Samsung Galaxy Tab S 8.4 review: S-class coupe

Introduction

The freshly announced Samsung Galaxy Tab S 8.4 is the first tablet from Samsung to sport the highly-revered S moniker. Ultra-slim and sexy, the device has the internals too to merit the special letter. The eponymous bunch of handsets propelled Samsung to the top of the smartphone high-end, so seeing the S letter on the back of a tablet carries a great deal of expectation.

In case you haven't noticed, Samsung is on a mission to take over the tablet marketplace this year - starting as early as January, the Korean giant has been churning out tablets at blistering pace. However, the Galaxy Tab S 8.4 is not just another market entry by the manufacturer. Thanks to its gorgeous 8.4" Super AMOLED display with 2560 x 1600 pixels, sleek body, and powerful hardware, the newcomer has its eyes set on taking the compact tablet crown from the iPad mini 2.

Key features

• Optional Cat. 4 LTE connectivity
• 8.4" WQXGA Super AMOLED display with a resolution of 2560 x 1600 pixels
• Exynos Octa 5422 chipset; quad-core Cortex-A15 CPU @ quad-core Cortex-A7 CPU; Mali-T628 GPU
• Snapdragon 800, quad-core Krait 400 @ 2.3GHz; Adreno 330 GPU; 3GB RAM (LTE version)
• 3GB of RAM; 16/32GB of built-in memory; microSD card slot
• 8MP camera with LED flash; 1080p video recording; 2.1MP front-facing camera
• Built-in fingerprint sensor
• IR port with remote control functionality
• Built-in stereo speakers
• 4,900mAh battery
• Incredibly light and slim
• Android 4.4 KitKat with TouchWiz UI; split-screen multitasking
• A number of free premium content subscriptions out of the box

Main disadvantages

• The available color schemes might not fit all tastes
• No NFC
• Android still lags behind iOS in terms of tablet-optimized apps

The biggest highlight of the Samsung Galaxy Tab S 8.4 is undoubtedly its display. The high-resolution Super AMOLED unit is simply a joy to look at and a perfect place to gobbling up any content. Having plenty of the latter come for free out of the box is not too shabby either.

There is more to the slate than its display though. The Samsung Galaxy Tab S 8.4 is thinner and lighter than the iPad mini 2 without skimping on hardware or functionality.

The split-screen multitasking on the other hand, ensures that the slate is not simply a toy for leisure, but a serious productivity tool as well. It also gives the Tab S 8.4 an edge over its Cupertino rival in this regard.

Following next is an boxing, followed by design and build quality inspection. Read on to find out how that Super AMOLED display looks and feels like in the flesh.