When our Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra arrived, we thought it was a mistake. At almost 2kg, the box was more than double the weight advertised for the tablet (726g).
Thankfully, when we opened the box, we did not find tiles. Instead, we got the two-piece keyboard and back cover, the tablet itself, compulsory documents, a length of cable for charging, and the S Pen.
The back cover, keyboard, and S Pen attach to the tablet magnetically. Once assembled, the scales told us that the whole package weighs almost 1.4kg.
The S Pen can be attached at the top of the tablet but will only charge if attached at the back.
The back cover has a flap further securing the S Pen and another flap that functions as a kickstand that is just firm enough to hold the display up.
The keyboard is unusable without the kickstand. It is spacious and has a generously sized touchpad. Despite its thickness, it is not enforced and can flex.
When fully closed, the premium paper-like texture on the covers feels nice and makes the tablet look like a large hardbound ledger book.
Physically, the Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra has three distinctive features. It has a Qualcomm SM8450 Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 processor, a 14.6in Super AMOLED display, and two rear cameras.
It shares the same processor as top of the line Android phones and the display has a 16:10 ratio, which is more common on a smartphone. And without the cover, it does look like a comically large smartphone.
However, the placement of its two 12MP front-facing cameras tells us that the tablet is meant to be used horizontally.
The Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra also has a 13MP main camera and a 6MP ultrawide secondary camera which are more practical for AR applications.
At 326.4mm long by 208.6mm tall and 5.5mm thick, the tablet’s unique proportions and size mean it can only be contained in a large bag.
Also, did you notice what’s missing in our list of things that come in the box? The RM5,899 Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra comes with everything except a 45w charger for its 11200mAh battery.
In the next couple of weeks, we will bring you a few writeups about and a review of the Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra.
