I've had this tablet for over 6 months now, I can safely say it's been one of the better purchases I've ever made. Other reviewers have gone into detail about the pros and cons, so I'll just keep it short and sweet.
PROS:
Screen - Probably the best display available on any tablet at the moment. It's absolutely outstanding. 10/10
Form Factor - 8.4 inches is perfect for me, right inbetween the too-close-to-phablet 7 inch Nexus and too-big-to-hold-for-long-periods-of-time 10.1 inch tablet I used to own. It's also incredibly thin and light, perfect for portability. The back casing isn't "premium" feeling but I find it to be very comfortable and makes it easy to hold. 9/10
Battery - Battery life is excellent for watching videos. Video loop tests confirm this device has one of the longest lasting batteries available... when watching videos. However I found real world use in other instances to be just okay. Browsing the web, reading emails, and using Google Hangouts tends to drain the battery quicker than I would prefer, but it's certainly not awful. I'd say battery for watching Netflix is 9/10, battery for browsing the web is 7/10, so I'll settle on a median 8/10
Performance - This thing can certainly fly, but Samsung insists on loading their devices up with crap. 3GB of RAM helps alleviate this, but every once in awhile you'll get a minor hiccup where the home screen has to "reboot" itself. I highly recommend using a different launcher for smoother home screen effects. All in all, this performs very well. 8/10
Miscellaneous - Fingerprint scanner works well, not sure why others seem to have issues. MicroSD port is always a plus. I'm a big, big fan of the dual screen multitasking and have heard this may one day become a stock Android feature. There aren't enough apps that are optimized for this feature however, so its basically limited to Chrome, Gmail, Hangouts, Evernote, and a few others. The IR blaster is an awesome feature, no longer need to invest in an expensive universal remote. 8/10
CONS:
Samsung Bloat - They desperately want you to use their own apps (i.e. Samsung Galaxy Store instead of Google Play Store). Please stop this, Samsung.
Samsung Design Flaws - This is found on every newer Sammy phone/tablet but I really dislike how they have dedicated buttons for home, back, and recent apps. If you use your tab in landscape mode to watch a video and hold it with your right hand, there is a good chance you might accidentally hit the dedicated back button that rests close to the edge where you would typically hold it. I also very much dislike how Samsung refuses to play along with the Android standard of having the back button on the far left and the recent apps on the far right. Occasionally I will mix this up with my phone, which has the normal Android layout.
OVERALL:
I really love this tablet and use it every day. The screen is the killer feature, but there is a lot to like about this guy. If you can get past a few of Samsung's poor choices about bloated software/apps, this is one of the best Android tablets available at the moment.
There is a newer model of this item:
Samsung Galaxy Tab S2 8"; 32 GB Wifi Tablet (Black) SM-T713NZKEXAR
$149.00
(2,053)
Only 1 left in stock - order soon.
$149.00
(2,053)
Only 1 left in stock - order soon.
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This Item  Samsung Galaxy Tab S 8.4-Inch Tablet (16 GB, Titanium Bronze) |  |  |  |  |  | |
| Price | Currently unavailable. | $199.99 | -10% $722.58 List: $799.99 | -26% $316.99 List: $429.99 | -22% $349.99 List: $449.99 | $940.65 |
| Delivery | — | Get it as soon as Thursday, May 2 | Get it as soon as Thursday, May 2 | Get it as soon as Thursday, May 2 | Get it as soon as Thursday, May 2 | Get it as soon as Monday, May 6 |
| Customer Ratings | ||||||
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| Sold By | — | Amazon.com | Amazon.com | wacky jacky | Amazon.com | Amazon.com |
| model name | Galaxy Tab S | Samsung Galaxy Tab A 8.0" | S9 | Tab S6 Lite Refresh | Tab S9 FE | Tab S7+ |
| display size | 8.4 inches | 8 inches | — | 10.4 inches | 10.9 inches | 12.4 inches |
| memory capacity | 16 GB | 64 GB | 128 GB | 128 GB | 6 GB | 128 GB |
| operating system | Android 4.4 KitKat | Android | Android 13 | Android | Android | Android 10 |
| hardware interface | usb2.0 | usb2.0 | usb | bluetooth | usb | 802 11 acbgn, bluetooth 5, usb3.1 c |
| wireless tech | WiFi;Bluetooth;GPS | Wi-Fi, Bluetooth | Wi-Fi | Bluetooth, Wi-Fi | Wi-Fi | Wi-Fi, Bluetooth |
Reviews with images
Disappointing in many ways. Resold it after a few weeks.
I spent weeks researching to find the best tablet, and this was the unit I selected. I ended up reselling it a few weeks later. Here's why.I bought this tablet for its display. It has the among the highest pixel densities of any tablet and possesses the AMOLED display technology, which should deliver the highest contrast of any display on the market. The display certainly does have stunning blacks. However, there's something strange about the display. It may be great for videos and gaming, but that is where the pleasure ends. The colors are a little *too* vibrant, and when you turn off the enhanced color feature, the display still appears somewhat glaring and the colors seem too blue or green or something.The display has a reading mode, but it didn't make the display more pleasant to read. I primarily wanted this unit as an e-reader. If you are looking for an e-reader, stay far, far away from this device. While the stated viewing angle for the Galaxy Tab S is supposed to be amazing, it's not. Even the slightest tilt of the display will turn it slightly blue or slightly green. It's so sensitive to this that as you look directly at the display, the far top will be slightly hued one way, and the far bottom will be hued the other way. This is part of the reason reading this tablet is highly uncomfortable, as the colors shift as your eyes move to the bottom of a page. Further, the text area seems to have a strange haze around it that makes it difficult to concentrate on the text. Even the general text area appears to have some bizarre hazy beige box surrounding it. There is simply something harsh and offputting about this display that makes reading it an absolute displeasure.Further, the touch-buttons at the bottom of the frame make the device nearly impossible to hold without accidentally bumping them with a finger or even with the palm of your hand as your skin folds over the edge. To use the device, you have to hold it very gingerly as if it were incredibly delicate. The slightest slip and you've exited your app or brought up the multitasking window or gone "back" in your app. Long-term holding of the device is tiresome.You may think I'm overly sensitive, which I probably am, but I handed an iPad Mini (1st gen) and the Galaxy Tab S 8.4 to several friends and family members with the same pages of text. Everyone agreed that the iPad was a world better to read than the Galaxy Tab, even with its far inferior 1024x768 resolution and LCD panel.Lastly, this thing has terrible battery management. I had the iPad Mini and this Galaxy Tab sitting on my nightstand. I used the iPad for reading and the Galaxy Tab sat unused. I had to recharge the Galaxy Tab twice in the span of time it took the iPad to reach 50%. Even with basic web activities, the battery drops at an alarming rate.Also, watch out for plastic case cracks. Mine was developing cracks near the headphone jack. The frame also creaks subtly while you hold it and adjust your grip.If you buy one, please keep the following things in mind:* You cannot resell it on Amazon without a verified account, authorized by Samsung themselves to sell it.* Demand for these devices is low on Craigslist. After a month of posting below market average, I had only one reply.* Returning to the seller involves restocking fees and return shipment fees.* You're probably going to lose 20-25% of your purchase price if you don't like the device, as I did when I finally sold it.On the positive side, the device is LIGHTNING fast. I've never used a tablet this fast. It has reasonably good sound with stereo speakers, and is capable of running Android 6. Video is very vivid and crisp. It is VERY lightweight and I like the aspect ratio of the screen.
