a look at how fast its bundled 15 watt fast charger topped up its massive 10,090 mAh battery…
Not bad. The bundled 15 watt charger took just 2 hours 36 minutes to fully recharge its battery from 20% to 100%.
That gives it a recharging speed of about 52 mAh per minute, which is as fast as some 25W or 27W fast chargers.
This gives it a battery life : recharging ratio of just 4.8:1. A general rule of thumb – for one of hour battery life, you will need to charge it for 12.5 minutes.
While that is TWICE as fast as the Galaxy Tab S7+, it cannot match the HUAWEI MatePad Pro, which has a battery life : recharging ratio of 8.5:1, and only needs 7 minutes of charging for each hour of battery life.
Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 FE : PCMark Results
PCMark
Tab S7+
Note20
Ultra
Tab S7 FE
Xiaomi
Mi 9
MatePad
Pro
Mobile Platform
SD 865+
Exynos 990
SD 778G
SD 855
Kirin 990
Performance Score
(Average)
12348
10523
9747
9471
8575
Web Browsing
11864
8865
7355
7792
6723
Video Editing
7664
6232
6028
6038
5656
Writing
12659
11112
10512
10919
10969
Photo Editing
26230
30789
22188
20161
15991
Data Manipulation
9511
6825
8505
7356
6952
Will you look at that? The Qualcomm Snapdragon 778G is slightly faster than Snapdragon 855 – the last-generation flagship mobile SoC from Qualcomm!
The Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 FE has good gaming performance too, coming in just slightly slower as the Xiaomi Mi 9, which is powered by the flagship-class Snapdragon 855.
Samsung originally introduced the Samsung Galaxy Tab S7+ as a cheaper but powerful Android alternative to the 12.9-inch Apple iPad Pro. However, even its price tag put it out of reach of many users.
So Samsung came up with a Fan Edition of that tablet – the Galaxy Tab S7 FE, which sports the similarly large 12.4-inch display, at a much more affordable price point.
The large display really makes a lot of difference if you want a large workspace, or a more immersive gaming or movie experience. More so with its dual AKG speakers that off good bass and clarity.
Instead of the powerful but power-guzzling Snapdragon 865+, Samsung used the new Snapdragon 778G which is not only pretty darn fast, it is more power-efficient, giving it a much longer battery life.
It inevitably comes with less memory and storage, but even 4 GB of RAM is more than enough for most users. And if you run out of storage, you can always pop-in a microSD card for more storage.
Samsung also threw in a standard S Pen and a 15 watt charger in-the-box, but if you want faster charging – you will need to top up for a 45 watt fast charger.
Samsung sadly did not bundle the Galaxy Tab S7 FE with the Keyboard Cover, which is a critical accessory for this tablet.
I cannot emphasise the importance of the Keyboard Cover enough, as it not only protects the tablet and the stylus (in its own special compartment), it also gives you a keyboard and touchpad, turning your Tab S7 FE into a laptop!
If you do not need the keyboard, at least get the Book Cover. The Galaxy Tab S7 FE is a large and heavy tablet that you do NOT want to drop. Please remember that it lacks the Gorilla Glass Victus protection of its more expensive brother – the Galaxy Tab S7+.
Both the front 5 MP and rear 8 MP cameras can record 1080p videos at 30 fps, but the video quality from the front camera is rather poor. Fortunately, the rear 8 MP camera does a much better job.
Overall – the Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 FE offers much more value for your money than the Galaxy Tab S7+. If you don’t need the frills, you can literally buy TWO FE tablets for the price of one Tab S7+!
That’s why we have no qualms giving it our Editor’s Choice Award! Nice job, Samsung!
Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 FE : Colour Options
The Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 FE comes in four colour options (from left to right) : Mystic Green, Mystic Pink, Mystic Silver and Mystic Black.
Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 FE : Price + Availability
Here in Malaysia, Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 FE will be available at these launch prices :
Support my work through a bank transfer / PayPal / credit card!
