Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 8.0 review: Middle of everywhere

Very good display

The Galaxy Tab 3 8.0 has the same screen as the Note 8.0 - an 8" WXGA (1280 x 800 pixels) unit with 189ppi density and an aspect ratio of 16:10.

The Tab 3 8.0's display

While the image quality is understandably far from what you'd get on a 1080p flagship smartphone, the screen of the Galaxy Tab 3 8.0 is fairly crisp to the naked eye, and sharper than other Samsung tablets, such as the Tab 2 7.0. It also beats out Apple's iPad mini in terms of ppi. Here's a closer look at the display matrices of each device.

Display test	50% brightness			100% brightness
Display test	Black, cd/m²	White, cd/m²	Contrast ratio	Black, cd/m²	White, cd/m²	Contrast ratio
Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 8.0	0.29	266	912	0.47	464	989
Google Nexus 10	0.26	223	859	0.50	443	878
Sony Xperia Tablet Z	-	-	-	0.53	531	996
Sony Xperia Tablet S	0.35	334	947	0.67	526	783
Apple iPad mini	0.25	208	838	0.51	458	812
Apple iPad 3	0.21	167	809	0.6	477	779
Apple iPad 4	0.21	163	797	0.63	476	762
Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.7	0	200	∞	0	328	∞
Asus Google Nexus 7	0.25	244	954	0.36	327	908
Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1	0.27	223	832	0.49	406	821
Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1	0.31	257	826	0.55	502	915
Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus	0.17	196	1141	0.34	424	1236

The viewing angles are excellent, contrast is really good too and colors are nice.

The Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 8.0 screen up close

As is often the case with tablets, though, sunlight legibility could've been better- the Galaxy Tab 3 8.0 screen is clearly no match for some of the high-end smartphones we've tested.

Battery performance

Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 8.0 is powered by a 4450 mAh battery, which should give it enough juice for a few days on non-heavy usage. Since we have the Wi-Fi version of the slate, we can't do our traditional battery routine that includes talk time and give you a score. We performed our browser and video tests anyway to give you an overview of the Tab 3 8.0 battery performance.

Web browsing

HTC One
9:58
Apple iPhone 5
9:56
Motorola RAZR MAXX (ICS)
9:12
Apple iPad mini
9:05
Samsung Galaxy Note II N7100
8:48
BlackBerry Q10
8:42
Nokia Lumia 810
8:20
Asus Padfone 2
8:20
Huawei Ascend Mate
8:17
Samsung Galaxy Mega 6.3
8:17
Nokia Lumia 610
8:01
HTC One X+
7:56
Sony Xperia E dual
7:42
Samsung Galaxy S III mini
7:38
Nokia Lumia 720
7:37
Samsung Galaxy S4 Active
7:35
Samsung Galaxy S4 (S600)
7:24
Motorola DROID RAZR MAXX
7:23
HTC Radar
7:17
Nokia Lumia 520
7:15
Samsung Galaxy Grand Duos
7:09
Samsung Galaxy Express
7:09
Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 8.0
7:07
Motorola RAZR i
7:06
Samsung Galaxy S4 (Octa)
6:58
Apple iPhone 4S
6:56
HTC One V
6:49
LG Optimus G Pro
6:40
Samsung I9105 Galaxy S II Plus
6:40
Sony Xperia L
6:40
HTC Droid DNA
6:40
Samsung Galaxy Premier
6:40
Motorola Atrix HD
6:40
BlackBerry Curve 9380
6:40
Sony Xperia Z
6:37
Samsung Galaxy Xcover 2
6:35
BlackBerry Z10
6:27
Samsung I9300 Galaxy S III (JB)
6:27
HTC Butterfly
6:24
Sony Xperia SP
6:18
Samsung i937 Focus S
6:15
Nokia Lumia 510
6:13
Sony Xperia ZL
6:04
HTC Windows Phone 8X
6:01
Sony Xperia ion LTE
5:56
Samsung Galaxy Fame
5:55
Samsung Rugby Smart I847
5:53
Pantech Burst
5:51
Samsung Galaxy S Blaze 4G
5:45
HTC Desire V
5:44
HTC Evo 4G LTE
5:41
Nokia Lumia 920
5:40
Samsung Wave 3 S8600
5:34
Oppo Find 5
5:33
Sony Xperia T
5:33
Samsung Captivate Glide
5:33
Samsung I8530 Galaxy Beam
5:28
Samsung Galaxy Note LTE
5:24
Samsung Galaxy S Duos
5:23
HTC Sensation XL
5:20
Meizu MX 4-core
5:19
Samsung I9300 Galaxy S III
5:17
Sony Xperia acro S
5:16
HTC Rezound
5:16
HTC Desire X
5:16
LG Optimus G
5:15
HTC Rhyme
5:08
Samsung I9103 Galaxy R
5:07
HTC One X (AT&T)
5:03
Sony Ericsson Xperia Pro
4:50
LG Optimus Vu
4:49
HTC Vivid
4:46
Samsung Galaxy Ace Duos
4:45
Meizu MX
4:35
Google Nexus 4
4:34
Nokia N9
4:33
Acer CloudMobile S500
4:32
Nokia Lumia 820
4:24
Samsung Galaxy S II
4:24
Sony Ericsson Xperia neo V
4:20
HTC One X
4:18
Nokia 808 PureView
4:14
LG Optimus 3D Max P720
4:10
Nokia Lumia 900 for AT&T
4:10
Nokia Lumia 800
4:07
HTC Titan II (LTE)
4:05
HTC One S
4:03
BlackBerry Bold 9790
4:02
LG Nitro HD
4:00
LG Optimus 4X HD
3:59
Sony Xperia P
3:59
Nokia Lumia 710
3:51
Nokia Lumia 620
3:50
Samsung Galaxy Pocket
3:47
Samsung Galaxy Note
3:35
Huawei Ascend P1
3:23
Samsung Galaxy Nexus
3:01

