Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra hands-on: a laptop replacement and iPad Pro rival that is unwieldy as a tablet, the screen has a notch, and S-Pen is responsive
The high-end Tab S8 Ultra will join the Tab S8 and Tab S8+. — Alerts — Samsung's new flagship Galaxy Tab S8 tablets have arrived …
Context & Ripple Effects
Samsung positioned the Tab S8 Ultra as the top end of a three-model tablet range, with the launch coverage specifying a 14.6-inch 120Hz display and $1,100 price. The hands-on identifies the tradeoff in that positioning: it aims at laptop-like work but is physically awkward in tablet use.
The product line did not treat the Ultra format as a one-off: Samsung's later Tab S9 Ultra refresh retained a similar design alongside smaller S9 models. That continuity makes the S8 Ultra an early test of a deliberately oversized premium-tablet tier.
First-order effects
- Samsung gains a conspicuous iPad Pro alternative at the high end, while buyers must weigh the Ultra's responsive S-Pen and laptop-replacement pitch against its unwieldiness as a handheld tablet.
- The smaller Tab S8 and Tab S8+ give Samsung buyers within its own range a more conventional-size option, rather than making the 14.6-inch model the only flagship choice.
Second-order effects
- The $1,100 Tab S8 Ultra launch raises the bar for premium Android tablets to differentiate on screen size and pen input, not just processor specifications.
- For iPad Pro shoppers, Samsung's Ultra adds a large-screen Android option, but the hands-on's portability criticism keeps conventional tablet ergonomics central to the comparison.
Third-order effects
- Samsung's continuation of the Ultra design in the Tab S9 family indicates a durable split in premium tablets: smaller devices serve tablet-first use, while oversized models target laptop-substitution workloads.
- If this segmentation persists, premium tablet competition will be defined less by a single all-purpose form factor and more by explicit tradeoffs between portable touch use and large-screen productivity.
The trend: Premium tablets are separating into portable tablet-first models and oversized, pen-equipped devices designed to compete for laptop-style work.