Samsung’s high-end Galaxy S smartphones come in threes these days, and it looks like 2021 is the year when the flagship tablet lineup will mirror that logic. According to a huge leak out of Korea, we should expect three Galaxy Tab S8 devices this year – probably launching at some point during the summer.
The vanilla Galaxy Tab S8 has an 11″ 120Hz LCD touchscreen, a dual rear camera system (13 MP + 5 MP), an 8 MP front-facing camera, a side-mounted fingerprint reader, 8GB of RAM with 128 or 256GB of storage, quad speakers, an S Pen, and an 8,000 mAh battery with 45W charging. It’s 6.3mm thin and weighs 502g.
The Galaxy Tab S8+ ups the ante with a 12.4″ 120 Hz OLED touchscreen with an under-display fingerprint sensor and a 10,090 mAh battery, while otherwise having the same specs as its smaller sibling. This model weighs 575g and is 5.7mm thick.
Finally, the monster – we don’t know the exact name that will be used, but we’re guessing Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra. This one will have a 14.6″ 120 Hz OLED screen, dual front-facing cameras (8 MP wide + 5 MP ultrawide), an under-display fingerprint sensor, and a 12,000 mAh battery.
It’s 5.5mm thin and weighs 650g, and will be available in two versions – one with 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage, the other with 12GB of RAM and 512GB of storage. The rest remains the same as the S8+. The Ultra is said to sport a 92% screen-to-body ratio, and the slimmest bezels ever seen on a tablet.
Okay, now get ready for the prices. These are all intended for the Korean market, and there’s no telling exactly how they will translate into dollars or euros for other markets (remember that when you read what’s coming). We’ve done the direct exchange calculations based on the current rates, but there will definitely be some variation globally on prices.
The vanilla Tab S8 starts at KRW 829,000 ($743 or €609) with Wi-Fi, KRW 929,000 ($833 or €683) with 4G, and KRW 1,029,000 ($923 or €757) with 5G. The Tab S8+ starts at KRW 1,149,00 ($1,030 or €845) with Wi-Fi, KRW 1,249,000 ($1,120 or €919) with 4G, and KRW 1,349,000 ($1,210 or €992) with 5G. The Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra starts at KRW 1,469,000 ($1,317 or €1,080) with Wi-Fi, KRW 1,569,000 ($1,407 or €1,154) with 4G, and KRW 1,669,000 ($1,497 or €1,228) with 5G.
All of these will have an optional keyboard accessory, priced at KRW 198,000 ($177 or €145) for the S8, KRW 220,000 ($197 or €161) for the S8+, and KRW 320,000 ($287 or €235) for the S8 Ultra, respectively. The Ultra’s keyboard cover will allow for a bunch of different use cases – Laptop Mode, Tablet Mode, Drawing Mode, and Viewing Mode.
Note that the chipsets powering these tablets haven’t been leaked, all we know is to expect the “fastest next-gen AP”, which could really mean anything. These devices are certainly pushing the limits of high-end, so hopefully the SoC won’t disappoint (especially with those prices in play).