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 : Price + Availability
Samsung is offering the Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra in five RAM + storage capacity options globally :
- 8 GB + 128 GB
- 12 GB + 256 GB / 512 GB
- 16 GB + 256 GB / 512 GB
But over here in Malaysia, it is available with 12 GB RAM and 256 GB storage for RM 5,899 (about US$1,387 / £1,063 / A$1,877 / S$1,892.
Here are some online pre-order options :
- Malaysia : RM5,599 | RM5,719 | RM5,899 | RM5,899
- Singapore : S$1,645 | S$1,689 | S$2,125
- United States : US$1,689 | US$1,389
- United Kingdom : £1,066 | £985
Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra : Specifications
| Specifications | Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra |
| Display | 14.6-inch Super AMOLED Display – 2960 x 1848 pixels – 60 Hz or 120 Hz refresh rate |
| Protection | Gorilla Glass 5 (Front + Back) Armor Aluminium |
| 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) |
| GPU | Qualcomm Adreno 730 |
| Memory + Storage Options |
8 GB RAM + 128 GB 12 GB + 256 GB / 512 GB 16 GB + 256 GB / 512 GB |
| External Storage | microSD (up to 1TB) |
| Front Camera | 12 MP main camera, f/2.2 12 MP ultra-wide camera, f/2.4 |
| Main Cameras | 12 MP main camera, f/2.0 6 MP ultra-wide camera, f/2.2 |
| Connectivity | Wi-Fi : Up to Wi-Fi 6E Bluetooth : BT 5.2 USB : USB 3.2 Type C |
| S Pen | Yes, 2.8 ms latency |
| Fingerprint Sensor | Yes, Under Display |
| Other Sensors | Accelerometer, Barometer, Gyroscope, Geomagnetic, Hall, Light, Proximity |
| GPS | GPS, Beidou, Galileo, Glonass, QZSS |
| NFC | No |
| Audio | Quad speakers tuned by AKG |
| Battery | 11,200 mAh Li-Po battery |
| Charging | 45 watt wired charging |
| Dimensions | 326.4 mm wide 208.6 mm tall 5.5 mm thick |
| Weight | 726 grams |
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.
Next Page > Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra Key Features
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Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra : Key Features
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.
Next Page > S Pen, Book Cover Keyboard, Speakers, Battery
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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!
Next Page > Battery Life + Recharging Speed
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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.
| Work 3.0 | S22 Ultra (120 Hz) |
Tab S7 Plus (120 Hz) |
Tab S8 Ultra (120 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 | 10 hrs 38 mins |
6 hrs 11 mins |
6 hrs 38 mins |
| Utilisation per min. |
6.27 mAh | 21.76 mAh | 22.51 mAh |
Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra : Battery Recharging Speed!
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!
Next Page > Work + Gaming Performance
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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!
Next Page > Verdict + Award, Price + Availability
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Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra : Verdict + Award
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!
Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra : Price + Availability
Samsung is offering the Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra in five RAM + storage capacity options globally :
- 8 GB + 128 GB
- 12 GB + 256 GB / 512 GB
- 16 GB + 256 GB / 512 GB
But over here in Malaysia, it is available with 12 GB RAM and 256 GB storage for RM 5,899 (about US$1,387 / £1,063 / A$1,877 / S$1,892.
Here are some online pre-order options :
- Malaysia : RM5,599 | RM5,719 | RM5,899 | RM5,899
- Singapore : S$1,645 | S$1,689 | S$2,125
- United States : US$1,689 | US$1,389
- United Kingdom : £1,066 | £985
Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra : Specifications
| Specifications | Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra |
| Display | 14.6-inch Super AMOLED Display – 2960 x 1848 pixels – 60 Hz or 120 Hz refresh rate |
| Protection | Gorilla Glass 5 (Front + Back) Armor Aluminium |
| 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) |
| GPU | Qualcomm Adreno 730 |
| Memory + Storage Options |
8 GB RAM + 128 GB 12 GB + 256 GB / 512 GB 16 GB + 256 GB / 512 GB |
| External Storage | microSD (up to 1TB) |
| Front Camera | 12 MP main camera, f/2.2 12 MP ultra-wide camera, f/2.4 |
| Main Cameras | 12 MP main camera, f/2.0 6 MP ultra-wide camera, f/2.2 |
| Connectivity | Wi-Fi : Up to Wi-Fi 6E Bluetooth : BT 5.2 USB : USB 3.2 Type C |
| S Pen | Yes, 2.8 ms latency |
| Fingerprint Sensor | Yes, Under Display |
| Other Sensors | Accelerometer, Barometer, Gyroscope, Geomagnetic, Hall, Light, Proximity |
| GPS | GPS, Beidou, Galileo, Glonass, QZSS |
| NFC | No |
| Audio | Quad speakers tuned by AKG |
| Battery | 11,200 mAh Li-Po battery |
| Charging | 45 watt wired charging |
| Dimensions | 326.4 mm wide 208.6 mm tall 5.5 mm thick |
| Weight | 726 grams |
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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.
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