Cnet Review Samsung - Galaxy Tab a - 101 - 16gb - Black

Whether you're looking for an inexpensive tablet for weekend-long Netflix binges, or demand something you can easily toss in your bag for your morning time commute, Amazon isn't your merely choice. The $199.99 Samsung Galaxy Tab A is an viii-inch slate with decent specs and some software features you won't find on similarly priced competitors. And unlike Amazon's Burn tablets, yous go unfettered access to the Google Play app store. That makes the Tab A a solid budget-friendly option for media consumption and Android gaming, though Amazon's Burn down Hd 8 and Hd 10 continue to offering stronger value for your dollar.

Design, Brandish, and Connectivity

Samsung's midrange A-series tablets are created with casual users in heed. Sizes in the Tab A family unit range from 7 to 10.5 inches. For the near part, there are both Wi-Fi and LTE variants for each tablet in the series, with LTE models coming in at about a $50 premium, depending on the carrier. We tested the viii-inch Wi-Fi model.

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The Galaxy Tab A eight.0 sees a slight refinement in design over its 2015 predecessor. An improved screen-to-body ratio makes it a little less squat, and the camera bump on the back is less pronounced. The frame is synthetic of shine polycarbonate while the back is a glossy aluminum shell that easily picks upwards fingerprints and smudges.

The slate measures 8.35 by 4.89 by 0.35 inches (HWD) and weighs 12.65 ounces. It's not the lightest tablet on the market place, but we had no problem holding it on a busy train for a long commute home. And although its frame is plastic, the overall build quality feels notably more solid than Amazon's Fire tablets. That said, nosotros definitely recommend a example if the tablet will be used by children or if yous programme to use it for your daily commute.

On the right side of the Tab A, you'll discover the power push button and volume rocker. Both are responsive and provide a satisfying click when tapped. There's a microSD card slot on the left that accommodates up to 400GB of external storage in add-on to the 32GB of internal storage. A USB-C charging port sits at the bottom, aslope a bottom-firing speaker that provides all the audio. At 86 decibels, the Tab A is loud enough for watching streaming video, but don't await a high-end audio experience. The speaker sounds hollow and tinny at college volumes.

Display quality is decent. The front panel is home to an 8-inch, i,280-by-800 TFT display with 189 pixels per inch, the aforementioned as you'll discover on the Lenovo Tab four 8 and the Fire HD 8. The screen looks good for multimedia streaming, simply text and drawings are a footling fuzzy. Brightness and viewing angles are first-class, so you should have no trouble using the slate in direct sunlight.

The Tab A supports 2.iv and 5GHz Wi-Fi, and we received excellent wireless range and connectivity on both bands in testing. Bluetooth iv.ii is too on board for wireless sound.

Processor, Bombardment, and Photographic camera

The tablet is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 425 processor clocked at 1.4GHz. It'south a common processor for budget tablets, though at three years old, it's nearing its expiration appointment. There'due south also 2GB of RAM, making the Tab A feel slightly snappier than tablets with ane or i.5GB of RAM (like the Burn Hard disk 8). Apps opened quickly and bones multitasking worked without a hitch in testing. Nosotros were even able to play Asphalt eight without problems. We did, however, begin to experience slowdown once again than a one-half dozen apps were open up.

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Battery life is stiff. When streaming full-screen video over Wi-Fi at maximum screen brightness, we managed to eke out an impressive half-dozen hours and 37 minutes. That's slightly longer than the Fire Hard disk drive 10 (6 hours and 14 minutes) and should easily go y'all through a long flying with conservative use.

When it comes to the photographic camera, the Tab A'due south viii-megapixel rear shooter is underwhelming in most circumstances (similar most tablet cameras, especially at this price). While daytime photos are passable, our low-lite photos were both grainy and blurry.

Performance on the v-megapixel front-facing sensor offers much the same experience. Video calls are passable in a well-lit room, but quality quickly degrades in depression light.

Software and Features

The Tab A ships running Android seven.1, however there'southward an OTA udate to Android Oreo 8.1 with Samsung Experience ix.5 once you have it out of the box. Samsung's custom UI has improved vastly over the last few years. Unfortunately, there are still a handful of redundant apps like Samsung Mail, Samsung Internet, and Samsung Notes that cannot be uninstalled.

In improver to Samsung Experience 9.5, there are a few other software flourishes worth mentioning. Secure Binder allows you to designate a individual location on the tablet where you can store documents and secondary instances of apps yous'd similar to go along away from prying eyes. Samsung Catamenia lets y'all to share photos and information between your tablet and Samsung smartphone. And if yous're a parent with young children, y'all'll definitely appreciate Kids Mode, an app that lets you create a custom homepage with kid-friendly content.

For the nigh function, Samsung's UI adds only minor changes to the stock Android experience. Y'all all the same accept access to almost any app in the Google Play store, and can easily add together your ain custom skins. It'due south a precipitous contrast to Fire Bone, Amazon's custom UI that not simply replaces the Play Shop for its own App Shop, merely also changes the entire user experience. Fire OS is built to showcase Amazon'south products and services and has no resemblance to the interface you may already be accustomed to if you utilise an Android smartphone. That said, Burn down OS is easier to use and offers more guidance toward finding content if you lot aren't already familiar with Android.

Conclusions

At $200, the Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.0 is nicely congenital, simply a footling pricey for what you become. Its compact size and long battery life make information technology a good pick for media consumption or basic productivity tasks on the go, peculiarly if yous desire access to Google Play.

If you're not absolutely sold on the Google Play angle, however, yous should cheque out the Amazon Fire Hd ten. In addition to being $50 less than the Tab 8, it has a larger, sharper display and performs better thank you to a more powerful processor. If you're looking to save even more money, the Fire HD 8 is bachelor for less than one-half the price of the Tab A and offers a fairly like experience from a hardware perspective.

Samsung Galaxy Tab A 8.0

The Lesser Line

The Samsung Milky way Tab A 8.0 is a relatively affordable Android tablet with decent specs, just you can become more bang for your buck if y'all don't demand access to Google Play.

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Source: https://www.pcmag.com/reviews/samsung-galaxy-tab-a-80

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