Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 vs. iPad Pro: Which tablet is best for you?

Samsung’snewGalaxyTabS8,S8+andS8UltraareacompellingtriooftabletsthatwillcompetedirectlywithApple’siPadProlineup.AllthreeofSamsung’snewtabletshaveadedicatedlaptopmode,comewithastylusandhaveimpressivedisplays.

BothsizesofApple’siPadProhavetheirrespectivebenefits,likeawideselectionofappsanddeepintegrationacrossApple’shardwareandsoftwareproducts.Belowwe’llwalkyouthroughwhetheroneoftheGalaxyTabS8modelsortheiPadProisthebestoptionforyou.

YoushouldgettheGalaxyTabS8if…

Samsung’sGalaxyTabS8Ultrahasanimpressive14.6-inchscreen,whichisthebiggestdisplayonanySamsungorAppletablet.TheclosestaniPadgetstothatsizeisthe12.9-inchiPadPro.Abiggerdisplayisn’talwaysbetterbecauseoftheextrasizeandbulkitcanadd,anditremainsyettobeseeniftheTabS8Ultrawillbetoobig.Butthetablet’sdisplayimpressedusinourlimitedhands-ontimesofar,andwehaveafeelingthatit’sgoingtobeajoytouse.

EveryGalaxyTabS8modelcomeswithSamsung’sSPenstylusinthebox,unlikeApple’siPadProlineupwhichdoesn’tincludethe$129ApplePencil.TheSPencanbeusedontheTabS8tosketchoutideas,jotdownnotesornavigatethroughtheinterface.Youdon’thavetoworryaboutchargingit(likeyoudowiththeApplePencil),anditattachesmagneticallytothebackoftheTabS8—nexttotherearcameras—foreasyaccessandsafestoragewhiletraveling.

Theargumentaboutwhetherornotatabletcanreplacealaptopisn’tgoingtobesettledanytimesoon,buttheTabS8lineupoffersacompellingsolution.WhenyouattachanyofthethreetabletstooneofSamsung’sKeyboardCoversyoucanuseitasastandardAndroidtablet,oractivateDeXmodetogivethetabletalaptop-likeinterface.YoucanstillusethesameAndroidappsyoualreadyhaveinstalled,butyoucanhavemultipleappsinwindowsandadesktop—justlikeyoudoonaMacorWindowscomputer.

YoushouldgetaniPadProif…

TheiPadProusesApple’sAppStore,justliketheiPhone,andmanyappsaredesignedtoworkonbothdevices.Thatmeansifyou’veboughtanapp,suchasGoodNotes5,touseonyouriPhone,youwon’thavetobuyitagainforyouriPad.Thesameapproachappliestoin-appsubscriptions.IfyousubscribedtoFlexibitsPremiumforaccesstoFantasticalandCardhop,youwon’thavetopayformultiplesubscriptions.

OnecommoncritiqueaboutAndroidtabletsisthatGooglehasn’toptimizedAndroidtoworkonlargerdisplays,andthird-partydevelopersdon’ttakeadvantageofthelimitedtoolsGooglebuilt.Apple,ontheotherhand,hasiPadOS,adedicatedoperatingsystemspecificallyforitstabletlineupthatincludesmouseandtrackpadsupport,andspecifictoolsandinterfaceoptionsfordeveloperstotakeadvantageof.There’sverylittledebateaboutit—theiPadlineup,includingtheiPadPro,hashigherqualityappsavailableforit.

TheiPhoneandiPadhavelonghadareputationofofferingthebestperformanceyoucanfindinaphoneortablet.Withthereleaseofthe2021iPadProupdate,Appleusedthesameprocessorthat’scurrentlyfoundintheMacBookAirandsomeMacBookPromodels.Yes,theiPadProisusingthesameAppleSiliconM1processorthatthecompany’smostpopularlaptopsuse—andthattranslatesintoimpressiveperformancethatwe’veyettoexperienceonanothertablet.Youcankeepasmanyappsopenasyoulike,createlargescaleillustrationsandevenexportedited4Kor8Kvideo.

Applelikestoboastabouthowdeeplyintegratedallofitsproductsarewithoneanother.FromtheAppleWatchtakingfulladvantageoftheiPhoneandAirPods,totheiPadProreceivingphonecallsandmessagesfromyouriPhone—italljustworkstogether.WiththebetareleaseofiPadOS15.4andMacOS12.3,we’regettingaglimpseatthenextstepinApple’stightproductintegrationwithUniversalControl.Oncetheupdatesareofficiallyreleasedyou’llbeabletocontrolyouriPadProusingthesamekeyboardandmouseortrackpadyouusetocontrolyourMacbysimplymovingthemousecursoroffyourscreen.Whileit’seasytoblameAppleforhubriswhentalkingaboutseamlessintegration,there’ssomethingtobesaidaboutjusthowimpressivelywellfeatureslikeUniversalControlwork.

Bottomline

Tosomeextent,thedecisionaboutwhichtabletyoubuycomesdowntowhetheryou’realreadyintheAppleorSamsungecosystem.Butwhenyoustarttobreakitdownfurtherthanthat,therearesomeclearbenefitstotheiPadProandTabS8,respectively.TheiPadProisourtoppickforpowerfulperformance,somethingourexperienceconfirmseverytimeweunlockit,andtheapplibraryavailableforitisunmatched.TheTabS8,however,hastheoptionofabiggerdisplay,DeXbuilt-inandanSPenincludedinthebox.

GalaxyTabS8,TabS8+,TabS8UltraandiPadPro11-Inch,iPadPro12.9-Inchspecs