Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0 Review
by Anand Lal Shimpi on April 17, 2013 11:29 PM EST- Posted in
- Tablets
- Samsung
- Android
- Mobile
- Galaxy Note 8.0
Final Words
Samsung’s strategy in the mobile market appears to be success through catering to a sea of niches. I’ve also heard it referred to as having a device at every inch. In this sense, Samsung is the antitheses of Apple where simplicity in product lines is paramount. I’d argue that the right approach is likely a mix of the two. Samsung may have too many products, while Apple may offer too few.
The good news is, if you’re very specific in your needs there’s likely a product made almost perfectly for you.
When the Galaxy Note 10.1 launched, I felt the tablet had potential but was largely held back by unpolished/unfinished software. Since its launch, Samsung addressed many of initial complaints about things like multi-window app compatibility and window focus lag. The result is a far more usable platform that still doesn’t feel native, but doesn’t feel hacked together either. The Galaxy Note 8.0 benefits from showing up after the software updates, meaning it looks a lot more polished out of the gate.
Indeed it’s tough to find fault with the Galaxy Note 8.0. It’s a good size, has a good display and offers a little more than your standard Android tablet. The inclusion of the S Pen, IR blaster and multi-window features aren’t enough to justify the price premium over a Nexus 7 for me personally, but I can see how they would convince others. If you want a one-handed note taking assistant on the go and/or constantly find yourself wishing you could read email and browse the web on your tablet, then the Galaxy Note 8.0 is without equal in the Android or iOS space. The S Pen experience on the Note isn’t perfect, it’s definitely not as natural as writing on real paper with an actual pen, but at this price point it’s surprisingly decent. You can definitely get a better pen experience on Microsoft’s Surface Pro, particularly when it comes to drawing, but at more than 2x the cost.
Where the Note 8.0 falls short is primarily in its battery life. In general you’re looking at anywhere from 10 - 40% less time on a single charge compared to the iPad mini, despite having a slightly larger battery. Power efficiency is just as important as outright performance, and this is something the folks at Samsung’s SoC division have yet to master. It’s not immediately obvious how much of a role the panel plays in all of this, but looking at our GLBenchmark battery life results it’s clear that the SoC has a significant impact.
Is the Galaxy Note 8.0 worth buying? If you're upgrading from an older Galaxy Tab 8.9, the Note 8.0 is worlds better in pretty much every way. It's faster, lasts longer on a single charge, can do more and ships with a newer version of Android. Ultimately what will sell you on this tablet vs. the Nexus 7 (or iPad mini if you’re cross shopping) is the S Pen and Samsung’s Android customizations. If you’re sold on the former, then the Note 8.0 is a good fit for you. If you're not however, then depending on your needs the Nexus 7 (or waiting for this year's model), iPad mini and Nexus 10 are all great alternatives.
What could turn the Note 8.0 from a solid niche contender to a formidable competitor is rather simple. With a higher resolution display (and accompanying tweaks to make TouchWiz a little more subtle in its screen presence) and a faster SoC, the Note 8.0 could really play up the productivity angle. Without a doubt the next generation of this platform will incorporate some sort of Cortex A15 based SoC, which should make it even better for multitasking. Couple that with an awesome panel and tightened up UI and Samsung could have a broad winner on its hands.
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herts_joatmon - Friday, April 19, 2013 - link
You could always root this, under clock and undervolt the CPU thus giving you Nexus 7 level performance and improved battery life. I also assume that the Wacom digitizer tech used in this uses additional electricity meaning that if it was applied to the Nexus 7, you would probably get reduced battery life anywayHisDivineOrder - Thursday, April 18, 2013 - link
The reason Samsung is doing a sea of niches is because they've got the advantage of a huge manufacturing infrastructure they can rely on to do it and do it well. They intend to drown Apple in an ocean of different products at different sizes and specs, bombarding the consumer in so much product there's little chance they haven't made something better for you in an Android variety.Poor Apple. They aren't destined to win this one. They're going to be shoved back into that niche box by the end and a big part of the reason will be Samsung, their ex-partner they burned with lawsuits and price bickering. Another large part of the reason will be the fact that Apple seems to be tapped out on new ideas or innovative styling.
Now everything's just, "Thinner, silverer, black/white-er." They're like fans of a dead man who can't appreciate anything new because of a blind devotion to the rapidly decaying chic of the dearly departed.
nerd1 - Friday, April 19, 2013 - link
Samsung has some advantage over other OEMs, but not over apple. BOM of apple products are always much cheaper, and they are enjoying double the margin of others.Mercadian - Thursday, April 18, 2013 - link
Hi Anand,Why have you stopped benchmarking mobile SoCs with Epic Citadel? I remember you did a great job with iPhone 4S review.
Jumangi - Thursday, April 18, 2013 - link
I don't know why Samsung thinks this thing is worth $400. I'm not the biggest Apple fan but at that price I would just buy the iPad.herts_joatmon - Friday, April 19, 2013 - link
Look up the price of a wacom tablet. then add that price to the iPad to get a comparable price. This is a modern tablet and graphics tablet in one The ipad is just a modern tablet.nerd1 - Friday, April 19, 2013 - link
iPad users are actually paying $100 to get JOT stylus to get a half-baked pressure sensitivity...SuperSuperChicken - Friday, April 19, 2013 - link
"If you’re the type of person to value, polish and take care of the things you own, the Note 8’s construction doesn’t convey luxury. If you want something you’re not going to feel bad about tossing about like you would your keys or a bag, maybe a plastic tablet is less of a problem."I see this a lot on Anandtech lately, with the phone reviews and now this. The insinuation is that if I don't want a metal-cased device, then automatically I'm one that doesn't care about the condition of my devices or how they look, which is simply not true.
Now, I'm no fan of glossy plastic, I would have hoped the manufacturers would have moved away from it by now. However, I am a fan of plastic and prefer it over metal devices such as the iPad due to the fact that in the real world, I can actually hold onto a plastic device whereas the metal ones tend to slip through my fingers. I think the Nexus 7 is a nice looking device, but even I'm not foolish enough to argue that it looks better than the iPad. However, when I have to encase the iPad in a cover in order to be able to hold it, it seems the point is moot.
I appreciate quality materials, however, in my case it doesn't take precedence over practicality. With plastic bodies, I can run my phone and tablet without cases, keeping them slim as designed - which is something metal bodied devices wouldn't be able to offer. I just ask that you keep that perspective in mind and don't just assume that everyone who has a plastic-bodied device doesn't care how it looks and is want to mistreat them.
nerd1 - Friday, April 19, 2013 - link
I see lots of plastic cases for metal phones - I wonder why nobody makes a metal case for plastic phones.SuperSuperChicken - Friday, April 19, 2013 - link
Companies do, actually (search for "metal case galaxy s3"). I'm not sure how much I'd trust them not to degrade reception though.