Name : Adrian Wong Bank Transfer : CIMB 7064555917 (Swift Code : CIBBMYKL)
Credit Card / Paypal : https://paypal.me/techarp
Dr. Adrian Wong has been writing about tech and science since 1997, even publishing a book with Prentice Hall called Breaking Through The BIOS Barrier (ISBN 978-0131455368) while in medical school.
He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.
Here is my unboxing and hands-on preview of the new Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 FE.
Find out what’s inside its box, and take a close-up look of this Fan Edition tablet for the masses!
Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 FE : Unboxing + Contents!
The new Galaxy Tab S7 FE is Samsung’s tablet for the masses, offering a massive 12.4-inch display with a powerful mid-range processor and dual AKG speakers!
It comes in a white cardboard box, containing these items :
Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 FE tablet
Quick Start Guide + Warranty Card
15 Watt Samsung Travel Fast Charger
USB Type A to Type C data and power cable
SIM tray ejection pin
Fortunately, Samsung included a fast charger in-the-box, albeit a standard 15 watt charger and not a 45 watt charger.
Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 FE : Hands-On + Key Features!
The Galaxy Tab S7 FE is a more affordable Fan Edition of the excellent but pricey Galaxy Tab S7+ that we reviewed earlier.
12.4-inch Display
The Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 FE boasts a 12.4-inch TFT display, which looks massive especially if you are upgrading from smaller tablets like the Apple iPad.
This is not an AMOLED display, but it is bright and looks sharp thanks to the high resolution of 2560 x 1600 pixels.
Performance + Storage
The Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 FE is built around the Qualcomm Snapdragon 778G mobile platform, which offers :
a Kryo 670 Prime (A78-based) core running at 2.4 GHz,
three Kryo 670 Gold (A78-based) cores running at 2.2 GHz,
four Kryo 670 Silver (A55-based) cores running at 1.8 GHz
Adreno 642L GPU running at 490 MHz
Qualcomm Snapdragon 778G is a new mid-range mobile SoC built on the 6 nm process, which should offer preppy performance without the higher power consumption of flagship mobile SoC.
RAM + Storage
Samsung offers two memory and storage options :
4 GB of RAM + 64 GB of internal storage
6 GB of memory + 128 GB of internal storage
The good news is that it comes with a microSD card tray that supports up to 1 TB of additional storage.
Front + Rear Cameras
In the front, it has a 5 MP fixed focus camera, that is capable of taking photos with a 2576 x 1932 pixel resolution, and Full HD 1080p video at 30 fps.
This front camera is decent but unexceptional. Don’t expect to dazzle your clients on Zoom!
At the back, it has an 8 MP camera that is capable of taking photos with the resolution of 3264 x 2448 pixels.
Despite the higher resolution, it is only capable of recording 1080p video at 30 fps. It does, however, supports electronic image stabilisation (EIS).
You should note that this camera lacks an LED light. The hole you see in the camera bump conceals a microphone.
Buttons
There are only two buttons on the Tab S7 FE – the Volume control buttons and the Power button.
They are located on the upper right side when held vertically, and left side of the top when held horizontally.
As with Samsung smartphones, double-pressing the Power button activates the Camera app, allowing you to quickly take photos or videos.
Only One Port
The Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 FE comes with a USB Type C port, which supports USB 3.2 Gen 1 connectivity.
It does not come with a 3.5 mm audio jack, or a USB-C to 3.5 mm adapter in the box.
Dual AKG Speakers
Like its premium brother – the Galaxy Tab S7+, the Tab S7 FE has AKG-tuned speakers with Dolby Atmos support.
The only difference is the cheaper FE (Fan Edition) has just two speakers, while the Tab S7+ has four.
Battery + Charging
Powering all that is a massive 10,090 mAh lithium-ion polymer battery, which supports 45 watt fast wired charging.
When used with a 45 watt charger, Samsung says it will fully recharge in just 90 minutes!
