Samsung Galaxy Tab 4 8.0 Review

The Galaxy Tab 4 8.0 is available in black or white. We have the black version in hand for our review. This tablet measures 4.88 x 8.27 x 0.31 inches and weighs 11.11 ounces. It’s fairly comfortable to hold this tablet with one hand but if you're not in the NBA, you’ll need to use your other hand for navigation.

On the front of the tablet, you’ll find the Samsung logo above the 1280 x 800 pixel display with the front-facing 1.3 megapixel camera just to the right of the logo. This display has the same resolution as the previous generation Galaxy Tab 3 8.0. Users who want a display with a higher pixel density will have to upgrade to Samsung’s Galaxy Pro line or the recently released Galaxy Tab S. The Galaxy Tab 4 8.0’s display has decent color and viewing angles. When using this tablet outdoors, you’ll want to pump the brightness up to 100% in order to see the screen well.

Below the display, you’ll find the Home button along with capacitive recent apps and back buttons on the left and the right. Unfortunately, these buttons are not backlit.

The majority of the ports are located on the right edge of the Galaxy Tab 4 8.0. Here, you’ll find the microphone, Power/Lock key, volume rocker, infrared blaster, and a memory card slot with a swinging cover. On the top edge of the Galaxy Tab 4 8.0, you’ll find the 3.5mm headset jack. The microUSB charging/accessory port is located on the bottom edge of the tablet.

When you turn the Galaxy Tab 4 8.0 over, you’ll notice the rear-facing 3 megapixel camera which does not have a flash, along with the speaker vents which are located near the bottom right corner. At full volume, the speaker sounds tinny, which is typical of a mainstream tablet, but the volume levels are good.

The back cover is made of plastic and has a leather look. Although the back cover is slightly textured it doesn’t provide a lot of grip. Still, it is an improvement over the previous generation Galaxy Tab 3 8.0’s back cover which was glossy and attracted fingerprints.

Compared to previous versions of the Galaxy Tab family, the Galaxy Tab 4 8.0 has minimal amounts of chrome. There’s still a thin chrome bezel that surrounds the display, but this tablet has significantly less chrome than the previous generation Galaxy Tab 3 8.0 which had mostly chrome edges. We don’t have a strong preference either way on this styling.

Powering the Galaxy Tab 4 8.0 is a 1.2 GHz Quad-core processor along with 1.5GB of RAM. There is 16GB of storage on board. Additional hardware features include dual-band Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n connectivity along with Bluetooth 4.0 LE and GPS.