Samsung Galaxy Tab S Review (10.5 & 8.4-inch)
by Anand Lal Shimpi on June 24, 2014 9:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Tablets
- Samsung
- Mobile
- Galaxy Tab S
Battery Life
Both Galaxy Tab Ses feature somewhat small batteries, a downside to pursuing a very thin chassis. The 10.5-inch model gets a 30Wh battery compared to 32.4Wh in the iPad Air, while the 8.4-inch model only has an 18.6Wh battery compared to 23.8Wh for the iPad mini with Retina Display.
For our web browsing workload, the battery size and power requirements of displaying mostly white web pages on a high resolution AMOLED display result in substandard battery life. Both devices deliver around 8 hours on a single charge, which isn’t bad in a vacuum - it’s just a regression compared to the Galaxy Tab Pro and far behind the other competition.
The story changes dramatically however once we look at video playback battery life:
Our video playback test is perfect for an AMOLED display as the final Harry Potter movie ends up having a lot of dark scenes in it. With only a small percentage of the display showing white, display power is reduced substantially, resulting in the best video playback battery life of any tablet we’ve ever tested. Even the tiny 8.4-inch Galaxy Tab S can last over 15 hours on a single charge.
Charge time isn’t particularly fast on any of the devices, but the 10.5-inch model in particular takes a while to make it to a full charge. The 10.5 will reach a 90% charge in just under 4 hours, but to make it to 97% takes another hour and the last 3% takes another 42 minutes on top of that. Usable charge time is competitive, but if you’re obsessive about always charging to 100% the 10.5-inch model does take a while to get there.
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darwinosx - Friday, June 27, 2014 - link
More derivative cheap junk from Samsung. Ugh. I can't stand their products.bigboxes - Saturday, June 28, 2014 - link
Based on your screen name you couldn't be biased. Nah. You can keep your overpriced, underspeced Apple crap. I don't think you read the review at all. You saw Android and Samsung and copy/pasted your reply. You fanbois get old. Grow up.zodiacfml - Friday, June 27, 2014 - link
sigh, if only I have money to burn for that great screen.dusk007 - Sunday, June 29, 2014 - link
The display analysis here makes no mention as to what AMOLED Photo is supposed to be. It is calibrated to AdobeRGB but the article makes it out like it is only some other kind of oversaturated eye catching AMOLED setting.Anybody that wants to read more about the main interesting feature of this tablet which sets it apart should check out the display review on displaymate.com .
http://www.displaymate.com/OLED_Tablet_ShootOut_1....
It is an astounding display and especially stands out in metrics that the human sight apparatus values far more than color accuracy. Color accuracy is useful for content producers but also the one thing that our brain automatically corrects for and one of the last that a normal unbiased person would pick as the primary quality indication (unless it is really significantly off). Still it is one of the most accurate displays out there. I feel Anandtech is a bit too obsessed with color accuracy. It isn't unimportant but anybody coming from the eye related medical profession would say there is more to a display and its subjective impact.
marytattoo - Sunday, June 29, 2014 - link
i'd hoped to see a review of this tablet vs the 8.4 pro. besides the screen, i'm not sure of the difference. is it huge?DiHydro - Wednesday, September 3, 2014 - link
"Both tablets feature IR transceivers and stereo speakers." Are these really transceivers, or are they just transmitters? If they are transceivers, that opens up a lot more possibility using IR to learn remote codes, and to talk to other tablets and IrDA devices.jh20001 - Tuesday, November 25, 2014 - link
I have been looking for a tablet to kick around the house that not only let me read all my favorite books on my downtime, but also controlled things around the house like light switches and the TVs. I have been in this home automation kick as of late, so that of course was a must have feature. I was reading around and almost bought a Nexus until I read in one mag that the new Samsung destroyed it in performance. After reading a few more online (ie, here on anandtech, or http://pocinc.net/blog/product-reviews/review-sams... or the one at Cnet), I wound up getting sold on it. Let me tell you…..yeah baby! This thing rocks my world. I even take it to work with me when possible. It’s like my new best friend }:) Also good with games and Netflix....oh I needs me my Netflix!Bpositive - Sunday, March 22, 2015 - link
I just bought the tab s 10.5 and generally very happy with it, however I am quite disappointed that the screen shows quite a lot chromatic aberration (color fringing). Have others the same problem or do I have a faulty unit?