This is a pretty small battery, and rather slow charging speeds. I’m currently testing its battery life and will share with you the results shortly.
Unfortunately, Samsung only provided a standard 15 watt fast charger in the box.
Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 FE : Specifications
Specifications
Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 FE
Model
SM-T733
Display
12.4-inch TFT
– 1600 x 2560 pixels
Operating System
One UI 3.1 (Android 11)
Platform
Qualcomm Snapdragon 778G
CPU
1 x Kryo 670 Prime (A78) core @ 2.4 GHz
3 x Kryo 670 Gold (A78) cores @ 2.2 GHz
4 x Kryo 670 Silver (A55) cores @ 1.8 GHz
GPU
Qualcomm Adreno 642L @ 490 MHz
Memory +
Storage Options
4 GB + 64 GB
6 GB + 128 GB
External Storage
Up to 1 TB MicroSD card
Front Camera
5 MP
Rear Camera
8 MP
Connectivity
WiFi : Up to Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax)
Bluetooth : BT 5.2
USB : USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type C
GPS
GPS, Beidou, GLONASS, QZSS
NFC
No
S Pen
Yes, provided in-box
Fingerprint Sensor
No
Other Sensors
Accelerometer, Gyroscope,
Geomagnetic, Hall Sensor, Light Sensor
Battery
10,090 mAh battery
Charging
45 watt wired fast charging
Dimensions
185.0 mm wide
284.8 mm tall
6.3 mm thick
Weight
610 g
Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 FE : Colour Options
The Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 FE comes in four colour options (from left to right) : Mystic Green, Mystic Pink, Mystic Silver and Mystic Black.
Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 FE : Price + Availability
Here in Malaysia, Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 FE will be available at these launch prices :
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Here are some great tips on how you can ramp up productivity with the 2021 HUAWEI MatePad Pro.
Don’t forget to SHARE these tips out!
2021 HUAWEI MatePad Pro Productivity Tips!
Today, we are going to share with you some great tips on how you can ramp up productivity with the 2021 HUAWEI MatePad Pro.
These tips are great not just for remote workers and content creators, but also students and other people working from home.
Please don’t forget to SHARE these tips with your friends!
Flagship Performance
The 2021 HUAWEI MatePad Pro is built around the Kirin 9000E, the world’s first 5nm 5G mobile SoC that has an 8-core CPU, with a 22-core GPU and two Neural Processing Units.
And it comes with 8 GB LPDDR4x memory and 256 GB built-in storage, with the option of adding an NM card for additional storage (up to 256 GB).
So right off the bat, you have all the processing power and memory capacity you need to get A LOT of work done right on the tablet.
Multi-Screen Collaboration
Hardware performance aside, one of the 2021 MatePad Pro’s key features is its multi-screen collaboration capability when used with a HUAWEI laptop like the MateBook X Pro.
Mirror Mode : Your laptop display is mirrored onto the MatePad Pro, which can now be used as a writing or sketching pad.
Whatever you write or draw on the MatePad Pro with the M-Pencil is instantly synced in real-time to the laptop screen.
Extend Mode : You can drag a task from your laptop to the MatePad Pro, turning it into a second monitor instantly.
For example, you can video conference on one display, while edit notes or check files on the other display. This makes the MatePad Pro a great “workmate” for your laptop!
Collaborate Mode : Using the collaborate mode, you can use the laptop keyboard and mouse on both the laptop and the MatePad Pro.
In addition, you can easily drag and drop files and texts between the laptop and the MatePad Pro!
Bottom Dock + Service Widgets
The 2021 HUAWEI MatePad Pro introduces a new Bottom Dock that not only displays frequently-used apps, but also recently-used apps.
In addition, it features new Service Widgets that can display real-time information, so you can quickly and conveniently access certain app features without launching those apps!
Those Service Widgets can be placed anywhere, and are fully customisable so you can personalise your tablet as you wish!
