While it likely won't match up to the new iPad 10.2 (2021) with its A13 Bionic chip, Samsung still plans to put up a fight with the rumored low-cost Galaxy Tab A8, specs for which just made their way online.
91Mobiles and Steve Hemmerstoffer (who goes by OnLeaks on Twitter) claim to have unearthed what Samsung plans to offer with the Tab A8. According to OnLeaks, the Tab A8 will have a 10.5-inch 1920x1200 TFT WUXGA display, a Unisoc Tiger T618 system on chip (SoC) processor with 128GB of storage, and either three or four GBs of RAM. The tablet will supposedly also have a respectable 7,040 mAh battery, an 8MP rear camera, a 5MP front camera, and could come in gold, silver or gray colorways. Tom's Guide has not been able to independently verify these claims.
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In terms of styling, per the renders presented by OnLeaks and 91Mobiles, the A8 will not look too dissimilar from the Samsung Galaxy Tab A7 from last year. It'll stick with its rectangular design and a single camera bump on the back. Although, the Tab A8 will supposedly go with a circular camera bump over the square one found in the Tab A7.
Unlike the new iPad mini 6 or the upcoming Microsoft Surface Pro 8, the Tab A8 will have beefier bezels, which can look a little dated by 2021 metrics. But it'll still be a relatively portable device overall, measuring in at 9.71 x 6.37 x .2 inches. The Tab A8 will apparently rock quad-speakers with Dolby Atmos support with a 3.5mm headphone jack.
In terms of specs, the Galaxy Tab A8, which will likely cost around $250, which pales in comparison to both the iPad mini 6 ($499) and the slower 2021 iPad 10.2-inch ($329). The Unisoc Tiger T618, per Gadget Versus, has a Geekbench score of 1,294. Compare that to the A13 bionic found in this year's iPad, which clocks in at 3,364, the Tab A8 is left in the dust. And then to add more insult, the new iPad mini, which is more expensive at $500, has the most recent A15 Bionic chip with a Geekbench score of 4,425.
At least the Tab A8 supports fast charging and a fingerprint scanner.
Samsung has yet to confirm the Tab A8, so at the moment we can only speculate its release date. Right now we feel that it'll launch sometime in October of this year.
