Samsung Galaxy Tab S 8.4, the latest flagship from the house of Samsung, touts of a large screen, dazzling display, superior specs, and eye-popping features. But what happens when …
The recently launched Samsung Galaxy Tab S 8.4 equips itself with a plethora of striking features, impressive configurations, and truckload of apps.
Owing to its bleeding-edge internals, the tablet faces direct competition with its arch rival Apple iPad Mini 2. Although both the tablets offer top-notch hardware and versatile software, we pit them against each other to check the ultimate winner of the specs battle.
Design & Built
Wrapped in a polycarbonate chassis and having a perforated rear design, the Samsung Galaxy Tab S 8.4 exudes a look similar to the Galaxy S5 smartphone. Weighing 294 grams with thickness profile of 6.6mm, Samsung’s newbie is much thinner and lighter than the Apple iPad Mini 2, which weighs 331 grams and is 7.5mm thick. However, owing to its aluminium chassis, the iPad looks more premium as compared to its competitor.
Features
Boasting of an 8.4-inch Super AMOLED WQVGA display with an outstanding 2560×1400 pixels resolution and pixel strength of 359 ppi, Galaxy Tab S offers an incredible viewing experience. The iPad though has relatively smaller screen size at 7.9 inches, lesser pixels resolution at 1536x2048p, and pixel strength of 324 ppi, it does produce sharp and vivid images.
The Galaxy Tab derives its power from an octa-core Exynos 5 processor in case of non-LTE version and a 2.3 GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 processor for LTE versions. On the other hand, a 1.3 GHz dual-core A7 processor powers the iPad Mini 2.
While the Galaxy Tab S runs on the latest Android v4.4 KitKat OS with a solid 3 GB of RAM, the iPad Mini runs on iOS 7 and provides only 1 GB of RAM.
Storage
The Samsung Tab comes in 16GB and 32 GB variants, with a MicroSD slot for storage expansion, whereas, the iPad Mini 2 offers 16 GB, 32 GB, 64 GB, and 128 GB of in-built storage without any MicroSD support.
Camera
On the camera front, the Galaxy Tab is a clear winner, by offering a splendid 8 MP rear camera with LED flash, paired with a 2.1 MP front-facing snapper. The iPad ships with a 5 MP rear-facing camera without flash coupled with a 1.2 MP shooter at the front.
Battery Life
Fueled by 4900 mAh of battery, the Galaxy Tab S comes equipped with an Ultra Power Saving Mode. Meanwhile, the iPad Mini 2 ships with a Li-Po 23.8 Wh battery.
Price Range
There is no information on the price of Samsung Galaxy Tab S 8.4 (16 GB) in India. The price of Apple iPad Mini 2 (16 GB) is INR 26,000.
By virtue of the powerful specs of Samsung Galaxy Tab S 8.4 and Apple iPad Mini 2, both the tablets are capable of giving the other high-end tablet manufacturers a run for their money.
To decide between the two is a tough call, although Samsung Galaxy Tab S does seem to deliver more killer specs. However, the primary differentiating factor is their platform, offering customers to choose their preferred OS between iOS and Android.