Make Full Use Of M-Pencil (2nd Generation)
The 2021 HUAWEI MatePad Pro comes with the 2nd Generation M-Pencil, which features a transparent tip design, platinum-coated nib, and a rounded hexagonal shape for a more comfortable grip.
It has 4,096 levels of pressure sensitivity and supports tilt writing, with ultra-low latency of just 9 ms.
Make use of its support for HUAWEI FreeScript to transform your handwritten jotting into machine-encoded text in real time.
The new 2nd Generation M-Pencil also supports Double Tap to Switch tools, which is very convenient.
For example, if you make a mistake while writing or drawing, you can just double tap the M-Pencil to switch to the eraser mode.
Don’t forget its other built-in features like Instant Shape and Instant Table. All you need to do is just start drawing, pause and then let go – it will automatically give you the shape you want!
2021 HUAWEI MatePad Pro : Price + Freebie Tips!
The 2021 HUAWEI MatePad Pro is available for sale in Malaysia, in the Matte Grey colour.
It has an official launch price of RM 3,999 (about US$970 / £686 / A$1,253 / S$1,286). Here are online purchase options :
Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 Keyboard : How Fast Can You Type On It?
To showcase how fast you can type on the Book Cover Keyboard, Samsung brought in expert stenographer Jongheon Im.
Stenographers are trained to type as fast as a person speaks, so they need to be very fast!
In this video, Im is asked to transcribe a minute of speech on two regular keyboards, and then on the Galaxy Tab S7+ with the Book Cover Keyboard.
While Im is most comfortable with the special stenography keyboard, she felt that it was more comfortable to type on the Book Cover Keyboard, than an actual laptop keyboard.
In the end, she managed to type at around 700 strokes per minute on the Book Cover Keyboard, compared to 670 strokes on a laptop keyboard.
Frankly, most of us would expect to type faster on a laptop keyboard than a tablet keyboard… but as our review pointed out – the Book Cover Keyboard is really nice to type on, especially with its 26% larger keycaps and 18.3 mm key pitch.
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HUAWEI just introduced the MatePad T 10s – an affordable 10.1-inch tablet with 4G LTE connectivity for the family!
Take a look at the new HUAWEI MatePad T 10s, and find out what it offers!
HUAWEI MatePad T 10s : Hands-On Preview!
The HUAWEI MatePad T 10s boasts a 10.1-inch IPS display with a Full HD+ resolution of 1920 x 1200 pixels, and TÜV Rheinland-certified Eye Comfort.
This display is enhanced by HUAWEI ClariVu technology, which automatically optimises colour, brightness and saturation. It also uses a Super Resolution algorithm to upscale lower-resolution content.
Build around the HUAWEI Kirin 710A platform, it comes with 3 GB of RAM and 64 GB of storage, which can be expanded with a microSD card (up to 512 GB).
Impressively, this affordable tablet comes with built-in 4G LTE connectivity, ensuring that you can stay connected wherever you are. Powering all that is a large 5,100 mAh battery, that supports 10 watt fast charging.
HUAWEI MatePad T 10s : Price + Availability
The HUAWEI MatePad T 10s is available for sale starting 10 October 2020, with this recommended retail price :
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HUAWEI MatePad T 10s : A Closer Look!
Let’s take a closer look at the HUAWEI MatePad T 10s tablet, and its key features.
Front Camera
In the front, it has a 2 MP fixed focus camera with an f/2.4 aperture. This camera supports 720p video recording.
Rear Camera
In the back, it has a 5 MP camera with a slightly wider f/2.2 aperture, and 1080p video recording capability. Unfortunately, it doesn’t come with an LED flash.
Power + Volume Control Buttons
The only buttons you will find are the Power and Volume control buttons, both located along the top edge (if held horizontally) together with the front and rear cameras.
Ports + Speakers
The ports are all located at the bottom – a USB 2.0 Type C port, and a 3.5 mm audio port, next to the SIM tray.
