Regardless of your size preference, the Tab S2 looks just as sharp and vibrant as the iPad Air 2. Both tablets are powered by an octa-core Exynos processor, which combines a 1. The ability to expand storage is a key benefit, especially for those who want to download tons of movies, photos, and apps on their tablets.

The Tab S2 line runs Android 5. Flipboard is also just a swipe away from the home screen, and it makes for great reading — especially on the 8-inch Tab S2. Other apps are annoying, like the Galaxy Gifts, Milk Music, and Galaxy Essentials widgets, which sit on one of the home screens.

TouchWiz also brings a pair of navigational tricks to the Tab S2 line, including multi-tasking and pop-out apps. Although it looks best on the 9. The option to pop out apps and view them in a window is less useful. Shrinking one app to view another at the same time seems awkward. Even though the Galaxy Tab S2 is super thin, Samsung managed to get a decent-sized battery inside both models. The bigger 9. Battery life was good, but not outstanding on either the 8- or 9. Light tablet users can expect to charge up once or twice a week, and those who watch video every day may have to plug it in more often.

Samsung offers a one-year warranty for the Galaxy Tab S2, so if you run into problems in the year after you buy it, Samsung will repair or replace it for you. The Tab S line started on a high note, and the second-generation is as excellent as the first. The bright sharp screen, thin and light body, as well as the powerful processor and RAM combination make the Tab S2 the ideal Android tablet.

Both the 8 and 9. Rather than the rounded corners and bright white and grey of the iPhone 4 's interface, Android tends to be dark, wordy and packed with menus. Apps generally sport a mix of on-screen virtual buttons, and plenty more options that appear when you press the menu key beneath the screen.

Android's usability improves with each update -- and there have been plenty since the software arrived on the scene a couple of years ago. But we think Android still has a long way to go before it's a genuine pleasure to use. Samsung hasn't messed around much with the default Android look and feel. Despite our desire for more user-friendly Android software, we think that's a good thing, because software isn't Samsung's strength.

Of the three sample Galaxy S2 handsets that we tested, one was almost useless due to software bugs, and all of them required us to perform over-the-air software updates right out of the box. The two working models that we tested were generally very stable, but we felt burned by that one bad apple. The original Samsung Galaxy S required several updates before it became really solid, so we were expecting software issues with the S2. Don't be afraid to insist on a replacement if your Galaxy S2 has bugs like ours did, such as continually resetting the wallpaper to the default option, or refusing to unlock.

Also, be sure to check for software updates as soon as you tear your phone from its box. It's not all bad news concerning the Galaxy S2's software. In fact, moving through the Galaxy S2's screens feels wonderfully whizzy, thanks to the phone's powerful, dual-core processor. Menus pop open without delay, and scrolling is satisfyingly smooth.

All the apps we tested also opened with alacrity. Not having to suffer lag, stutter or hang-ups when opening apps, rattling out text messages or downloading new software makes a world of difference to the overall user experience. Indeed, we struggled to slow the S2 down. Even when we had a bunch of apps running, with more downloading in the background and Flash video playing in the browser, it still felt very fast.

But, compared to the king of touchscreen scrolling smoothness, the iPhone 4, the Galaxy S2 does lack a certain creaminess. Scrolling through long text on Web pages is fast, but the phone doesn't always do a good job of figuring out when you want to quickly flip down, and when you want to reposition the page. That makes it all too easy to move the side of the text off the screen when you merely meant to skip to the next paragraph. It's not a terrible problem on the Galaxy S2, it's just not a perfect situation.

The lock screen also takes just a fraction of a second too long to appear after you wake the phone up, even if you're not using a password. The phone fares better with the two-fingered multi-touch gesture that you use to zoom into photos and Web pages. The zooming is as smooth as silk. It's too bad the Android browser displays a grey and white checked area where it's struggling to render the page, as this looks less classy than the iPhone's system, which manages to throw up what we think is a cached screenshot.

Samsung's added some motion-control features to help you out too. While in the browser, touch the screen with two fingers, and then tilt the phone forwards and back to zoom in and out of Web pages. This feature is slightly too sensitive, and we're not convinced it's easier than just zooming in and out using a pinching gesture, but it's easy to turn off. In general, we prefer the Android browser on the Galaxy S2 over its Apple rival, for one big reason -- Flash support.

Flash videos, menus and games are all visible where they'd just be empty holes on the iPhone. Searching is easy -- you type into the same address bar where you enter a site's URL, and you also have the option to hit the microphone icon to say your search out loud.

Like most of the latest Android-powered phones, the Galaxy S2 sports a healthy seven home screens, each of which you can stuff full of shortcuts and widgets. The default set-up for these screens, which appears when you first turn on the phone, isn't the most intuitive if you're not already an Android user -- there's just screen after screen of icons and boxes.

