Ever since first watching Star Trek: The Next Generation as an awkward, distinctly geeky teenager, there were two things I couldn’t wait for technology to get around to giving us.
1) Holodecks where an awkward, distinctly geeky teenager could ‘make’ ‘friends’, and 2) Personal Access Display Devices (PADD), the portable touchscreen computer interface devices that Cap’n Picard and his space-tripping star sailors used to walk around the corridors of the Enterprise frantically tapping on. Flash forward from the early 90s to 2023, and while the moral flexibility of ‘what happens on Holodeck 2 stays on Holodeck 2’ remains beyond my awful reach, I have been able to dabble my digits in touchscreen tablet tech for a couple of decades now, which is cool, but very much the runner-up’s prize.
With Microsoft very much leading the charge back in 2001, the utterly unresponsive nature of the original efforts was undeniably disappointing. But the intervening years saw the touchscreen constantly evolve to the point that performance today utterly outclasses TNG’s vision of how tablet tech in the 24th century would both look and function. So, yeah, in your face, Sci-Fi; and, yes, I am still bitter about the lack of Holodecks.
Of course, one of the undoubted innovators in the tablet sphere, is the Android OS-favouring Samsung – a company that never fails to dazzle when it doles out fresh additions to its award-winning Galaxy Tab array. But, with so many options available, just which G-Tab is right for you, your lifestyle and – vitally these days – the coin content of your pocket? Well, that was kind of the question put to me by the Editor of this educationally enlightening daily digest herself. And my awkward, distinctly geeky middle-aged man answer? Pritchard to helm, lay in a course for the Galaxy galaxy…
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Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra
Best for: Those who demand it all… and more
So, money is no object for you, you have the unrelenting demands of a tablet tyrant and, frankly, you refuse to settle for anything less than the very hottest spec that Samsung can muster. Well then, welcome to the flagship of the fleet, the awe-inspiring Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra.
Is it big? You bet your full fingers it is. Indeed, measuring a whopping 14.6-inches on the vertical, the S8 Ultra is the largest tablet on the market by, ooh, at least 1.3-inches (Lenovo Chromebook Duet 5 at 13.3-inches), so you might think the whole thing a bit unwieldy. Well, it’s probably not the most convenient tab to tarry around town, but weighing just 726g and just 5.5mm thick, its actually remarkably comfortable to handle… and that enormous, razor-sharp Super AMOLED display, complete with 16-million colours on offer and a120Hz refresh rate, makes work, eye-based entertainment rest and next-gen gaming an absolute experience on another level.
So, messing about in no way whatsoever, at the heart of the S8 Ultra sits an octo-core chipset consisting of 1x 2.90GHz Cortex-X2, 3x 2.40GHz Cortex-A710 and 4x 1.70GHz Cortex-A510, meaning processing power is, frankly, unconfined. Chuck in an Adreno 730 GPU and the S8 Ultra’s 120Hz refresh rate, and graphics and video are so smooth I would not leave them unattended around your partner.
It’s 4K video recording capable, features three mic noise reduction technology to make every tedious Teams call as crystal clear as possible, and with 4x speakers for impressive AKG-tuned stereo sound, the Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra also comes with Sammy’s super-slick S Pen to let you write, draw and doodle on-screen to your distracted heart’s content. The ultra-low latency make it a joy to use.
With Wi-Fi served-up in all flavours, Bluetooth 5.2 keeping your other wireless hook-ups always available, and built-in sensors galore ensuring your experience is constantly enhanced to the nth degree, the Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra is an exceptional Android tablet that earns its ‘Ultra’ moniker in absolutely no uncertain terms.
Tech Spec
Screen size: 14.6-inch
Resolution: 1848 x 2960-pixels
CPU: Octo-core Snapdragon 8 Gen 1
Storage: 128GB/256GB/512GB
microSD slot: Yes
Camera: rear 13MP (wide) + 6MP (ultrawide) and front 12MP + 12MP
S Pen: Yes
Battery: 11,200mAh
Dimensions: 326.4 x 208.6 x 5.5mm
Weight: 726g
Buy now £1200.00, Samsung
Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 FE
Best for: Bagging a mid-range marvel
If the, perhaps, overly epic 14.6-inch screen size combined with the also somewhat sizeable price tag of the S8 Ultra is a bit much for you, yet you still want all the top tablet features that Samsung’s Galaxy range bring to the portable party, then let me point you in the svelte direction of the Tab S7 FE.