And here is how long your Galaxy Tab 3 8.0 will last playing movies.

Video playback

Motorola RAZR MAXX (ICS)
16:35
Motorola DROID RAZR MAXX
14:17
Apple iPad mini
12:51
Samsung Galaxy Premier
12:51
Samsung Galaxy S4 (S600)
12:30
Huawei Ascend Mate
12:18
Samsung Galaxy S4 (Octa)
11:29
Samsung Galaxy Note II N7100
11:27
BlackBerry Q10
11:15
Apple iPhone 5
10:12
HTC One
10:02
Samsung I9300 Galaxy S III
10:01
Samsung Galaxy Express
10:00
Samsung I9105 Galaxy S II Plus
10:00
Nokia 808 PureView
9:53
Samsung I8530 Galaxy Beam
9:42
Samsung Rugby Smart I847
9:34
HTC One S
9:28
Samsung I9300 Galaxy S III (JB)
9:27
Apple iPhone 4S
9:24
HTC Evo 4G LTE
9:07
BlackBerry Z10
8:44
Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 8.0
8:42
LG Optimus G Pro
8:40
Nokia N9
8:40
Samsung Galaxy Mega 6.3
8:34
HTC Butterfly
8:28
Samsung Galaxy Note
8:25
Samsung Galaxy Grand Duos
8:11
HTC One X+
8:11
Motorola RAZR i
8:11
Samsung Galaxy S II
8:00
Samsung i937 Focus S
7:55
Samsung Wave 3 S8600
7:52
Samsung Galaxy S III mini
7:46
Sony Ericsson Xperia neo V
7:45
Asus Padfone 2
7:38
Huawei Ascend P1
7:38
Samsung Galaxy S Blaze 4G
7:33
HTC Droid DNA
7:30
Samsung Galaxy Note LTE
7:30
Samsung Galaxy Xcover 2
7:30
Sony Xperia SP
7:27
Nokia Lumia 610
7:23
LG Optimus G
7:16
Samsung Galaxy S4 Active
7:03
Nokia Lumia 720
6:43
Meizu MX 4-core
6:33
Nokia Lumia 620
6:32
HTC Windows Phone 8X
6:27
Sony Xperia E dual
6:27
Nokia Lumia 810
6:27
HTC Desire V
6:26
HTC One X (AT&T)
6:26
Nokia Lumia 820
6:25
Samsung Galaxy Ace Duos
6:25
Nokia Lumia 510
6:23
LG Optimus Vu
6:23
Samsung I9103 Galaxy R
6:21
Nokia Lumia 920
6:19
HTC Sensation XL
6:12
Samsung Galaxy Pocket
6:06
Samsung Captivate Glide
6:04
Sony Xperia ion LTE
6:03
Samsung Galaxy Nexus
6:02
Sony Xperia T
6:01
Motorola Atrix HD
6:01
HTC Vivid
6:00
HTC Radar
5:54
Nokia Lumia 800
5:52
Nokia Lumia 520
5:50
HTC Titan II
5:50
BlackBerry Bold 9790
5:47
HTC One X
5:45
Sony Ericsson Xperia Pro
5:44
Sony Xperia Z
5:39
Sony Xperia acro S
5:38
HTC Desire X
5:38
Pantech Burst
5:38
Sony Xperia ZL
5:28
Meizu MX
5:27
HTC Rhyme
5:23
HTC One V
5:20
Acer CloudMobile S500
5:18
Oppo Find 5
5:18
Nokia Lumia 900 for AT&T
5:18
BlackBerry Curve 9380
5:09
HTC Rezound
5:03
Samsung Galaxy Fame
5:02
Google Nexus 4
4:55
Sony Xperia L
4:44
Samsung Galaxy S Duos
4:30
Sony Xperia P
4:30
LG Nitro HD
4:17
LG Optimus 4X HD
4:14
LG Optimus 3D Max P720
3:28
Nokia Lumia 710
3:27

Next Page » 4. User interface

3. Display, battery life

Reviews Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 8.0 reviewPage 3