Hi! guys! We often tease Samsung about the seemingly arbitrary way it divvies up its tablet offerings -- not content with round numbers, it's released tablets that are 10.1 inches wide instead of 10, 8.9 instead of 9, 7.7 instead of 8, and so on. And so too is the case with the Samsung Galaxy Tab Pro 8.4, whose extra 0.4 inch seems unnecessarily tacked on. Yet, this results in a 16:9 aspect ratio that makes it well-suited for watching movies, which makes us willing to forgive its silliness. Plus, even if that weren't enough to sway us, there's so much else to like about Tab Pro 8.4 that the odd screen size is but a minor detail. Indeed, while Samsung released its latest Galaxy Tab Pro line of tablets in both 10.1 and 12.1 inches, it's the 8.4-inch model that's likely to win the hearts of most.
Hardware
I didn't think that extra 0.4 inch would differentiate the Galaxy Tab Pro from previous models like the Galaxy Tab 3, but it does. The Tab Pro is noticeably taller, and like an adolescent wearing an ill-fitting suit, it looks a little, well, stretched out. Once I started using the tablet on a regular basis however, that additional length soon became an asset rather than an oddity. It provides just a touch more head space when browsing lengthy web pages and when turned on its side, its 16:9 aspect ratio lends itself well to watching movies and TV shows.
But before I get to the display, let's take a brief tour of the hardware. Like last year's Galaxy Note 3 and the recently released Note Pro 12.2, the Tab Pro has a faux-leather exterior -- everything from the pebbled back to the "stitching" on the sides is actually made from plastic. Yet, as much as I hate to admit it, this design trickery gives the Tab Pro a premium feel that sets it apart from the last generation of Galaxy Tabs, whose glossy plastic left much to be desired. Add in some metallic accents and the Tab Pro looks like it would fit right in at a Parisian fashion house.
Speaking of fashion-forward looks, I'd be remiss if I didn't mention the Tab Pro's slender, lightweight build. Measuring 8.62 inches long, 5.06 inches wide and 0.28 inch thick, the tablet features rounded corners and tapered edges, both of which make it easy to hold in the hand. Scratch that: I should say hands instead, as the slate's 11.85-ounce weight and extra length make it much too top-heavy to use one-handed.
Samsung Galaxy Tab Pro 8.4 Dimensions 8.62 x 5.06 x 0.28 in.
Weight 11.68 oz
Screen size 8.4 inches
Resolution 2,560 x 1,600 (359 ppi)
Screen type IPS LCD
Battery Up to 10 hours
Internal storage 16GB / 32GB
External storage microSD card (up to 64GB)
Rear camera 8-megapixel AF
Forward camera 2-megapixel fixed-focus
Video capture 1080p
NFC N/A
Bluetooth 4.0
SoC Quad-core Snapdragon 800
CPU 2.3GHz
RAM 2GB
WiFi Dual-band 802.11a/ac/b/g/n
Operating system Android 4.4 Kitkat
Performance
With a 2.3GHz quad-core Snapdragon 800 processor and 2GB of RAM, the Tab Pro 8.4 theoretically offers plenty of power. And after spending some serious quality time with the tablet, I have to agree. Swiping and flipping around the tablet's various apps and screens felt gloriously smooth for the most part, and launching most software took mere seconds. For example, in just under two seconds, I was able to launch the camera app and start taking photographs. Snapping pictures is practically instantaneous as well, which is great if you need to capture that perfect moment.
I was especially impressed with how the Tab Pro fared during multitasking. I launched several apps using Samsung's Multi Window feature, with two taking up the entire screen and a few more pop-up windows hovering above. I did things like surf the web with Chrome, play YouTube videos, check email and chat with friends using Hangouts all at the same time. And on the whole, I was able to do these tasks without serious issues. I even tried playing two or three videos simultaneously (with YouTube, Chrome and the built-in video player), and to my surprise, the videos didn't stutter at all.
That said, the more apps I launched, the more the performance started to lag; resizing windows and moving them around took a bit more patience than usual (if you recall, the same thing happened when we tested the Note Pro 12.2). Chrome also crashed once during my little multi-window experiment. While I wouldn't recommend using Multi Window all the time, it's at least robust enough for occasional, lighter use.
As for the device's speakers, I was pleasantly surprised by how loud and rich the stereo speakers sound. To my non-audiophile ears, I didn't detect much tinniness, and found them perfectly acceptable for listening to tracks from Rdio and Spotify. I wouldn't replace your best Bluetooth speakers with them of course, but they'll do in a pinch.
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