Slim bezels, but at what cost?
We’re just a few days away from Samsung’s latest Unpacked event, where it’ll officially unveil the Galaxy S22 series alongside all-new tablets. The Galaxy Tab S8, S8+, and S8 Ultra have leaked extensively since last spring, and as the company’s first high-end tablets in nearly two years, we’re excited to get our hands on them. A new photo of the Tab S8 Ultra out in the wild has leaked online, and it’s giving us some real insight into how its unique display will look and function.
While the Tab S8 and Tab S8+ are fairly standard upgrades to the Tab S7 series, this year’s new Ultra model is a supersized addition to the lineup. With a 14.6″ display, it’s one of the largest mainstream tablets we’ve ever seen, and could make for a great laptop replacement once it’s paired with a third-party keyboard accessory. It also features improved front-facing cameras — that’s right, cameras plural — over its smaller siblings, but with a catch: there’s a notch cutout built into the screen.
If you’ve been dreaming of a massive slate but can’t stand the thought of an ever-present black bar on your screen, a new photo of the tablet out in the real world might give you some insight into how it’ll look (via SamMobile). The Tab S8 Ultra — which seems to be demoing the upcoming Galaxy S22 — shows off its ultra-slim bezels in this image, complete with a notch protruding from the top of the display when held horizontally.
Some potential buyers might find this cutout annoying, but it seems like Samsung has likely done its best to keep it from being too intrusive. For one, it’ll likely blend right into the status bar during regular use, only showing up when displaying full-screen photos or videos. Meanwhile, when held in portrait mode, it should fall right where your thumb will land on the display, adding a small section to make it easier to hold. Still, it’s likely to be a divisive design choice.
We’ll finally get a chance to see how the notch affects everyday use when the Tab S8 series launches later this week.
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