Despite my affinity for tablets, the truth is that outside of a few different options, the Android tablet market kind of sucks. Samsung is one company that bucks that trend, and it's just one reason why you should even consider the Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra. More importantly, you can get one for as low as $295 as part of Samsung's Early Black Friday tablet deals.
No, I didn't mistype, and you're not misreading. The Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra, which was released just last year, can be yours for under $300. First, the company has discounted one of the best Android tablets to just $699, down from its retail price of $1,099.
But, in order to get this beast of a device for so cheap, you'll need to have something to trade in. Samsung is well-known for offering some of the best trade-in values when it comes to new devices, but now, the same sentiment rings true.
While Samsung is accepting smartwatches, phones, and tablets for trade-ins, the device that will garner the most is the 5th Generation 12.9-inch iPad Pro ($405 off). But even if you don't have that specific tablet, the least amount that you'll get taken off when trading in a device is $30.
That being said, there are still plenty of devices that you might actually have that will get you close to the $100 mark. One example is the iPad Air (5th Generation,) which takes $280 off of the price, or you can trade in a Galaxy Tab S7+ and save another $190.
Even if you don't have another device to trade in, you are able to get the Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra for less than the Galaxy Tab S9. Speaking of which, if the Tab S8 Ultra is just too big, Samsung is offering up to $300 off of the new Galaxy Tab S9 FE. Again, this is with a qualified trade-in, but you can still save $50 even if you just want the latest Samsung tablet.
For just $425, you'll enjoy a massive 14.6-inch Super AMOLED display, paired with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1, 8GB of RAM, and 128GB of storage. Plus, it includes an S Pen in the box, giving it an immediate advantage over something like Apple's iPad.
As someone who owned this tablet until after the Galaxy Tab S9 Ultra was released, it served me well for pretty much anything. You can just use it as a massive tablet if you want, make it work as an external display for your computer, or pair it with Samsung's Keyboard Cover to use it as a replacement for your laptop.
Lastly, for those who are worried about updates, Samsung has come a long way from the old days. The Tab S8 Ultra will get four years of major OS upgrades, meaning that it will be officially supported until Android 16.