Reducing screen size to a – still ample – 12.4-inches and weight to a piffling 610g, S7 FE is certainly not as hard to handle as the S8 Ultra out in the, but despite its lightweighting and slender 6.3mm thick form-factor, it’s still a veritable Tyson Fury of the tablet world.
Key here is that it comes in two formats: a Wi-Fi and a 5G model, so although both run on insanely accelerated octo-core CPUs, the actual specs and respective speeds vary, so you’re going to want to consider your most likely day-to-day requirements before deciding between the two.
Display-wise, the Galaxy Tab S7 FE offers up a nicely vibrant and detailed 2560 x 1600-pixel count, and comes with an 8MP camera round the back (also with AF) and a 5MP up-front, both of which are capable of shooting video in 1080p at 30fps, so the TikTokers of this world can rest easy. An Adreno GPU (again, varying as per model) keeps all that video material flowing like a silk river on playback, and stereo speakers tuned by the audio experts at AKG give proper punch to sound.
With expandable storage on-hand via a microSD slot and an included S Pen to give you the full Samsung Galaxy Tab scribbling and scribing experience, the FE in the S7’s name stands for ‘Fan Edition’ (no, not ‘iron’, as may disappoint some of our chemistry concerned readers) and, frankly, even though it’s not a football team or hit-parade-topping pop combo, it’s easy to see early on why it has such a fanatical following among Android-loving oddballs such as myself.
Tech Spec
Screen size: 12.4-inches
Resolution: 2560 x 1600-pixels
CPU: Octo-core (spec varies as to model)
Storage: 64GB/128GB
microSD slot: Yes
Camera: rear 8MP and front 5MP
S Pen: Yes
Battery: 10,090mAh
Dimensions: 185 x 284.8 x 6.3mm
Weight: 610g
Buy now £579.00, Samsung
Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 Lite
Best for: Everyday advanced demands
Less than £400 for a cutting-edge Samsung Tab with an octo-core CPU and a Mali-G72 MP3 GPU making up the engine room, while a pleasingly proportioned 10.4-inch with a resolution of 1200 x 2000-pixels dazzles up-front? Yep, that’s the stunning relatively affordable reality of the Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 Lite. Of course, I say ‘relatively affordable’ in deference to the not-at-all-Brexit-driven collapse of salad-based comestible availability meaning that the going rate for a single cucumber is now equivalent to the monthly rent of a one-bedroom flat in, say, Camden, because for a Samsung it’s actually eminently affordable.
Let’s break that down. Turning to the aforementioned octo-core CPU, what we have here is a heady mix of 4x 2.3GHz Cortex-A73 and 4x 1.7GHz Cortex-A53 processors keeping all things going plentifully apace, which is important when you’re recording and editing your latest social media-intended magnus opus in Full HD (1920 x 1080-pixels) and at 30fps, streaming endless HD stuff, or simply surfing, sketching with the included S Pen, or even slaving away over the optional keyboard/cover composing the next great Netflix series.
Featuring stereo speakers engineered by AKG and blessed with Dolby Atmos, sound in general and on cinematic content in particular is superb, making the Galaxy Tab S6 Lite an ideal all-rounder for those who like to work hard and play even harder after the hump-busting day is done.
Tech Spec
Screen size: 10.4-inches
Resolution: 1200 x 2000-pixels
CPU: Octo-core
Storage: 64GB/128GB
microSD slot: Yes
Cameras: rear 8MP and front 5MP
S Pen: Yes
Battery: 7040mAh
Dimensions: 244.5 x 159.5 x 5.7mm
Weight: 476g
Buy now £379.00, Samsung
Samsung Galaxy Tab Active3
Best for: Tackling the tough stuff
Sometimes, you don’t need a tablet with dimensions descended from old fashioned CRT TVs. Sometimes, you don’t need ridiculous refresh rates for graphics and super-sharp video. Sometimes, all you actually need is a solid workhorse of a Samsung tablet, built to handle pretty much anything the world can throw at it. This is that tablet.