It also comes with two Harman Kardon-tuned speakers, one at the bottom here, and one at the top.
SIM + microSD Card Tray
The SIM and microSD card tray is located at the bottom, next to the 3.5 mm audio port and USB-C port.
Unlike other tablets in the same price range, it comes with 4G LTE connectivity, and supports a single nano SIM card.
The MatePad T 10s only comes with 64 GB of storage, but fortunately, it also supports a microSD card, which lets you add up to 512 GB of additional storage.
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Samsung Malaysia will be offering free gifts worth up to RM 1,491 with every purchase of a Galaxy Tab S7 or Galaxy Tab S7+ from 28 August until 31 October 2020.
Samsung Keyboard Cover worth RM999
Samsung 128GB microSD card worth RM139
1 Day Pass to Colony Sdn Bhd worth RM60
6-Month subscription to Clip Studio Paint worth RM 221
4-Month subscription to YouTube Premium worth RM72
Note : The 128GB MicroSD card must be redeemed through Samsung Redemption Portal, before or on 15th November 2020, failing which the redemption submission will be disqualified and considered as null and void.
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Now you may be wondering – what about MediaTek? They get a pass because they cheat at benchmarks.
Snapdragon vs Exynos vs Kirin : TLDR Summary
For those who are too lazy to drill down into the results, here’s a quick and dirty summary.
The Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 Plus is definitely the superior mobile platform.
In most benchmarks, it was significantly faster than both the Samsung Exynos 990 and the HUAWEI Kirin 990.
Snapdragon
865+
Exynos
990
Kirin
990
PCMark Work 2.0
Winner
-16.3%
-30.6%
Computer Vision
Winner
-16.9%
-23.2%
3DMark Vulkan
Winner
-11.4%
-33.7%
3DMark OpenGL
Winner
-4.5%
-30.1%
Geekbench Multi-Core
Winner
-3.2%
-3.7%
Geekbench Single-Core
-21.1%
-2.2%
Winner
AnTuTu Overall
Winner
-9.5%
-22.8%
Average
Winner
-6.1%
-21.4%
You are unlikely to notice the small 6% performance difference between the Snapdragon 865+ and the Exynos 990.
However, the 21% performance deficit of the HUAWEI Kirin 990 versus the Snapdragon 865+ will be noticeable. So will its 14% performance deficit against the Exynos 990.
Even if TSMC was allowed to continue making Kirin 990 for HUAWEI, it is no longer a competitive flagship mobile platform.
Snapdragon vs Exynos vs Kirin : PCMark Work 2.0
Snapdragon 865+
Exynos 990
Kirin 990
Work 2.0 Score
Winner
-16.3%
-30.6%
Web Browsing 2.0
Winner
-27.2%
-43.3%
Video Editing
Winner
-18.5%
-26.2%
Writing 2.0
Winner
-12.0%
-13.4%
Photo Editing 2.0
-10.7%
Winner
-45.6%
Data Manipulation
Winner
-29.6%
-26.9%
Snapdragon vs Exynos vs Kirin : PCMark Computer Vision
This is a benchmark that tests the AI capabilities of these mobile platforms :
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Snapdragon vs Exynos vs Kirin : 3DMark Sling Shot Extreme
We tested them using the Sling Shot Extreme test in 3DMark, using both Vulkan and OpenGL ES 3.1 graphics API.
Vulkan is a newer graphics API, with much lower overhead, and can therefore deliver better performance than OpenGL ES which is supported by more games.
3DMark rendered the game at the 2560 x 1440 resolution, allowing for a fair comparison irrespective of the devices’ actual display resolution.
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We had some time with the new Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 Plus, and here is our in-depth review!
Find out why we love Samsung’s latest premium tablet so much that we gave it our Reviewer’s Choice Award!
Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 Plus : Ultra-Premium Tablet
The Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 Plus is not really just a larger variant of the Galaxy Tab S7 tablet. It is a larger, ultra-premium model.
