Samsung - Galaxy Tab A 8.0" 32GB - Black

So prior to purchasing this tablet on sale for $150 ($50 off) I had the Galaxy Tab A 8.0. Well you might be asking "What's the difference?" I was initially confused as I was tablet shopping when I found out that Samsung released two versions of this 8 inch tablet recently, the 2015 (SM-T350) and 2017 (SM-T380) version. I will be going over the differences between the both and why I recommend the 2017 version. The 2017 version has the newer, snappier, Snapdragon 425 as opposed to the older Snapdragon 410 found in the 2015 model. I can definitely tell the difference between the two tablets. Having a faster processor is one of the more important things when buying a budget tablet as you will notice this all the time while using the tablet. The 2017 version also has a higher resolution screen, with the same screen size. This results in the PPI (pixels per inch) being higher, which means that the display is sharper. The screen is definitely sharper and this makes reading small text easier. Other hardware improvements to the 2017 version are, better camera, built in flash that doubles as a flashlight (2015 didn't have one), bigger battery, and more RAM. The entry level flash storage is also up to 32gb (from 16gb). The tablet that I had before constantly crashed while using YouTube. The tablet software was fully updated as well as the app, and when opening comments on YouTube videos the app would stop responding. All in all, I definitely recommend picking up this tablet as the sale means there is a $10 price difference between the two models of the Galaxy 8.0 tablet. You'll know if the tablet is the newest version as the title states (LATEST VERSION). If anyone has any questions or comments feel free to post a comment and I'll try to respond ASAP.

I bought my Galaxy Tab A 8" (2017/"Latest Model") four weeks ago in August 2018. I'm very pleased with it and it does everything I need it to do. I bought it to use where I have Wi-FI -- at home and when traveling -- so I'll have a larger screen than my cell phone. The new 16:10 format makes the tablet easy to hold in one hand, especially with a grippy silicone case. (Without a case, the tablet is very slippery.) In addition to the new narrower 16:10 format, other features I like are the 32 gb internal storage, crisp photos, sharp display, micro SD card slot, Microsoft Office pre-installed, and little or no "bloatware". Download the User Manual from the Samsung website and read it to learn how to use all the features. Finding a glass screen protector was a bit of a hassle. My local Best Buy store did not stock the screen protector. Many online screen protectors for the Tab A 8" do not state whether they are for the 2015 tablet or the 2017 tablet, and the size of the two are not the same. I had my Best Buy store order the Sahara Case screen protector from the Best Buy website. It's a perfect fit. The screen protector is a bit pricey @ $29.99, but it's apparently nearly bulletproof. (Oddly, the screen protector is identified as being for the 2018 Tab A 8", but it's the right one for the 2017 tablet.) Overall I'm fully pleased with my Galaxy Tab A 8" (2017) and have not been disappointed with it in any way.

My prior Android was a 7" DigiLand. It worked well enough to test the Android app I was developing, but after a couple years it started getting very slow because it was starving for RAM. Every time I switched between apps I had to wait for the app to reload. So I decided to look for something better with more RAM. I'm very pleased with the Galaxy Tab A. When I demonstrate my Android app to someone, the 8" is much easier for them to see than a 7". I can continuously switch between several apps without them having to reload. The speed to download and updates apps is also impressive. I'm very glad I got the 32GB storage. But what impresses me the most is the Tab A's battery management. I don't usually carry the Tab A with me, so some days it sleeps most of the day. Even with WIFI left turned on, my battery drops only about 3% in 24 hours. I sometimes use it to read during the night, and because I keep the brightness very low, that uses only a little more of the battery. If I used it all day long it obviously would consume more of the battery, but with limited usage, the battery is about 50% after a week and a half, at which time I charge it. The bottom line is that unless you're using it heavily, you don't have to be concerned about letting it sleep for a few days and then picking it and the battery being almost dead. My only complaint is very minor and superficial. I have a hard time seeing the icons of the soft buttons to the left and right of the center button when it's dark in the room. I just need to practice where they are located relative to the center button while the lights are on!

I have purchased Samsung - Galaxy Tab A 8.0" after much of research, looking for 8" tablet with a "narrow" form factor, expandable memory, good graphics, fast processor and reasonable price. This table fits the bill perfectly. After several weeks, it works great, I haven't encountered any issues. I added 128 Mb memory card to store my eBooks and pictures. Wi-Fi works very well, processing speed is excellent, graphics are good. Camera could be better, but is fairly good for the price for both taking pictures, making casual video clips and for using Skype. Most of the apps that I wanted to install from the Google store work as intended (I had to do some tweaking configuring them, but nothing really too complicated). A couple of apps unfortunately are not optimized for this version of Android, but this is more of a nuisance for me than a deal breaker - I could find alternative apps that work as well. The most important functions - e-mail, calendar, eBook readers (I have three of them installed), Chrome, and note taking (I use Samsung app which came with the tablet, and love it) work very well. Overall, I have a compact size, lightweight tablet, with good performance and high quality graphics (and not so high quality sound) for a much lower price than higher end tablets of comparable screen size. Very pleased with the purchase.

