Samsung Galaxy Tab S 8.4 Review

Samsung’s latest mid-size tablet offering in the Galaxy Tab S 8.4 offers a step up in both design and performance over its predecessor – the Galaxy Tab 4. The tablet was released alongside a larger counterpart in the Samsung Galaxy Tab S 10.5. Shipped running Android 4.4.2 ‘KitKat’ (overlaid with Samsung’s ‘TouchWiz’ interface), the Tab S provides users with arguably one of, if not, the best Android table experience money can buy. Consequently, the Tab S has become one of the primary competitors for Android in its battle with Apple and its line of tablets.

Design & Features

The Tab S is comes in both ‘Titanium Bronze’ and ‘Dazzling White’ and both WiFi-only and Wifi plus 4G/LTE variants. It comes packed with either 16GB or 32GB of internal storage, however the device features a microSD card slot which can increase the storage capacity up to 128GB. The device is surprisingly thin light and thin for its size. At 0.26 inches thick and weighing just 290g, the Tab S is one of the best in its class edging out its primary competitor, the iPad Mini 3, in both of these categories. However the build quality leaves a little to be desired when compared to the iPad – the plastic build simply doesn’t compare to the iPad’s aluminum body.

The display proves to be one of the most impressive features of the tablet. It sports an incredibly sharp 8.4 inch Super AMOLED screen with 1600 x 2560 resolution which equals 359 pixels per inch – 33 more than the similar iPad Mini 3. It is a massive upgrade from the Tab 4 which boasts a pixel density of just 189 pixels per inch. The Tab S features both front and rear facing cameras at 2.1 and 8.0 (with flash) megapixels respectively. While not as impressive as the camera found on Samsung’s Galaxy S5 mobile phone, the rear facing camera on the Tab S certainly more than gets the job done and has the ability to shoot HD video.

In terms of performance, the Tab S is certainly no slouch. It features 3GB of RAM alongside Samsung’s Exonys 5 Octa processor which features a 1.3GHz quad-core CPU for light duties and switches to a high performance 1.9GHz quad-core CPU for more taxing activities. This allows the Tab S to save battery when the more powerful CPU is not required. Despite its impressive hardware, screen transitions (e.g. moving between applications and scrolling through the main screen) can be subject to some lag at times. While not a deal breaker – the device certainly shows its strength in other areas, particularly when it comes to media consumption – it does not have the same smooth user interface found on the iPad Mini 3.

The tablet includes Samsung’s fingerprint sensor technology which can be used as an alternative to password protection. However, this feature can be a little tricky to use given that the user must swipe their finger downwards over the ‘home’ button to activate the sensor. In addition, the tablet has multi-window capabilities. This allows users to run two applications at a time, however the selection of apps available to use with this feature is limited.

Conclusion

The Galaxy Tab S 8.4 provides the best mid-size tablet experience to date from Samsung. While lacking in the productivity department (largely due to the lack of excellent quality productivity apps available on Android’s ‘Play Store’), it certainly makes up for it in other areas. It’s brilliant display and long list of supported media formats make it an outstanding choice for those who will use a tablet primarily for media consumption. Additionally, those who enjoy games will find that the tablet provides a smooth playing experience thanks to it’s impressive hardware. Overall, the Tab S is a good choice in an ever-increasing market and will not disappoint seasoned tablet users or newcomers to the market.

Rating: 7.8/10