While many of their key features are similar, the Galaxy Tab S7 Plus offers a large and better display, with a larger battery, and an ultra-low latency S Pen.
For an easier comparison, here is a table comparing their key specifications :
Take a look at what the Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 Plus ships with :
Here is a list of the items you will find inside the Galaxy Tab S7 Plus box :
Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 Plus tablet
Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 S Pen
Quick Start Guide and Warranty Card
15 Watt Fast Charging adapter
USB Type A to USB Type C cable
SIM tray pin
We believe there are some minor differences between this unit and the actual retail unit, which should have these items too :
AKG USB Type C earphones
Set of four spare earbuds
Samsung Book Cover Keyboard : Unboxing
Here in Malaysia, the Galaxy Tab S7 Plus comes with a free Book Cover Keyboard, which is a separate item that usually retails for RM999, S$238, £189.99.
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Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 Plus : Key Features
The Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 Plus is designed for those who want the ultra-low latency S Pen, in addition to its bigger and better display.
120 Hz Super AMOLED Display
The Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 Plus has a 12.4-inch Super AMOLED display, with a resolution of 1752 x 2800 pixels and a pixel density of 266 ppi.
This is a HDR10+ display with an NTSC colour range. It supports a dynamic refresh rate, which automatically adjusts the refresh rate from 11 Hz to 120 Hz.
This helps it deliver silky-smooth graphics when needed, and save power when a higher refresh rate isn’t necessary.
Performance
The Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 Plus is powered by the latest Qualcomm Snapdragon 865+ mobile platform – currently the fastest mobile platform money can buy.
It offers a faster 3.09 GHz prime core as well as a 10% faster Adreno 650 GPU over the “regular” Snapdragon 865, and is approximately 10% faster than Samsung’s flagship Exynos 990.
The base model comes with 6 GB RAM and 128 GB storage, with the 8 GB + 512 GB option in certain countries. Our mid-range model came with 8 GB RAM and 256 GB storage.
On a clean boot, you have 4.2 GB of free memory – 52.5% of total memory capacity. That’s more than enough memory to run multiple apps at the same time.
For perspective, high-end mobile games like PUBG Mobile and Asphalt 9 use less than 1.2 GB of RAM.
Fresh out of the box, you have just under 221 GB of free internal storage – more than enough to store some 63,000 photos!
256 GB of internal storage is definitely more than sufficient for most users. But in case you run out of internal storage, you can add a microSD card for additional storage (up to 1 TB).
Front Camera
The Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 Plus comes with an 8 MP front camera that is capable of recording up to 1080p video at 30 fps.
It’s hidden in the right bezel, to ensure it is at the top when you mount the Tab S7 Plus onto its optional Book Cover Keyboard.
At the back, it has a dual camera system, supported by a single LED flash :
a 13 MP main camera, with f/2.0 aperture, and
a 5 MP ultra-wide camera, with f/2.2 aperture
It can record videos with up to 4K resolution at 30 fps.
Quad AKG Speakers
The Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 Plus comes with four AKG speakers – two at the top, and two at the bottom.
These speakers support Dolby Atmos, for a cinematic experience, whether you are gaming or watching movies
Hit The Road, Jack
Like the Galaxy Tab S6, it doesn’t have a 3.5 mm audio jack, which allows it to be less than 6 mm thin.
Samsung does not include a USB-C to 3.5mm adaptor. Instead, their retail box includes a pair of USB Type C earphones (not in our box).
Ultra-Low Latency S Pen
What people may not realise is that only Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 Plus comes with the new ultra-low latency S Pen, with a 9 ms response time.
This is literally the larger version of the ultra-low latency S Pen that ships with the Galaxy Note 20 Ultra smartphone.
The ultra-low response time gives you the same instantaneous feel of putting pen or pencil to paper, which will be especially important for artists.
Book Cover Keyboard
Samsung is bundling the Book Cover Keyboard at least here in Malaysia, but that doesn’t mean it’s part of the bundle in your country.
