Samsung Galaxy Tab S 10.5 vs Galaxy Tab S 8.4 hands on: First look

The Samsung Galaxy Tab S 8.4 and 10.5 are the eighth and ninth Samsung Android tablets released in 2014 alone. I gave you my first impressions a couple of weeks ago and am getting ready to send back the eval units. They are excellent media machines and I may be tempted to pick one up in a couple months.

Since these tablets are nearly the same, except for the display size, home button layout, and the battery capacity, I am going to include my review text on one page and then just call out where the two tablets differ.

The most promoted and distinguished feature of these two new Samsung tablets is the large, high resolution Super AMOLED screens. The Galaxy Tab Pro models released in February were similar to these models, but used LCD display technology. These Super AMOLED screens really are quite fabulous with vibrant colors and dark blacks without the colors being too crazy like we have seen on earlier AMOLED screens. The same display technology is used in the Galaxy S5 and they all look great.

It has been a while since I used a Samsung tablet and I am very impressed by what they were able to do in regards to the thickness of the tablet. 6.6 mm in thickness is impressive, especially when you consider the Galaxy S5 is 8.1 mm thick.

One of my complaints about the Galazxy S5 is the cheap ridged edge design so it was great to see Samsung improve the edge design on these tablets that have more of a chamfered iPad/iPhone edge. The back has the same dimpled leather design as the S5 and they feel great in your hand with a more premium feel than we have seen on previous Samsung tablets.
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Samsung continues to use a hardware button on their devices. You will find it on the bottom of the Tab S 8.4 if you hold the tablet in portrait orientation and on the bottom of the Tab S 10.5 when you hold it in landscape orientation. There are capacitive buttons for the task switcher and back functions on either side of the hardware button. The proximity sensor and front facing camera are positioned above the display, across from the hardware button on both units.

Having the hardware button on the bottom of the Tab S 10.5 in landscape results in larger top and bottom bezels on the Tab S 10.5, but the side bezels are reasonable and the device still looks attractive and functions well.

A power button, volume button, microSD card slot, IR port, microUSB poort, 3.5mm headset jack, and dual stereo speakers are positioned around the sides of each tablet. The 8 megapixel camera and flash are found on the back of the tablets. You will also find the two accessory buttons, see my case section below, located on the back of the tablets.

These Galaxy S Tabs are very thin and are one of the best designed tablets I have ever used. If the LTE models were available now I might consider picking one up (they are scheduled for release later this year). I like using multi-window mode and the media experience can't be beat with these fantastic Super AMOLED screens.

The batteries seemed to go for days while using them via WiFi and I appreciated the large battery capacities. With my Samsung TV, the WatchON app on these tablets makes the television experience even better than one of those expensive smart universal remotes so that is one way you might justify the cost.

While Apple has many more tablet-optimized apps, Samsung is doing their part to bring you apps that run well on tablets. I like the calendar, email, and Hancom Office apps on the tablet due to the way they provide data and take advantage of the large displays.

The Galaxy Tab S 8.4 is available for $399.99 for the 16GB model and $449.99 for the 32GB model. The Tab S 10.5 is $100 more at $499.99 for the 16GB model and $549.99 for the 32GB model. I personally would pay the $50 more for double the internal storage since you may fill up the internal storage with high end applications and games as Android no longer permits you to install apps to the microSD card.

You can find these models in white or bronze. It is interesting that there are no black or gray models, like we see on phones. I tested the 8.4 in white and the 10.5 in bronze. I like the bronze better since the front is not as stark as you enjoy media on the gorgeous display.

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