iPad Air 4 vs Galaxy Tab S8: Which One is Better?

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A direct competitor to Apple’s iPad Air 4, Samsung has released the Galaxy Tab S8. For the same money, you can get both tablets. You should be aware of their similarities and differences before deciding which one is best for your needs.

iPad Air 4	Galaxy Tab S8
BUY NOW	BUY NOW
PROS	PROS
Elegant thin and light design. Super-fast A14 Bionic processor. Bright, colorful and sharp display. Excellent webcam. USB-C charging. Magic Keyboard and 2nd Gen Apple Pencil support.	Premium-feel design. S Pen stylus included. Better Display. Four Speakers. Cheap Keyboard Case. 15 Hours Battery Life.
CONS	CONS
No Face ID. RIP headphone jack. Expensive accessories.	Limited upgrade. Lacks in-screen fingerprint.

SAMSUNG GALAXY TAB S8 VS IPAD AIR: SIZE DIFFERENCE

As medium-sized tablets, I expect both of these to be popular choices.

Because of the aspect ratio, the Tab S8 is narrower and taller than the iPad Air 4.

There aren’t any significant differences in terms of handling or portability, but you’ll notice how different they are once you get started using them.

Video viewing on the Tab S8 16:10 aspect ratio is a pleasure thanks to the small black bars that remain after maximising the display’s size for content.

The iPad Air 4 has an aspect ratio of 23:16. As a result, the aspect ratio is very close to 3:2, resulting in larger black bars when viewing content, but more width and height when taking notes in portrait mode or multitasking in landscape mode.

SAMSUNG GALAXY TAB S8 VS IPAD AIR: DISPLAY

The iPad Air 4 has a 10.9 inch, 60 HZ P3 three display with a resolution of 1640 by 2360 and 264 pixels per inch.

The Tab S8 has a slightly larger 11 inch display. It offers 120 Hertz adaptive refresh rate. It has a resolution of 1600 by 2560 and a slightly higher pixel density of 274 pixels per inch.

While we don’t get the Super AMOLED display that Samsung offers on the S8 Plus or S8 Ultra and we don’t get the Liquid Retina XDR display from the 12.9 inch iPad Pro, the colours look great for the price. As of now, I’ve had a great time using both devices to watch movies, surf the web, and play games.

The iPad Air 4 now appears brighter and less reflective in terms of brightness. Because of this, the iPad Air 4 is the better choice if you plan on using your tablet outside or in bright environments where you may have to deal with reflections.

It’s also nice to have the adaptive refresh rate of 120 Hertz on the Tab S8. Things like opening apps, changing preferences, and scrolling now feel more responsive and fluid. Also, the Tab S8 can lower the refresh rate when you’re doing things that don’t benefit from a higher refresh rate, which helps it conserve battery life. ‘ ProMotion, a similar feature from Apple, is only available on the iPad Pro models at this time.

SAMSUNG GALAXY TAB S8 VS IPAD AIR: DESIGN

It’s hard to tell the difference between the two because they both have rounded corners, squared-off edges, and smaller bezels on all sides. Volume controls and power buttons are included, with a fingerprint sensor integrated into the power button for biometric authentication in both cases.

With a front-facing camera, the Tab S8 can also recognise faces. However, if you don’t want to rely on the fingerprint sensor, this is an alternative you can choose from.

A one major advantage of the Tab S8 is that it has a micro SD cart slot, which lets you expand the internal storage by up to 1 terabyte. You’ll get a lot more storage space this way, but keep in mind that it’s almost entirely reserved for files, not the apps and games.

SAMSUNG GALAXY TAB S8 VS IPAD AIR: SPEAKERS AND CAMERA

Both tablets have four speaker grills but the iPad Air 4 only has two speakers while the Tab S8 actually has four AKG tuned speakers. And as far as the audio quality, the iPad Air 4 speakers are good but they’re not nearly as good as the ones on the Tab S8.

I mostly use headphones so it’s not a huge deciding factor for me but if you do plan on using speakers for gaming or for watching movies or listening to music, the Tab S8 is the way to go.

And moving on the camera systems, the iPad Air 4 has a 7MP front facing camera versus a higher resolution 13MP 4K camera on the Tab S8.

The Tab S8 has the auto-follow feature. So if I move to the side, the camera’s gonna follow me. It’s kind of like Apple’s Center Stage and that’s something that the iPad Air 4 doesn’t have.

And moving on to the rear facing cameras, the iPad Air 4 has a 12MP wide camera. The Tab S8 has a dual camera system with a 13MP wide camera and a 6MP ultra wide. For the most part, I don’t use the rear facing cameras on my tablets because I always have my phone with me and it’s just so much more convenient.

SAMSUNG GALAXY TAB S8 VS IPAD AIR: KEYBOARD CASE

Smart connectors on both tablets allow them to communicate with their respective keyboard cases.

A smaller version of Apple’s Magic Keyboard can be used with the iPad Air 4, which costs $300. But the Tab S8 has two dedicated Book Cover Keyboard from Samsung that cost between $150 and $200 each.