But it’s a great big bonus if it’s part of the package. The Book Cover Keyboard turns your Galaxy Tab S7 Plus into a virtual laptop, thanks to its integrated keyboard and touchpad.
On top of that, it comes with a magnetically-locked compartment for the S Pen, ensuring that it is properly secured while charging.
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Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 Plus : Battery Life
The Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 Plus has a massive 10,090 mAh battery, which promises to deliver up to 14 hours of video playback time.
To test its battery life, we turned off Automatic Brightness, and set its display brightness to 50%.
Why 50%? That is actually slightly higher than the average indoor brightness level of 40% during the day, and is what we usually use in all our mobile battery life tests.
It is important to fix the brightness level, to make sure the screen brightness does not change as the room brightness changed.
We then ran the PCMark Work 2.0 battery life test until its battery capacity dropped to 20%, repeating several times.
These are the best results we obtained at the standard 60 Hz refresh rate, and the dynamic refresh rate of up to 120 Hz.
Just under 8 hours. Well, that’s far from the rated 14 hours… even with a 60 Hz refresh rate.
It gets worse if you turn on the dynamic refresh rate that automatically adjusts the refresh rate from 11 Hz to 120 Hz – it lasted just over 6 hours!
Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 Plus : Recharging Speed
The Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 Plus supports the phenomenally-fast 45 watt super fast charging. Unfortunately, Samsung only bundles an anaemic 15 watt fast charger in the box…
Take a look at how fast its bundled 15 watt fast charger topped up its massive 10,090 mAh battery…
Not bad. The bundled 15 watt charger took just 2 hours 26 minutes to fully recharge its battery from 20% to 100%.
That gives it a recharging speed of about 55 mAh per minute, which is actually faster than some 25W or 27W fast chargers.
Even so, it cannot make up for the poor battery life, with a poor battery life : recharging ratio of 2.5:1. A general rule of thumb – for one of hour battery life, you just need to charge it for 23 minutes.
Just to give you an idea of how bad that is – the HUAWEI MatePad Pro has a battery life : recharging ratio of 8.5:1, and only needs 7 minutes of charging for each hour of battery life.
Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 Plus Work Performance : PCMark
Work 2.0
Galaxy Tab
S7 / S7+
Galaxy
Note20 Ultra
Xiaomi
Mi 9
MatePad Pro
Black Shark
2 Pro
Mobile Platform
SD 865+
Exynos 990
SD 855
Kirin 990
SD 855+
Performance Score
(Average)
12348
10523
9471
8575
8384
Web Browsing
11864
8865
7792
6723
6768
Video Editing
7664
6232
6038
5656
5948
Writing
12659
11112
10919
10969
9226
Photo Editing
26230
30789
20161
15991
17595
Data Manipulation
9511
6825
7356
6952
6339
The Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 Plus was, undoubtedly, the king of work applications. It was, on average :
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Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 Plus : Our Verdict + Award
It should come to no surprise that the Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 Plus is the most powerful Android tablet money can buy. It has the price tag to back that up.
Powered by the speedy Qualcomm Snapdragon 865+, it comes with 8 GB of RAM and 256 GB of internal storage. It also has a large 12.4-inch Super AMOLED display with a refresh rate of up to 120 Hz.
More than enough to handle any content creation work or gaming you throw at it. But the Galaxy Tab S7 Plus is more than just a powerful tablet.
It comes with a new ultra-low latency S Pen, with a 9 ms response time – a larger version of the ultra-low latency S Pen that ships with the Galaxy Note 20 Ultra smartphone.
The ultra-low response time gives you the same instantaneous feel of putting pen or pencil to paper, which will be especially important for artists.
And we should not forget the new Samsung Notes and Samsung Flow capabilities.
Leveraging on Samsung Cloud, Samsung Notes now automatically saves and syncs your notes and drawings, so you can access them on your PC and Samsung smartphones too.
Samsung Flow, on the other hand, lets you directly transfer files between your phone and tablet without the hassle of uploading them to the cloud.
