Samsung Galaxy Tab S 8.4 vs Apple iPad mini Retina vs LG G Pad 8.3: specs comparison

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Samsung Galaxy Tab S 8.4 vs Apple iPad mini Retina vs LG G Pad 8.3: specs comparison
Samsung has just announced its newest flagship tablets (that don't include S Pen styluses), so we naturally want to see how the new Galaxy Tab S devices stack up to the current competition. This one focuses on the more compact tablets, which means a specs battle between the Samsung Galaxy Tab S 8.4, the Apple iPad mini with Retina display, and the LG G Pad 8.3.

It is hard to imagine that Samsung had anyone else in mind when designing these tablets than Apple. The Galaxy Tab S 8.4 features a Super AMOLED display that is 0.4 inches larger than the iPad mini Retina, and has a higher resolution and pixel density. But, Samsung has been able to pack that into a device that is both thinner and lighter than the iPad mini. Not a bad engineering feat, even if Samsung isn't using premium build materials. The LG G Pad 8.4 doesn't quite stack up on most specs, but it should be kept in mind that the G Pad is by far the cheapest, listed on Amazon right now for about $275.

In general, the internals for the Galaxy Tab S 8.4 (SoC, RAM, etc) look far more impressive on paper, but the spec sheet rarely tells the whole story with a Samsung device because of the heavy software customizations that are added.

Samsung Galaxy Tab S 8.4 Apple iPad mini 2 LG G Pad 8.3

Design

Dimensions
8.38 x 4.94 x 0.26 inches
212.8 x 125.6 x 6.6 mm
7.87 x 5.30 x 0.30 inches
200 x 134.7 x 7.5 mm
8.54 x 4.98 x 0.33 inches
216.8 x 126.5 x 8.3 mm
Weight
10.51 oz (298.0 g) 12.03 oz (341.0 g) 11.92 oz (338.0 g)
Materials
Back: Aluminum
Biometrics
Fingerprint (swipe)
Features
Touch sensitive control keys
Keys
Right: Volume control, Lock/Unlock key Right: Volume control, Other
Colors
Black, White Black, Gray, Silver, White Black, White
Phone functionality
Yes

Display

Size
8.4-inch 7.9-inch 8.3-inch
Resolution
2560x1600px, 359 PPI 1536x2048px, 324 PPI 1200x1920px, 273 PPI
Technology
Super AMOLED IPS LCD IPS LCD
Screen-to-body
76.61 % 71.82 % 72.80 %
Colors
16 777 216 16 777 216 16 777 216
Features
Ambient light sensor, Proximity sensor Oleophobic coating, Ambient light sensor Ambient light sensor

Hardware

System chip
Samsung Exynos 5 Octa 5420 Apple A7 Qualcomm Snapdragon 600
Processor
Octa-core
1900 MHz
ARM Cortex-A15 and ARM Cortex-A7
Dual-core
1300 MHz
Cyclone
Quad-core
1700 MHz
GPU
Mali-T628 MP6 PowerVR G6430 Yes
RAM
3GB (LPDDR3) 1GB (LPDDR3) 2GB (LPDDR2)
Internal storage
32GB 128GB 16GB
Storage expansion
microSDXC up to 128 GB microSDXC up to 64 GB
OS
Android (6.0 Marshmallow, 5.0 Lollipop, 4.4.2), Samsung TouchWiz UI iOS (12.x, 11.x, 10.x, 9.x, 8.x, 7.x) Android (5.0 Lollipop, 4.2.2)

Battery

Capacity
4900 mAh 6471 mAh 4600 mAh
Type
Li - Polymer Li - Polymer

Camera

Rear
Single camera Single camera Single camera
Main camera
8 MP (Autofocus, CMOS image sensor) 5 MP (Autofocus, BSI sensor)
Aperture size: F2.4
Focal length: 33 mm
5 MP (Autofocus, BSI sensor)
Aperture size: F2.6
Flash
LED
Video recording
1920x1080 (Full HD) (30 fps) 1920x1080 (Full HD) (30 fps)
Time-lapse video, EIS, Video calling
1920x1080 (Full HD) (30 fps)
Front
2.1 MP 1.2 MP, Video capture: 1280x720 (HD) 1.3 MP

Connectivity & Features

Bluetooth
4.0 4.0 4.0
WLAN
802.11 a,b,g,n,ac,dual-band
MIMO, Hotspot, Wi-Fi Direct
802.11 a,b,g,n,dual-band
Multiple antennas, MIMO, Hotspot
802.11 a,b,g,n,dual-band
Hotspot, Wi-Fi Direct
USB
microUSB, USB 2.0 Lightning microUSB, USB 2.0
HDMI
Yes
Location
GPS, A-GPS, Glonass GPS, A-GPS, Cell ID, Wi-Fi positioning GPS, A-GPS, Glonass
Sensors
Accelerometer, Gyroscope, Compass, Hall (for flip covers) Accelerometer, Gyroscope, Compass Accelerometer, Gyroscope, Compass
Other
Tethering, Computer sync, OTA sync Tethering, Computer sync, OTA sync, AirDrop Infrared, Tethering, Computer sync, OTA sync

Multimedia

Headphones
3.5mm jack 3.5mm jack 3.5mm jack
Speakers
Multiple speakers Multiple speakers Earpiece, Loudspeaker
Features
Album art cover, Background playback Album art cover, Background playback Album art cover, Background playback
Screen mirroring
MHL TV-out DLNA,SlimPort
Additional microphone(s)
Yes

Cellular

4G (FDD)
Bands 1(2100), 3(1800), 5(850), 7(2600), 8(900), 20(800 DD) Bands 1(2100), 2(1900), 3(1800), 4(AWS-1), 5(850), 7(2600), 8(900), 13(700 c), 17(700 b), 18(800 Lower), 19(800 Upper), 20(800 DD), 25(1900+), 26(850+)
3G
Bands 5(850), 8(900), 2(1900), 1(2100) Bands 5(850), 8(900), 2(1900), 1(2100)
Data Speed
LTE, HSPA, UMTS LTE, HSPA, UMTS
SIM type
Micro SIM Nano SIM

Phone Features

Notifications
Flight mode, Silent mode Flight mode, Silent mode Haptic feedback, Flight mode, Silent mode
Other features
Voice commands, Voice recording Voice commands, Voice recording Voice commands, Voice recording

Regulatory Approval

FCC approval
Date approved: May 16, 2014
FCC ID value: A3LSMT705
Date approved: Apr 15, 2013
FCC ID value: BCGA1490
FCC ID value: ZNFV500
Measured SAR
Head: 0.19 W/kg
Body: 1.01 W/kg
Simultaneous Transmission: 1.56 W/kg
Body: 1.19 W/kg
Simultaneous Transmission: 1.30 W/kg
Body: 0.72 W/kg

Buyers information

MSRP
$ 829 $ 350
In The Box
Lightning to USB Cable, USB Power Adapter

Availability

Officially announced
Jun 12, 2014 Oct 22, 2013 Sep 01, 2013

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