Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra: Samsung's new flagship slate endures a bend test with potentially surprising results

Samsung is patently banking on setting a new flagship standard for Android tablets with the Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra, debuting it with a series-first 14.6-inch display, which is SuperAMOLED and 120Hz on top of that. Those super-premium specs come at a cost, however, and one might assume that part of that price is that it might also be extremely fragile due to its unusual size.

This impression might be reinforced by the fact that Samsung has elected to grace its new top-of-the-line tablet with a frame that, while made of "Armor" aluminum, is only 5.5mm (~0.23in) high. This spec is only one of many that puts the Tab S8 Ultra into iPad Pro territory - and might thus be expected to make it as likely as those Apple tablets to snap like a stale biscuit in online durability tests.

On the other hand, the latest 12.9-inch Pro model did manage to buck this trend and withstand a bend test on the part of famous YouTuber Zach Nelson on his JerryRigEverything channel. Nevertheless, the vlogger could not suppress his predictions that he would turn the new flagship tablet "into a foldable" by the end of the shoot (which involved a new and potentially excruciating installment of "Art Class with Jerry" using the wrong side of the tablet's metal chassis).

However, these projections were ultimately thwarted, with the Tab S8-series flagship proving ultra-resistant to bending (unlike its S Pen). No matter how much force the YouTuber could apply, it remained in one piece and fully functional by the end of the new video. Therefore, it seems that owners of this unusually large slate might feel better about traveling or working with it after watching this video.

Buy a Galaxy Tab S8-series tablet on Amazon