Android tablets cost a dime a dozen, but finding one who is a true iPad rival is like scrubbing for a diamond in the pane. That's why it's Samsung's Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra, which was unexpectedly leaked on an official Bixby support page, looks so exciting.
The apparently unintentional leak was initially detected by 91 Mobile. The photo shows Samsung's latest tablet stacked up behind a close-up of a Samsung Galaxy smartphone in the foreground. You can see that it is an unreleased product because the tablet has a notch. Samsung later replaced the image with a more current image, but screenshots of the leaked image give us an indication of what to expect from the Galaxy Tab S8.
The image supports previous rumors about the tablet, which is reportedly named the Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra. The device is expected to have a 14.6-inch OLED screen, making it larger than the largest iPad Pro and pretty much as big as a laptop. The panel will reportedly offer a 120Hz refresh rate and 2960 x 1848 resolution. Pretty standard when it comes to tablets. But then there’s the chop: Rumor has it that the Tab S8 Ultra will embrace Apple’s most polarizing design decision, most recently seen in the latest MacBook Pros, to add two 12-megapixel cameras for video calling. The secondary lens will be a wide angle to make it easier to capture groups.
In terms of specifications, the Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra is expected to run on Qualcomm's latest Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 processor, along with 16 GB of RAM and up to 512 GB of storage space. There's probably S Pen support, as there has been on Samsung's previous premium tablets, as well as optional 5G and two extra rear cameras.
Perhaps the most exciting, rumored Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra feature is a massive 11,200 mAh battery. If battery life is anything like what I experienced on Galaxy Tab S7 FE last year, this tablet could very well be a legitimate mobile powerhouse.
Samsung is expected to launch a trio of tablets for every type using this spring along with the company's Galaxy S22 flagship devices. We hope to hear more about the new Galaxy device in February, so stay tuned.