Apple iPad 10 vs. Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 Comparison

Can the Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 beat the Apple iPad 10? In this tablet comparison we take a look at all important details.

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With the iPad 10, Apple has released a rather controversial tablet. Although the price has risen to a hefty 449 Dollars and 579 Euros, it has many annoying weaknesses. Due to its high price, the simple iPad plays in the same league as premium Android tablets now. Especially when you include the Apple Pencil, it now competes directly against the Samsung Galaxy Tab S8. Does the iPad still have a chance?

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When it comes to pure performance, it certainly has a chance. While the iPad 10 has an Apple A14 processor with 4GB RAM and 64GB or 256GB storage, the Galaxy Tab S8 has a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chipset with 8GB RAM and 128GB or 256GB storage. You can get both with 5G.

Apple is ahead in both the Geekbench 5 benchmark and the 3D Mark Wild Life Extreme test. Apple's own chips are currently much more powerful than what Android has to offer. But you can see that it's not a huge difference. In fact, you can play PUBG Mobile with UltraHD graphics on both tablets, and Apex Legend also runs well on both with exactly the same graphics settings.

There are differences in my video render test, however. The iPad 10 is much faster when it has to render a 9-minute 4K video in Adobe Premiere Rush. Very impressive.

What's great about Samsung is that the cheapest version has twice as much storage at 128GB. That's quite important, because if you want to install a lot of games or edit a lot of photos and videos, 64GB is pretty low. And Samsung also lets you expand the storage using a MicroSD card. Apple doesn't support one.

Read: The Best Samsung Tablets Tested

The iPad 10 has a 10.9-inch LCD with a resolution of 2360 x 1640 pixels. At 500 nits, it's very bright, colors look great and the contrast is also good. However, it's quite unfortunate that the display is not laminated despite the high price. An air gap is visible between the IPS panel and the touchscreen. As a result, it sometimes looks as if you don't touch the display directly.

I noticed another weakness in my review. If you scroll in landscape orientation, you can see a jelly effect or rolling shutter effect. One half of the screen updates faster than the other. We already know this from other 60Hz tablets like the iPad Mini and Galaxy Tab S5e.

The Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 does not have these weaknesses. Here, the display is 11 inches, it's also high resolution at 2560 x 1600 pixels, colors look great, and it's similarly bright. The screen is fully laminated and supports not only 60Hz, but also 120Hz. This makes animations look smoother and there is no jelly effect.

So, when it comes to the display, Samsung has the edge.

And that's the case regarding their pens. The Galaxy Tab S8 is usually a bit more expensive, but the S Pen is already included. You do not have to buy it separately. The tablet is fantastic for handwritten notes and drawings. I like the fact that you never have to charge the S Pen and that we get pretty good software for pens with Samsung Notes and the Air Commands.

The S Pen has a battery, but it's only needed for a few gestures. You can use it as a remote control for the camera app or PowerPoint. For this, the pen is charged inductively on the tablet's back.

The iPad 10 also supports a pen, but not the Apple Pencil 2, only the first-generation Pencil. It's charged and connected using a Lightning connector. Since the iPad 10 does not have one anymore, you not only have to buy the stylus extra, but also an adapter. Without this adapter, you cannot connect the stylus to the iPad. That's ridiculous.

Well, apart from this adapter, the Apple Pencil works great. Just like with the S Pen, you can draw and write notes very well. I think Apple's software is even a little bit better, mostly because the Scribble feature works so well. However, the non-laminated screen plays a role here. Because of this air gap, I think that you can draw a bit more precisely on the Samsung. Because of this and the adapter, I think the S Pen is better in this regard.

Read: The Best Apple iPads In A Comparison

Both tablets have a very high-quality build and are completely made of aluminum. The basic design is very similar. At 6.3mm, the Galaxy Tab S8 is slightly thinner than the 7mm iPad 10, but weighs 36g more.

A headphone jack is missing on both, but Samsung has a MicroSD card reader. Both have a USB C port, but while the iPad is only as fast as USB 2.0, we get USB C 3.2 Gen 1 on the Samsung. The power buttons have a fingerprint reader built in each, which works well on both.

Both tablets have four speaker slots, but the sound is a noticeably louder on Samsung.

The ultra-wide-angle webcams each have a resolution of 12 megapixels. That's also the resolution of the main camera on the iPad, while the S8 offers 13 megapixels. There we also get a 6-megapixel ultra-wide-angle camera and an LED flash. Both are missing on the iPad 10.

The optional keyboard covers are almost identical. For the iPad 10, Apple offers a Magic Keyboard Folio that looks like Apple copied the design almost 1:1 from the Book Cover Folio Keyboard for the Galaxy Tab S8. However, I think I first saw this design from Lenovo.

Well, no matter who copied from whom. The keyboards are almost identical. Both are nice and big, so you can write on them quite comfortably, and the touchpads work well too. In the end, Samsung wins here because the keyboard is cheaper for and you can fold out the folding stand much further.

Read: The Best Tablets With Keyboards You Can Buy

In return, I think that Apple is slightly ahead in terms of software. The iPad 10 runs iPadOS 16 and I think it's great that there are more apps that are being developed specifically for tablets. These include Adobe Photoshop and LumaFusion, for instance.

I used to think Android was much better. But Apple has improved a lot within the last couple of years and supports almost everything we used to get only on Android now. It's just a shame that the iPad 10 doesn't support the new Stage Manager.

With the Galaxy Tab S8, we also do get really good software. My version currently runs Android 13 with the new Taskbar. I like that Samsung is very good with updates, better than other Android brands.

With Samsung DeX, the S8 definitely has a unique selling point since the iPad 10 does not support the Stage Manager. DeX is a pretty nice desktop mode that enables fast and surprisingly good multitasking especially when using a keyboard and mouse.

In my battery test, the S8 lasts a bit longer at 7.5 hours than the iPad 10 at 5.5 hours. For that, I always loop a YouTube HD video at maximum brightness.

So, is the Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 better than the iPad 10? That depends on what exactly you’re looking for, of course. But I think for most, yes, the S8 is a bit better.

Apple's processor performance is slightly better, and it also has a few advantages in terms of software. However, the Galaxy Tab S8 has a better display, a much less complicated pen, a cheaper but equally good keyboard, and a longer battery life. The entry-level model offers more storage, there is a MicroSD card slot, and the speakers are louder.

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Pat

December 17, 2022 at 12:34 pm

always great reviews.Would ypu be able to add what solution is used to dim the display?Some use PWM but then only below a certain brightness level AND some use low frequency like 200hz of very high 62000.No pwm is best to avoid any eyestrain or headaches, higher frequency too and the lower the brightness level when it is used.

pat

May 14, 2023 at 12:25 pm

and as usual no reply

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