Bought the SM-T380NZSEXAR (Tab A 2017 version) back in May. After more than six months of use I can say I'm very happy with the tablet. I use it mostly for checking news/social media, checking maps, making reservations, and watching videos when traveling, and for selecting videos to cast to my TV via Chromecast when I'm at home. Tablet is responsive, has good battery life, good app compatibility, and charges quickly. As a bonus, I just received an update to Android 8.1 and "Samsung Experience version 9.5" and the update allowed changing the irksome (to me) over/under display of time on the lock screen to the more conventional "xx:xx" format. Some nits: the case is slippery. It'd be good if it had some texture. The Running Apps and Back buttons don't light up, nor are they easy to see except in the right light. Not a big deal if you use the tablet much because you get used to just knowing about where they are relative to the home button but it would still be nice if they were more readily visible. Tidbit: The USB C charging connector and associated charger work great. But USB C is still not as nearly widespread as micro USB. So I recommend folks consider getting some micro-USB to C adapters (very cheap on certain online auction sites) or an extra USB C cable to keep in their bag in case you need to 'borrow' someone's charger when on the road.

This tablet is really great!! I purchase is tablet during Black Friday / Cyber Monday weekend for a great deal. I don't use this tablet as much so my review will be more for people who are going to use this tablet very rarely to sometimes a day. The battery life is amazing, 14 hours long, but with me not using this tablet as much, I can go a week without charging it. Display and pixels are excellent as well. The reason I am giving this tablet a four-star is because of Google. Google is a Powerhouse when it comes to technology, and I love it. But since I connected my tablet to my Google services and I have a Samsung Galaxy, I get a whole lot of redundancies and it's annoying. Of course I can find a way to disable my Google account on my tablet, but I am not trying to find out how to do that right now. The other thing that gets me upset about this tablet is the keyboard. I believe there was only one time where I got swipe-to-text, after that I get no swipe-to-text, no auto-text, no prediction words, etc. and it is frustrating when I am writing something on my tablet that I am not getting these features compared to on my phone. Finally, the charging cable is not micro USB cord. I believe it's the new C type USB cord but I could be wrong. This threw me off, so I want to inform you guys about that if you decide to buy this tablet. Overall, this is a great tablet for anyone who is looking to upgrade or just buy a new tablet!

I have to say that the tablet does everything that it was advertised to do, but I find myself wondering why I bought it. It's not the tablet's fault, it seems to be a good, well-made product. But it, so far, is just a bigger Android phone, without cell service. I have found it useful to use Acorn, on the tablet and cast it to my Android TV, since Acorn hasn't adapted its app for the TV. If I didn't own a Kindle, I would read books on it. I found that there is no handy way to hold it to read or watch TV on it. I bought a case so that I could put it on the table, in landscape mode, and watch baseball and hockey, but to hold it in portrait mode and use it as a reader is not comfortable. I like having a tablet, as a luxury, but it doesn't provide anything necessary. It can use the included Microsoft Office 365 (Trial Version installed) but you definitely would need a keyboard (bluetooth available) to keep your sanity. Overall, it's fun, and it works well, but I have yet to find anything it does better enough to make it a necessity. It does everything an iPad Mini does, at half the price, but figure out what you want it for first.

The only complaint I have about this tablet is the complaint I have about ALL Samsung tablets: the video (whether it's your own or Netflix or whatever) just plays dark. The other thing that drives me nuts about Samsung tablets is how hard it is to open up the SD card slot. It takes a special tool or a really thin paper clip and that's a pain. Why can't they have a little door and you just push on the card and it pops up. There are too many delicate things that could go wrong. Other than that, this is a very nice tablet for reading eBooks, web browsing and watching video while traveling. It's pretty lightweight and responsive. Since no one seems to have thought that 7" tablets need more than 8 gigs, this is a the perfect alternative. I'd definitely get some protection for any tablet (a cover, a screen protector) but this will fit into your purse or briefcase. The speaker is pretty good. IThe tablet is a little slow on the uploading and sometimes it's a little slower connecting to WiFi (it doesn't have a big processor) but all in all, it's a pretty good tablet And it's a GREAT alternative to an iPad, and costs much less. Plus there's that MicroSD card slot for expandable memory. I'd buy it again. I'd recommend it.