Bluey
Bluey

Full screen Bluey is just one reason why Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 Lite is better than Apple iPad 8th gen.

Why I bought the Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 Lite instead of iPad 8

I strongly considered the 8th generation iPad but in the end I chose to buy the Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 Lite for these reasons:

  • Wide 5:3 Screen Ratio – this means the S6 lite is great for us when watching streaming video Movies, TV shows (like Bluey), Youtube as well as ABC and SBS live News because they’re all made in a widescreen format that fits almost perfectly into the S6 lite screen resolution of 2000×1200 pixels. The iPad has a 4:3 screen ratio so lots of screen space is wasted with thick black bars when watching widescreen video.
  • S Pen – like to draw or take notes? With an iPad you’d have to pay an extra $145 for a pen but the S6 Lite has it included in the box as standard.
  • Made for Sharing – iPad’s don’t allow multiple users to login with their own desktop wallpaper, apps, browser setup etc because Apple wants you to buy an iPad for each person. In comparison with the S6 lite each user like myself and my wife can login with their own Gmail login and password so sharing the S6 Lite with a family member is easy.
  • Twice the Storage – the base iPad 8th gen model has 32GB of storage vs the base S6 lite which has 64GB of storage and up to 1TB MicroSD card support . That’s an easy win for Samsung as you don’t need to worry about pre-downloading lots of video from Netflix to watch later, installing many apps, syncing lots of large ebooks or storing massive numbers of family photos.
  • Better Front camera – the base iPad 8th gen model has a basic 1.2MP front camera while the S6 lite has a 5MP front camera which is a lot better for video chats with our family far away.

Until recently when buying a Samsung tablet or phone it was unclear how long you’d get updates for. Now that’s not a worry as the S6 Lite is on a long list of devices which Samsung has promised at least 3 years of software updates from release date.

Unboxing

Inside the S6 lite box you’ll find the tablet, S Pen, 7.75A charger and USB C Cable. The S Pen sticks to the side of the tablet magnetically but it’s a good idea to keep them together in a pouch or other storage otherwise you’ll lose the Pen quickly.

The S6 lite supports charging at 15W fast charge if you use a better charger that you own already.

Things you notice when looking at the S6 lite are: headphone jack (yay), USB C port (also yay) but to differentiate it from it’s more expensive the S7 series the S6 lite screen is a good TFT LCD rather than a great AMOLED and it doesn’t have a fingerprint sensor.

I can live with that considering how much more the S7 series tablets cost.

Key Specifications

  • Battery Capacity (mAh, Typical) 7040mAh
  • Dimension (HxWxD, mm): 244.5 x 154.3 x 7.0
  • Weight 465 grams
  • Processor & RAM : CPU 2.3GHz, 1.7GHz Octa-Core with 4 GB RAM
  • Display: 10.4 inch 2000 x 1200 (WUXGA+) TFT LCD
  • S Pen Support: Yes, pen included
  • Camera: RearĀ  8MP,Ā  Front 5MP
  • Storage: 64Gb or 128GB onboard, MicroSD (Up to 1TB)
  • Connectivity: USB 2, USB C, ANT+, 3.5mm jack, Bluetooth v5.0 (LE up to 2 Mbps). NFC No.
  • Wi-Fi: 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac 2.4G+5GHz, VHT80 MIMO. Wi-Fi Direct Yes. MHL No.

The Samsung Galaxy S6 lite is $549 (64GB) or $649 (128GB) from Samsung Direct. Keep an eye on their site there’s usually a promo for $50 off if you signup to their newsletter. At time of writing Bing Lee and MWave had the 64GB Wi-Fi model on sale for $499.

Disclosure Statement


I purchased this tablet, it was not a review loan from Samsung

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Abu Khalid

I just wish Samsung made a decent 8 inch tablet. Looking to get an ipad mini 6 of its not going to happen. I’m not a real ios fan but looks like no alternative

YasD

All good points IMO particularly with content consumption. Though I think that a used Ipad pro 10.5 is the better deal in that price range. With Apple’s support cycle, you’re still getting a few years of support. I personally went with that route. Though with a first gen Apple pencil, it was still $70 more than a new s6 lite but I think that it’s worth it as it’s a much better experience (pen and app situation wise).

Adrian G

All good points but the tablet specific apps and games is simply rubbish on Android. Iā€™m a massive Android fan for phones, but have always bought an iPad

Phil Tann

Agree on some levels Adrian
But if you’re a simple user with a bit of email, web surfing and streaming media content – the Android offerings are very workable.

Caleb

I totally agree with you here Adrian. Always bought Android phones but not tablets. iPads are far superior, I’ve had 3.

Wayne

I’ve been looking to replace my Huawei Mediapad but haven’t found a decent Android tablet worth replacing it with. I have been getting pretty close to moving over to the dark side to be honest. I’d love a Pixel tablet – clean and lean Android as it is intended – but that doesn’t seem in any way likely.

Does the S6 Lite feel heavy?

Neerav Bhatt

The S6 lite doesn’t feel heavy. It’s 465 grams vs iPad 8 Gen which is 490 grams