Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0 vs. iPad Air Review: Which Tablet is a Better Bang for Your Buck?
The tablet market is a fierce competitive environment that pushes manufacturers to create a tablet that differentiates itself from the others. Apple had been fortunate enough to get into the market first, giving them the experience to create quality tablets, albeit at a premium price tag.
Samsung on the other hand counters this by releasing a large number of products that may at the very least cater to something that the consumer is looking for, may it be screen size, performance or price.
A good comparison would be the Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0 and the iPad Air. Both tablets have been out on the market for a fairly long time and offer stalwart performance for almost the same price.
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When it comes to screen size, Apple wins it out with the iPad Air's 9.7-inch screen with 2048 x 1536 resolution. The Note 8.0 is considerably smaller with only an 8.0-inch screen with a 1280 x 800 resolution.
Despite Apple claiming the the iPad Air is considerably light, its larger profile compared to the Note 8.0 actually makes it heavier. The Air weighs 478g while the Note 8.0 weighs 338g even though both are made out of aluminum.
Both devices run on their respective manufacturer's chips with the Air sporting the 64-bit Apple A7 dual-core 1.4GHz processor while the Note 8.0 runs on the Samsung Exynos 4412 quad-core 1.6GHz ARM Coretx-A9 processor.
When it comes to RAM the iPad Air only has 1GB or RAM while the Note 8.0 has 2GB. The Air, however, has a bigger storage with 128GB while the Note 8.0 only has 16GB. The Note 8.0 supports microSD cards though so storage can be extended to an additional 64GB.
Obviously, the two devices run on different operating systems with the iPad Air running on the iOS 7, which can be upgradable to 7.1.2. Apple plans on pushing the OS up to the upcoming iOS 8. The Note 8.0 initially runs on the Android 4.1.2 Jellybean but can be upgraded to the 4.4 Kitkat.
The iPad Air goes for around $500, with the Note 8.0 being $50 cheaper. Choosing between the two tablets simply comes down to personal preference.
