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

Hardware

System chip
Samsung Exynos 5 Octa 5420 Apple A7 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
Memory
3GB (LPDDR3)/32GB
3GB/16GB
1GB (LPDDR3)/128GB
1GB/16GB
1GB/32GB
1GB/64GB
1GB/128GB
2GB (LPDDR2)/16GB
Storage expansion
microSDXC up to 128 GB microSDXC up to 64 GB
OS
Android (6.0 Marshmallow, 5.0 Lollipop, 4.4.2) iOS (12.x, 11.x, 10.x, 9.x, 8.x, 7.x) Android (5.0 Lollipop, 4.2.2)

Battery

Type
4900 mAh 6471 mAh, Li - Polymer 4600 mAh, 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
1080p (30 fps) 1080p (30 fps)
Time-lapse video, EIS, Video calling
1080p (30 fps)
Front
2.1 MP 1.2 MP
Video capture: 720p
1.3 MP

Connectivity & Features

Bluetooth
4.0 4.0 4.0
WLAN
a,b,g,n,ac,dual-band
MIMO, Hotspot, Wi-Fi Direct
802.11 a, b, g, n, ac
a,b,g,n,dual-band
Multiple antennas, MIMO, Hotspot
802.11 a, b, g, n
a,b,g,n,dual-band
Hotspot, Wi-Fi Direct
802.11 a, b, g, n
USB
microUSB, USB 2.0 Lightning microUSB, USB 2.0
Sensors
Accelerometer, Gyroscope, Compass, Hall (for flip covers), Ambient light sensor, Proximity sensor Accelerometer, Gyroscope, Compass, Ambient light sensor Accelerometer, Gyroscope, Compass, Ambient light sensor
HDMI
Yes
Location
GPS, A-GPS, Glonass GPS, A-GPS, Cell ID, Wi-Fi positioning GPS, A-GPS, Glonass
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, 3, 5, 7, 8, 20 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 13, 17, 18, 19, 20, 25, 26
3G Bands
5, 8, 2, 1 5, 8, 2, 1
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

Availability

Officially announced
Jun 12, 2014 Oct 22, 2013 Sep 01, 2013
Prices (MSRP)
$829 $350

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