Offering a very sensible 8-inches of screen that can be touch-operated even while wearing work gloves, make no mistake, IP68 waterproof rating and certified to the latest military standard, not only does the Active3 laugh at water and dust, it can also bounce back with all the tenacity of a Terminator even after being dropped from heights of up to 1.5m.
So, it’s a tank of a tablet, that much we’ve determined, but that doesn’t mean it’s all brawn and no brains. Far from it, in fact, there’s a 4x 2.7GHz Mongoose M3 and 4x 1.7GHz Cortex-A55 octo-core CPU and Mali-G72 MP18 GPU taking care of the business-end of things, internal storage that’s expandable from 64GB up to 1TB via microSD, a 13MP wide angle rear snapper with Auto Focus, complemented by a 5MP selfie option round the front, the ability to shoot video in 4K@30fps or 1080p@30fps, stereo speakers, spot-on satellite positioning, and a mini SIM slot to keep you on the comms nom matter how far off the Wi-Fi grid you wander.
What’s more, clearly targeting those either on the road a lot of stuck working way out in the wilds, the Samsung Galaxy Tab Active3 features a battery that can be replaced with a fully charged spare when necessary or removed completely to cool if an alternative power source (mains/generator/car battery) is available instead.
A tenacious tablet designed to take on the outside world and beat it, come the inevitable mushroom-led apocalypse as depicted in The Last of Us, the Active3 is the tab tool you’ll want by your survivalist side.
Tech Spec
Screen size: 8-inches
Resolution: 1920 x 1200-pixels
CPU: Octo-core
Storage: 64GB/128GB
microSD slot: Yes
Camera: rear 13MP and front 5MP
S Pen: Yes
Battery: 5050mAh
Dimensions: 126.8 x 213.8 x 9.9mm
Weight: 429g
Buy now £479.00, Samsung
Samsung Galaxy Tab A7 Lite
Best for: Entry level excellence
Stripping things back to absolute Galaxy basics, £119 may sound like a ludicrously low price when it comes to getting your sticky paws on a Samsung tablet; and it is… for normally it’s £149 and just happens to be reduced right now.
Okay, I know, I know, calm down! Yes, £150 also amounts to absolute peanuts in the sale scale of smart devices, and while you may expect to find such a price attached to a device destined to burn your house down from an unknown brand, this is Samsung. So, what’s the flipping story? My guess? Witchcraft. My research? This…
While more than a handful at 8.7-iunxches in screen size, the A7 Lite weighs just 366g – a trick achieved by shedding some of the more, less essential, tech of its pricier siblings. For a start, screen resolution is now down to – a still respectable – 1340 x 800-pixels, the octo-core CPU slimmed down to a marriage of 4x 2.3GHz Cortex-A53 and 4x 1.8GHz Cortex-A53 chips, and cameras rear and front reduced to 8MP and 2MP respectively. However, it still performs, recording 1080p video at 30fps, playing films and streaming content without buffering to that nicely bright and certainly big-enough display, while pairing it up with stereo speakers design in landscape orientation to up the audio ante.
Is there an S Pen? No, there’s no S Pen, for this thing costs £119, but for everyday tablet enjoyment – and, of course, something you won’t mind leaving in the hands of the kids – the Samsung Galaxy Tab A7 Lite, for AV entertainment and games, is worth every penny and much, much more.
Tech Spec
Screen size: 8.7-inches
Resolution: 1340 x 800-pixels
CPU: Octo-core
Storage: 32GB
microSD slot: Yes
Camera: rear 8MP and front 2MP
S Pen: No
Battery: 5100mAh
Dimensions: 212.5 x 124.7 x 8mm
Weight: 366g
Buy now £119.00, Samsung