We also like that Samsung is bundling it (at least here in Malaysia) with the Book Cover Keyboard. That makes it extremely versatile, while protecting its stylus in a special compartment.
We cannot emphasise enough just how useful the Book Cover Keyboard is. It not only protects the tablet and S Pen, it gives you a keyboard and touchpad, turning your Tab S7 Plus into a laptop.
It also comes with a nice set of cameras. A decent 8 MP front camera, when most laptops are still stuck with 720p cameras. That said, Samsung limited its video recording to just 1080p, instead of 4K.
And at the back, a combination of a 13 MP main camera and a 5 MP ultra-wide camera. Far better than what many tablets offer. Of course, most laptops don’t even have a rear camera!
All this makes the Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 Plus an extremely powerful and versatile tablet.
Priced at RM 4,599 (roughly US$1,100 | £836 | A$1520 | S$1508), it’s not cheap. But it is definitely much cheaper than the comparable 12.9-inch Apple iPad Pro, especially when you factor the bundled S Pen and Book Cover Keyboard.
It does have some downsides though. A rather poor battery life for one thing. At the standard 60 Hz refresh rate, it lasted just under 8 hours, and you get just over 6 hours if you turn on the Dynamic Refresh Rate.
And while it supports up to 45 watts of super fast charging, Samsung only shipped it with their standard 15 watt charger. Disappointing decision for such an ultra-premium device.
Finally, it is also pretty heavy, especially when used with the Book Cover Keyboard which weighs 502 grams. The tablet itself weighs 575 grams, so the total package comes up to about 1.1 kg.
Overall though, the Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 Plus is a killer tablet that’s well-positioned as a more affordable alternative to the 12.9-inch Apple iPad Pro.
We like it so much, we believe it deserves our Reviewer’s Choice Award. Nice job, Samsung!
Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 Plus : Where To Buy?
The Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 Plus comes in three colour options – Mystic Black, Mystic Silver or Mystic Bronze, with these prices :
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Many of their key features are similar. The larger Tab S7+ however comes with a larger and better display, with a larger battery.
Here in Malaysia, they both come bundled with an ultra-low latency S Pen, and the Book Cover Keyboard. But in countries where the Samsung Book Cover Keyboard is optional, this is a must-get accessory.
Samsung Book Cover Keyboard : Price + Availability
The Samsung Book Cover Keyboard is available for both Galaxy Tab S7 models. They only differ in their sizes :
Samsung Book Cover Keyboard for Galaxy Tab S7+ : Unboxing
The Samsung Book Cover Keyboard comes in a separate retail box. Here is our unboxing video.
Samsung Book Cover Keyboard : A Must-Have!
The Samsung Book Cover Keyboard uses a two-piece design – a front keyboard cover, and a back cover that doubles as a kickstand.
It transforms your Galaxy Tab S7 or Tab S7+ tablet into a virtual laptop, thanks to its integrated keyboard and touchpad.
The kickstand with its “free stop hinge” lets you freely adjust the angle of the tablet all the way to 165°.
But the downsides with a kickstand design – it takes up more space, and works best on a flat surface.
It is rather heavy at 502 grams, but gives you not just a keyboard but a large trackpad as well. In fact, its trackpad is much larger than the trackpad from the Galaxy Tab S6‘s Book Cover Keyboard.
It also has 26% larger keycaps than the Tab S6 version, with a 18.3 mm key pitch. However, its odd-shaped Enter key will get some getting used to.
The Book Cover Keyboard also has an S Pen compartment which nicely fits over its dock, ensuring that you will never lose it.
This compartment is cleverly locked magnetically, and flips open when you need to take out the S Pen, or put it back.
The back cover is thick enough to properly protect the Galaxy Tab S7 and Galaxy Tab S7+’s camera bump.
But that’s really not an issue because the S Pen compartment bulge conveniently keeps the camera bump off any surface you place it on.
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