Samsung Galaxy Tab - A 10.5" 2018 SM-T590, 32GB - Black

Product Information

The Galaxy Tab A 10.5’s dimensions of 260 x 161.1 x 8mm make it feel a little on the large side, and the 529g weight also feels a little much, but we found it fairly easy to get used to the big slate. Display I used my loan Samsung Galaxy Tab A8 for both work and leisure during my testing period of a few weeks to see how well it performed. Samsung might not have taken the same steps as TCL to promote eye care, but it’s not completely absent from the Tab A8. With the Eye Comfort Shield setting, you can adjust the display to a warmer tone, either constantly or on a timer closer to bedtime, to reduce blue light being emitted from the display.

The tablet can easily be used for gaming, as long as users can accept turning down the graphic details a little when necessary. The Dolby Atmos speakers make up for this weakness by offering great sound. The optional kids mode makes the Samsung tablet suitable to be used as a family tablet.

Accessories and Warranty - optional docking station

With a sleek and simple design, the Samsung Galaxy Tab A8 doesn’t really do anything different from other tablets. The review unit I was sent comes in a dark gray metal chassis, which is the only color option readily available in Australia (where the testing was conducted). However, UK and US buyers have some other color choices, including a delightful pink-gold or silver option. Running multiple apps doesn't impact the performance of the Samsung Galaxy Tab A8. (Image credit: Future / Sharmishta Sarkar) Samsung Galaxy Tab A8: performance In fact, I used it to take notes for this review, typing via both the onscreen keyboard and a Bluetooth one, as well as writing with my finger. Additionally, when doing some research for work or while watching a movie, I used its multi-screen options to see how well it performed when running two or more applications simultaneously. Helping the Tab A8 standout from other tablets, such as the 10.2-inch iPad, is its expandable memory. Already offering three different storage options with 32GB, 64GB, 128GB (depending on where you buy the device), you can add up to 1TB extra with a microSD card. That’s a lot of extra storage!

The Samsung Galaxy Tab A 10.5 has quite a lot of features: It continues in its predecessor's footsteps with a WUXGA resolution of 1920x1200 pixels, offers WLAN 802.11a/b/g/n/ac, an 8-MP camera, the current Android 8.1 Oreo and four speakers with Dolby Atmos. Speeds indicate the performance of different processor cores. Core numbers vary between processors.The device comes loaded with Android 11 out of the box, but you will be prompted to update with support available for Android 13. The majority of my testing was done on Android 11, but then I updated it to Android 13 later to see how it impacted performance. While they're nothing special, the Samsung Galaxy Tab A8 has both a 8MP rear and 5MP front camera. (Image credit: Future / Sharmishta Sarkar) Overall, the Samsung Galaxy Tab A8 might not do anything different to other tablets physically, but its metal chassis gives it a more premium feel than its price tag would indicate.

I tested this tablet almost directly after finishing up the TCL Nxtpaper 10s review, providing me with a really good comparison between two similarly specced devices. Given that it only has up to 4GB of memory, its overall performance is pretty good, even when running multiple apps that have moving graphics or videos. It won’t prompt you to clean up the device’s storage like the TCL Nxtpaper 10s does, but there’s a button to close all currently open apps on the 'currently open apps' screen to help improve its running capability in the short term instead.Battery time is based on our own laboratory measurements, and may vary depending on factors such as device settings, usage patterns and operating conditions. The 8-MP main camera that is equipped with a flash and auto focus can take pictures with a resolution of up to 3264x2448 pixels. If you want your photos to be in the 16:9 format, the image size will be reduced to 6 MP. Videos can be recorded in Full HD and with 30 images per second both with the main camera and with the 5-MP webcam. Plus, the response time on the Tab A8 is snappy and fast, especially when compared to its TCL counterpart.