Samsung's Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra vs. Apple's iPad Pro

Samsung in February unveiled the Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra, a high-end tablet that's meant to outshine the iPad Pro with its 14.6-inch OLED display. In our latest YouTube video, we went hands-on with Samsung's Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra to see if the company has indeed created something that's better than the 12.9-inch ‌iPad Pro‌.


Priced starting at $899.99 for 128GB of storage and 8GB RAM, the Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra is more affordable than the $1,099 128GB 12.9-inch ‌iPad Pro‌, even though it's bigger with its 14.6-inch AMOLED display. Apple's ‌iPad Pro‌ uses mini-LED technology, and both have the same 120Hz maximum refresh rate.

samsung s8 ultra 2
Samsung designed the Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra with slim bezels, but it's worth noting that there is a notch for the front-facing camera, even though Samsung has previously made fun of Apple for including a notch on some of its devices. Apple's iPads don't have a notch at this time, so Samsung is breaking ground on the tablet notch front.

Despite the notch, the Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra's display is its best selling point, and the OLED panel has an edge over the ‌iPad Pro‌'s mini-LED panel because of blooming, or light leakage that can cause some on-screen elements to have an unwanted glow effect when viewing high contrast content.

samsung s8 ultra 4
Samsung put the front camera on the Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra in a landscape orientation, which makes sense on a tablet this size as it's more of a desktop-like experience. The ‌iPad Pro‌ has the cameras positioned for use in portrait orientation, which is awkward on a larger display.

samsung s8 ultra 5
There is a built-in facial recognition system, but Android device makers have not mastered technology equivalent to Face ID, so it's limited in scope and can't be used for purchases or password authentication. Instead, there is a fingerprint reader built into the power button, similar to Apple's iPad Air.

samsung tablet
The ‌iPad Pro‌ has the Apple Pencil as an input device, and the Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra has the S-Pen, which is actually included in the box with the tablet so it doesn't require an extra purchase. The S-Pen is more feature rich than the ‌Apple Pencil‌ with air commands in addition to standard stylus support. Both the ‌Apple Pencil‌ and the S-Pen perform similarly, with minimal lag and the same palm rejection capabilities.

samsung s8 ultra 7
You can get a keyboard with a trackpad for the Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra for an extra $350. The keys are fine, but the trackpad is way behind Apple's Magic Keyboard in terms of usability. Battery life is similar, but Samsung offers 45W fast charging so it can charge up quicker.

samsung s8 ultra 9
When it comes to hardware, the Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra and 12.9-inch ‌iPad Pro‌ are similar and are both excellent tablets, but software is what sets the two apart. The iPadOS operating system could offer a better desktop experience, but it still outshines Samsung's Android-based tablet software. Apps don't always work properly, the scale is off, and there are several other issues.

Samsung did develop DeX for a better desktop multitasking experience, and it's similar to something like Chrome OS with a dedicated dock, but it's still not a full computer replacement, much like the ‌iPad Pro‌. As for performance, the M1 chip is significantly faster, and there's no real competition.

samsung s8 ultra 10
All in all, the ‌iPad Pro‌ wins out because of the software experience and the ‌M1‌ chip's performance, but ecosystem is an important factor. No dedicated Samsung user is going to want to pick up an iPad, and the same goes for Apple device users who are locked into Apple's ecosystem.

Have you tried out the Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra? Let us know in the comments.

Tag: Samsung

Popular Stories

iPhone 17 Pro Blue Feature Tighter Crop

iPhone 17 Pro Launching in Three Months With These 12 New Features

Saturday June 14, 2025 5:45 pm PDT by
The iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are three months away, and there are plenty of rumors about the devices. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models as of June 2025:Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an aluminum frame, whereas the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro models have a titanium frame, and the iPhone X through iPhone 14 Pro have a...
apple watch ultra 2 new black

Apple Watch Ultra 3 Finally Coming After Two-Year Hiatus

Monday June 16, 2025 8:45 am PDT by
Apple will finally deliver the Apple Watch Ultra 3 sometime this year, according to analyst Jeff Pu of GF Securities Hong Kong (via @jukanlosreve). The analyst expects both the Apple Watch Series 11 and Apple Watch Ultra 3 to arrive this year (likely alongside the new iPhone 17 lineup, if previous launches are anything to go by), according to his latest product roadmap shared with...
apple watch ultra snow

