If you’re thinking of purchasing one of the best Android tablets out there for the holidays, a member of Samsung’s recently released Galaxy Tab S9 family (largely depending on your size preference) might immediately feel like your safest bet and wisest choice by a landslide.
It’s pretty obvious that companies like Google, Lenovo, and Amazon can’t currently compete with the Android hardware king on raw power, overall functionality, or even sheer size (with the notable exception of the gargantuan Lenovo Tab Extreme in that latter regard), but before you decide to spend a small fortune on the hot new Galaxy Tab S9 Ultra, it could be smart to consider… spending a slightly smaller fortune on a slightly older ultra-high-end model.
We’re talking about the 2022-released Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra, which is just as overwhelmingly enormous as its 14.6-inch successor while of course packing an older and slower Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 processor under its super-premium aluminum hood. Originally priced at an eye-popping $1,100 and up, the “outdated” S Pen-wielding giant can now be yours for as little as $899.99 in a non-entry-level configuration.
Specifically, you’re looking at a 256GB storage variant here also equipped with a hefty 12GB RAM count, which used to cost $1,199.99. Now, we obviously realize that Best Buy’s latest $300 discount on this bad boy doesn’t exactly crack the budget tablet territory, but we’re fairly certain you will be able to appreciate the appeal of the undoubtedly limited-time offer nonetheless.
After all, it’s incredibly rare to see this particular member of the Galaxy Tab S8 lineup marked down so heavily, not to mention that Samsung‘s official US e-store appears to be slowly running out of inventory while selling the 14.6-inch beast at a significantly higher price than Best Buy.
Although the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 SoC is objectively inferior to the Apple M2 inside the newest iPad Pros, we’re pretty sure you’re going to be pleased with the overall performance of the Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra, as well as its handy built-in S Pen, gorgeous 120Hz Super AMOLED display, huge 11,200mAh battery somehow squeezed into a razor-thin and reasonably lightweight body, and four ultra-powerful speakers.
