Samsung's Galaxy Tab S8 could appear as an Ultra model with a massive battery and display
While Apple's latest
iPad Pro
could have taken the crown for
best tablet of 2021
, Samsung's upcoming Galaxy Tab S8 series could dethrone it later this year. Samsung's Galaxy Tab S7 series was the company's
first real contender
to the iPad Pro, and if the latest rumors about the Tab S8 series are true, Samsung is making many improvements to keep up with Apple.
First of all, we have to note that these rumors are a bit sketchy. We found out about this leak thanks to Tipster @
fronttron
, who has a keen eye for Korean leaks. The tipster has a number of posts from . discovered
a user on Naver
, South Korea's largest online platform. Samsung reportedly sent out a survey to users asking for their thoughts on the company's upcoming tablet products. It's not uncommon for a company to probe users through an online survey and in the process Reveals product information — Google
revealed the price
of the Pixel4a and Pixel5 in this way - however, we should note that the information in the survey may not necessarily reflect the actual products in the pipeline.
Without that caveat, what information about the Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 tablets does this survey seem to reveal? A surprising amount.
First off, there seems to be 3 models in the lineup: a regular, a plus, and what appears to be an “ultra” model. The regular tablet features an 11-inch LPTS TFT display with a 120Hz refresh rate, while the Plus model has a 12.4-inch OLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate. Then there's the "Ultra" model, which has a gargantuan 14.6-inch OLED display with a 120 Hz seems to have. Samsung is no stranger to making large tablets - the Galaxy View and Galaxy View 2 have screen sizes of 18" and 17" respectively - but most tablets intended to be handheld are typically 13" at most. large. Samsung has apparently managed to shrink the bezels to achieve an impressive 92% screen-to-body ratio, which might justify the massive screen size of this Galaxy Tab S8 "Ultra" model.
The tablets of the Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 series are not only massive but also quite thin and light if this leak is to be believed. The regular model is said to be 6.3mm thin and weighs only 502g. The Plus model is said to be 5.7mm thin and weigh 575g, and the Ultra model may only be 5.5mm thick and weigh 650g. The Ultra model's larger surface area would allow Samsung to spread the components more and increase the thickness Apparently, the Ultra model will have a paltry 12,000mAh battery — the same capacity as the 17.3-inch Galaxy View 2 — while the Plus and regular models will have 10,090mAh and 8,000mAh, respectively mAh battery. All three tablets are said to support 45W fast charging (probably USB-PD PPS compliant).
In terms of performance, Samsung is said to offer the Galaxy Tab S8 series with the
Snapdragon 888
chipset. The base and Plus models appear to come in two configurations each, with 8GB RAM and up to 256GB storage. Meanwhile, the Tab S8 Ultra can be offered with an additional 12GB RAM and 512GB storage variant. Whether the Storage is expandable is unclear. There also doesn't seem to be a 6GB RAM base model this year, which is nice as I've heard that Samsung's base Galaxy Tab S7 has some memory management issues.
Cameras aren't a major selling point of tablets, but it appears that the Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra will pack a 5 MP ultra-wide camera on the front, in addition to the 8 MP sensor that will be present on all three models. It seems that this ultra-wide-angle sensor is included so that users can see more during video calls.On the back, all three tablets have a dual 13+5MP camera and an LED flash.
Next, Samsung is said to equip all three tablets in the Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 lineup with quad speakers (probably tuned by AKG). The company will also place an under-display fingerprint scanner, although it's unclear whether it'll be an optical or an ultrasonic module acts.
As for accessories, the Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 series is rumored to come standard with an S Pen. Samsung may also launch a new premium 165° angle keyboard accessory, which will cost between KRW 198,000 (~USD 177) and KRW 320,000 (~287). It is unclear whether the base and Plus models of the Galaxy Tab S8 series are compatible with older keyboard models, but at least the larger Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra will require a new keyboard, since Samsung has never launched a product this size before.
Depending on when these tablets are launched, they could be running
Android 12
out of the box, but they're more likely to launch with One UI 3.5 based on Android 11. We don't know much about Samsung's Android 12 plans yet, but the leak shows some DeX mode features on the device, including a laptop mode, tablet mode, drawing mode, and display mode.
The price can range from KRW 829,000 (~744) all the way up to KRW 1,669,000 (~1498) for the base Galaxy Tab S8 to the most premium Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra. Each tablet comes with Wi-Fi, 4G LTE or 5G connectivity offered, although it's unclear if the LTE/5G distinction will exist outside of Korea. We don't know exact pricing or availability yet, but we'll be sure to find out more ahead of Samsung's next big Unpacked event later this year .
Featured image: Samsung's Galaxy Tab S7 in mystic black with keyboard cover
