Gadgetory

they're two of the newest 8-inch tablets on the market from Samsung and there's quite a bit setting them apart so let's find out which one is right for you I'm Michael Fisher this is PocketNow and this is Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 8.0 vs Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0 the Galaxy Note 8.0 was announced back at MWC in Barcelona and released in April we gave it the full review treatment shortly after its release our own Taylor Martin calling it nearly the most complete package in a mid-sized tablet he'd seen by contrast the Galaxy Tab 3 8.0 is a new tablet launched just a few weeks back it lacks the S Pen and premium branding of the note aiming instead to bring a solid Android tablet experience to lower price points but is the $80 price savings worth the features you'll sacrifice let's find out as we touched on in our unboxing video earlier in the week the new Galaxy Tabs Hardware is smaller than the note eights in every dimension some of these differences are superficial there's only a 1/2 millimeter gap in thickness and the tablets are essentially the same height it's in breadth where the hardware gap really stands out with the note 8.0 over 10 millimeters wider than the Tab 3 8.0 since these devices make use of the same size display the extra beam of the note is found in its bezels which are far thicker than the tabs now on a smart phone this would mean that we preferred the tab slim bezels being in vogue on palm size devices but on a tablet we actually like having the extra leeway to rest our thumbs so the note eights added girth isn't just forgivable but preferable even if it does impact one-handed usability somewhat the note is also wider in order to accommodate the S Pen Stylus that gives the device its name we'll touch on the S Pen again in software but for now it'll be enough to say that the stylus and accompanying Wacom digitizer on the display are present on the note and absent on the tab both devices are made from Samsung's trademark polycarbonate finished in a glossy hyper glaze coating and accented with faux metallic touches that recall the galaxy s3 in the case of the note 8 and the galaxy s4 in the case of the tab 3 due to its more slender build and ever so slightly sharper corners the tab puts out a slightly more modern vibe while the more curved note almost evokes retro memories of an old TV set or something while neither feels particularly durable due to the shiny plastic construction the upside is that they're both light enough to use for long stretches without getting uncomfortable even one-handed in terms of specs there's a lot of common ground here each device packs a 5 megapixel main and 1.3 megapixel front-facing camera and each offers 16 gigs of on-board storage augmented ouvea micro sd to an additional 64 gigs battery size is comparable north of 4,400 milliamp hours there's an IR transmitter off to the side on each unit and each tablet features a 1280 by 800 TFT LCD display at 189 PPI the pixel density is pretty low on each one of these panels unfortunately Samsung compensates for that with a software palette rich in color and the special reading mode to increase the contrast and sharpness for books and magazines and web pages still screen junkies should look elsewhere the biggest difference in specs can be found under the hood one of the few hints at the Note 8.0 is more premium positioning in the lineup the note is powered by an X and O's 4412 Samsung's quad core SOC running at 1.6 gigahertz and backed up by two gigs of RAM the Galaxy Tab 3 has to make do with to fewer cores as it makes use of the X and O's for dual at 1.5 gigahertz and backed up by 1.5 gigs of ram and one might think that that horsepower difference translates to decreased performance and software as well but that's not really the case here at least not normal use each tablet runs Android jellybean 4.1.2 on our AT&T note 8 and 4.2.2 on the Wi-Fi only Tab 3 with a heaping helping of Samsung's TouchWiz software slathered on top as on every Samsung Android device the third-party UI effects every layer of the OS delivering a net software experience that at this point is much more Samsung than Google in flavor in exchange for the added utility of features like smart stay the TV remote control and multi screen multitasking the skin brings some added ponderous nests to the OS on each device weighing it down with a bit of lag here and there and sometimes it's just a nuisance like when waiting for a home screen widget to load other times it's more frustrating like jumpy page loading in the browser such stutter can be found on each of these devices but we found it much more forgivable on the note 8 thanks almost exclusively to its S Pen Stylus now we've talked extensively about the s-pen in our note 8 and Note 2 reviews so here it's enough to briefly state that the add-on is much more than a stylus it's a navigation helper it's a shortcut assistant it's a memo taker and it's an in disposable companion for everything from creating quick and dirty game plans to injecting some added fun to photos and images and with Samsung's growing catalog of s-pen focused apps the possibilities are only growing using these tablets side by side we were struck by how often we preferred the note 8 thanks in large part to that s-pen one thing's for sure though you're not going to buy either of these tablets for their cameras while outdoor shots can actually come out quite nice in full 5 megapixel resolution especially with vibrant or high contrast subject once the cameras move indoors sharpness and saturation decrease significantly while outdoor shots are comparable between the cameras the note 8 wins the indoor performance contest hands down due to its more accurate color reproduction the Galaxy Tabs photos all exhibit this purple cast indoors that's pretty ugly that was a surprise given that the tabs viewfinder software is actually the more modern version from the more recent galaxy s devices while the 18 note 8 that we have is still stuck with 2012's interface we may see improvement of the optical situation with software updates but no amount of software tweaking is likely to make these cameras outstanding on a brighter note audio performance is pretty solid given the size of these devices though the speaker ports are located along the bottom edge of each unit the sound produced is loud and clear now there's not much in the way of base or tonal range and you do need to hold each device a certain way to avoid blocking the speaker ports with a thumb but you should rest easy knowing you can watch Netflix or YouTube or streams and music without straining your ears and you won't need to keep a terribly close eye on the battery meter while you do it either in our testing we found that each tablet delivers pretty excellent battery life stay tuned for our full review of the tab 3 for more info but for now assuming you take the bare minimum steps of disabling extraneous features and keeping an eye on your display brightness each of these tablets should easily last a day or more of moderate to heavy use in Wi-Fi mode as similar as they are aesthetically these tablets are actually targeted two entirely different fire segments Samsung is pushing the Galaxy Note 8.0 as a Productivity device at work at home and on the go while it's positioning the Galaxy Tab 3 8.0 as a powerful tablet that's been simplified so anyone can use it so here's the deal if you're really pinching pennies and you're not looking for an avalanche of features the Galaxy Tab 3 8.0 will probably suit you just fine as a mid-range Android tablet in a small slim package but if you're thinking at all about splurging or using a tablet for more than casual browsing and email checking the Galaxy Note 8.0 is the clear winner here primarily due to the added horsepower of its quad-core processor and the increased utility offered by its S Pen Stylus it's better faster and stronger than the Tab 3 and only a little bit bigger to boot if you've got the extra 80 bucks it's probably the smarter choice hope you enjoyed the comparison folks we do have a full review of the Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 8.0 coming up very shortly ad pocket now and as I mentioned before Taylor Martin already reviewed the Galaxy Note 8.0 some months ago so visit pocketnow.com to check that out visit forums pocketnow.com if you want to talk to other readers about these devices or others and make sure to follow us on social media drop us a like here if you enjoyed the video leave a comment right in the video feed if you have something to say or a request for the forthcoming review and thank you very much for watching we'll see you next time folks we have a full review of the Samsung Galaxy Note 8 3.0 so many numbers you