I like the build quality and the feel of the keys and the track pad better on the Magic Keyboard but I do appreciate the fact that the Book Cover Keyboard protects the S Pen while it’s being transported. I also like the fact that I can take the keyboard apart to clean it. As a result, I can use the Tab S8 in tablet mode while still protecting the back and having a place to keep the S Pen in.

SAMSUNG GALAXY TAB S8 VS IPAD AIR: S PEN VS APPLE PENCIL

Now, Samsung includes the new S Pen with the price of the Tab S8 whereas in the case of the iPad Air 4, you’ll need to buy the second generation Apple pencil separately for an additional 130 bucks.

However, charging for the S Pen is only possible on the back of the Tab S8, not the side. When it comes to the iPad Air 4, the second generation Apple pencil can be found on the side of the tablet. Both have worked out great for me. Both displays are laminated, so images appear to be painted directly onto the screen and the stylus tip appears to be in direct contact with the content being created.

Each stylus is unique in how it interacts with the screen, and I’d like to point that out. The S Pen has a softer tip. To write or draw with it, you’ll get the impression that the pages of the paper you’re writing on compress as you exert pressure.

Because of its firmer tip and the sensation of writing on a single sheet of paper that has been placed on a hard surface, the Apple pencil is preferable. There isn’t a clear-cut winner or loser here. Ultimately, it’s a matter of personal preference.

The S Pen also has Bluetooth capabilities, which is a nice bonus. Hence, controlling media playback, taking pictures and performing a few other useful tasks are all possible.

SAMSUNG GALAXY TAB S8 VS IPAD AIR: PERFORMANCE

The iPad Air 4 comes with the A14 Bionic Chip and both the 64GB and the 256GB models come with 4GB of RAM.

The Tab S8 features the new Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chip and both the 128GB and the 256GB models come with 8GB of RAM.

If you’re curious about how this new chip compares in terms of benchmark, below are the results.

Single-Core Performance

Multi-Core Performance

Multitasking

The iPad Air 4 can take advantage of all of the new multitasking features that Apple introduced with iPad OS 15. Of course, you’re allowed to have multiple apps open at the same time. You can use the new multitasking menu to quickly see multiple windows within the same app, as well as pop-up and slide-over windows.

Multitasking and overall user experience have been improved thanks to the latest Android 12 and One UI 4.1, which are found on the Tab S8. Allowing you to open multiple apps simultaneously is a big help when you’re doing research and need to consult multiple sources.

Both Apple’s App Store and Google’s Play Store offer a wide variety of apps for just about any purpose.

Although the iPad Air 4’s apps appear to be better optimised, the difference between the two devices is closing rapidly.

There are still some creative apps like Affinity Photo and Procreate which are only available for the iPad but at least there’s an Android version of LumaFusion coming soon.

Operating System

When it comes to long-term OS updates, Apple is still the tablet market leader. With four years of OS updates and five years of security updates, Samsung has made significant strides in this area, and I’m glad to see them continue.

I believe that long-term support for operating systems is critical. These are powerful and expensive tools. If you take care of them, you should be able to enjoy them for many years.

Gaming

Now, both tablets can also smoothly run Genshin Impact and pretty much any other game that I tried to play without any type of lag or stuttering.

When it comes to streaming games, I pair my Xbox controller and played some games on Xbox Pass. Both tablets have beautiful displays so the games look great and of course both could run any games smoothly and without any dropped frames as long as I had a strong wifi connection.

SAMSUNG GALAXY TAB S8 VS IPAD AIR: BATTERY LIFE

The iPad Air 4 lasted about 10 hours of use, whereas the Tab S8 lasted about 13 to 14 hours. The Tab S8 can charge at 45 watts, compared to 30 watts for the iPad Air 4. Regardless of which one you choose, I strongly suggest investing in a high-capacity charger.

Now, if I’m not gaming, I always get through a full day on a single charge and when I do play, it really comes down to how much. If I sit down and play four hours of PUBG, then I’m going to need to charge any mobile device that I use. So, it’s really gonna come down to how you use your tablet.

SAMSUNG GALAXY TAB S8 VS IPAD AIR: PRICING

The iPad Air 4 base model comes with 64GB for $599 and then there is a 256GB gigabyte model for $749. The base Tab S8 model comes with twice the storage. So you’re getting 128GB for $699 or you can go up to 256GB for $779.

I’m using the prices on the Apple and Samsung websites but you can usually find better prices on Amazon.

REMEMBER: With the Tab S8, you also get a free S Pen.

Now, you should see how the Tab S8 ultra compares with a 12.9 iPad Pro.

SAMSUNG GALAXY TAB S8 VS IPAD AIR: SPECS

Jaskaran Singh

Jaskaran, a tech enthusiast from childhood, inspired by his father, began his tech journey by rooting Android phones. He now writes on various tech topics, aiming to simplify complex ideas for a broad audience. His writing is direct, concise, and flows effortlessly, making tech topics accessible and engaging.