6 Features Coming to the Apple Watch Ultra 3

Tuesday February 25, 2025 9:00 am PST by
The Apple Watch Ultra 3 is expected to launch later this year, arriving two years after the previous model with a series of improvements. While no noticeable design changes are expected for the third generation since the company tends to stick with the same Apple Watch design through three generations before changing it, there are a series of internal upgrades on the way. By the time the ...
terminal macos tahoe

Apple's Terminal App Gets Colorful Redesign in macOS Tahoe

Monday June 16, 2025 4:12 am PDT by
Apple's Terminal app is getting a visual refresh in macOS Tahoe, and it's the first notable design update since the command-line tool debuted. The updated Terminal will support 24-bit color and Powerline fonts, according to Apple's Platforms State of the Union presentation at WWDC 2025. The app will also adopt the new Liquid Glass aesthetic with redesigned themes that align with macOS 26's...
iOS 26 on Three iPhones

Apple Says iOS 26 Won't Be Available on These iPhone Models

Tuesday June 10, 2025 6:58 am PDT by
Apple this week revealed that iOS 26 is compatible with the iPhone 11 series and newer. That means that iOS 18 is the end of the road for the iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, and iPhone XR, which were all released in 2018. However, those devices will continue to receive security updates for at least a few more years. iOS 26 is compatible with the following iPhone models: iPhone 16e iPhone...
iOS 18

Apple Releases iOS 18.6 Public Beta

Wednesday June 18, 2025 10:24 am PDT by
Apple today seeded the first betas of upcoming iOS 18.6 and iPadOS 18.6 updates to public beta testers, with the betas coming just a few days after Apple provided the betas to developers. Testers who have signed up for beta updates through Apple's beta site can download iOS 18.6 and iPadOS 18.6 from the Settings app on a compatible device by going to General > Software Update. When the...
new iphone lockscreen ios 26

iOS 26: Five Changes Coming to Your iPhone Lock Screen

Tuesday June 17, 2025 8:46 am PDT by
With iOS 26, Apple has made some additions to the iPhone Lock Screen that aim to make it more customizable than ever. Of course, things can always change before the software makes its way to the general iPhone-owning public, but here are five new things iOS 26 can do on the Lock Screen as of the current developer beta. Widgets Top or Bottom In iOS 18, the row of widgets on your Lock...

Top Rated Comments

44267547 Avatar
43 months ago

Too bad it runs android.
This is a really tired argument. Android isn’t a problem anymore. If you have any experience with some of the latest android devices, you’d know that it’s actually pretty fluid and secure. The only gripe that someone might raise, it’s just it doesn’t match the longevity of software updates that Apple does.

But just because it’s ‘Android’, doesn’t make it less any other desirable to the consumer. It really comes down to choice of platform of what somebody prefers.
Score: 18 Votes (Like | Disagree)
DEMinSoCAL Avatar
43 months ago

16:9 is super awkward for a tablet, Glad apple stuck to 4:3.

Would probably be costly but I do wish Apple had a second camera in the Landscape orientation, with the Magic Keyboard I use my iPad in landscape 90% of the time but even with CenterStage the camera being low and off to the side isn't great for video calls.
Yeah, because literally almost all video media is set at 16:9 (1080p) and not 4:3, so you really get to enjoy those last-century black bars when watching media on an iPad. THAT is super awkward.
Score: 17 Votes (Like | Disagree)
mach Avatar
43 months ago
16:9 is super awkward for a tablet, Glad apple stuck to 4:3.

But the landscape camera is nice, I do wish Apple had a second camera in the Landscape orientation, with the Magic Keyboard I use my iPad 12.9” in landscape 90% of the time but even with CenterStage the camera being low and off to the side isn't great for video calls. Could just be a camera and FaceID stays in the portrait orientation since it works both ways.
Score: 15 Votes (Like | Disagree)
GeoStructural Avatar
43 months ago
iPad is the better tablet overall. The Galaxy is a better computer replacement. I have had iPads for years now, I own the M1 Pro 12.9" currently and it is frustratingly handicapped on purpose by Apple, I love it for media consumption but cannot seriously justify the many downsides for work.
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
alpi123 Avatar
43 months ago

Yeah, because literally almost all video media is set at 16:9 (1080p) and not 4:3, so you really get to enjoy those last-century black bars when watching media on an iPad. THAT is super awkward.
If you use your iPad only for videos, then you need to get something else.
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
heels4real Avatar
43 months ago
I got the s8 plus and it’s by far the best tablet I have had. No issues using AirPods Pro or AirPods Max with them…
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)