This can be very confusing if it's your first time entering the wonderful world of widgets, but don't panic. You can set the screens up so that the phone is just as you want it, with a little know-how.

If you're not sure where to start, you may want to stick with the widgets that are already there until you get used to them. A few of them suggest that you tap them to get started -- for example, the photo-gallery widget will show a slideshow of your favourite shots, but first you need to decide which photos you want to appear in the gallery. We like to start with a blank slate, though.

To remove items from the home screen, simply hold your finger on them for a second, and, when an icon of a bin appears at the bottom of the screen, drag them down into the bin. Many widgets can also be resized in the same way -- hold them down with your finger, and then drag the yellow lines that illustrate how big the widget can be.

Samsung has sorted out its own method for adding widgets and shortcuts to the home screen. When you hold your finger on a black area of a home screen, a menu pops up along the bottom from which you can select your choice of widgets, shortcuts and folders, and change the wallpaper.

The selection of widgets is shown in a scrolling menu that looks very slick as you swipe through it. The downside of this fun menu, though, is that you can only see four widgets at once. Once you've installed a lot of apps, which then automatically add their corresponding widgets to the menu, the list of widgets can become pretty long and difficult to move through quickly. We wish we could have more of an overview of what's on offer.

Nevertheless, we like Samsung's method of letting you add items to your home screens from a menu at the bottom, because you can still see the screen clearly enough to help you make up your mind what to add. The motion-control feature is also employed for home-screen customisation -- hold down an app for a moment, then tilt the phone from side to side to slide through the seven available home screens, and drop the app where you want. Samsung's own widgets improve with every phone it makes.

HTC has whipped up a customised skin that's more extensive than the ink on a Hells Angel, and its light, curvaceous widgets make Android appear more accessible. Samsung's widgets tend to be more straightforward and squarish. Which you prefer depends on your own taste, but, overall, the Galaxy S2 sticks closer to the basic appearance of Android than its HTC competition. Moving between the Galaxy S2's many home screens is made simple by two quick navigation tricks.

You can jump to a specific screen by tapping one of the numbered dots along the bottom of the screen, or you can perform a two-fingered pinch to shrink them all down to thumbnail size, and then tap the one you want to see. We first saw this thumbnail view on HTC phones like the Desire , and it demonstrates how Samsung makes a habit of reproducing some of its rivals' best ideas on its own phones. The real Samsung flavouring, however, lies in the app offering.

Out of the box, the S2 offers a mix of Samsung's own apps, pre-loaded third-party apps and, on our review sample, Vodafone apps. The most useful app is the Task Manager, which nimbly solves the problem of monitoring and closing down apps that are running in the background. If you're trying to conserve battery life or keep your phone running at peak speeds, using this app to do some housekeeping now and again will make all the difference.

Polaris Office is another great addition -- it's a suite of apps for creating and editing Word, Excel and PowerPoint documents. It provides a pared-down experience compared to Microsoft's desktop software, but it's slick, intuitive and could prove a life-saver if you need to perform a quick edit on the move. Samsung's own app store appears on the S2, as well as its music, ebook and gaming hubs, but we think these are mostly worth ignoring in favour of the Android Market and, for example, the Amazon MP3 store.

We'd also get rid of the pre-loaded app that lets you play trial versions of games. Does anyone really want to play a single free round of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? No way -- especially when mobile gaming hits like Angry Birds are totally free in the Android Market. This gaming bloatware simply clogs up your app menu until you have time to delete it.

Google puts plenty of store in its voice features, but we're not big fans. Things like proper names never seem to work for us, and we always end up resorting to typing. We also tend to use our phone on the go, so shouting at it isn't as practical as stealthy typing. Furthermore, we often don't have the presence of mind to dictate text without repeating ourselves or hesitating. Samsung adds even more vocal tricks to the default Android features by including Vlingo on the Galaxy S2.

The app makes it possible to dictate text messages and emails, open apps and play music. Technically, it's an impressive app, but it can have some unexpected consequences. After accidentally activating its 'driving mode' by tapping a widget, our Galaxy S2 decided to start reading out calendar reminders, letting everyone in the office know that about our yoga lesson.

This could be disastrous if you have secret liaisons or embarrassing appointments in your diary, so beware. Vlingo is a perfect example of the type of software somersaults that are possible on Android. Vlingo is available for the iPhone too, but you can't do the same stuff -- launch text messages, for example -- because Apple doesn't like apps digging down so deep in the OS.

Android allows almost any app into its official Market, and doesn't stop you from installing non-Market apps, if you want to. The downside of all this app freedom is that you can't always trust Android apps to be of the highest quality.

Just one example is the official National Rail app, Train Times. Though it lacks an exciting or cutting-edge feature, the absence of a gimmicky factor doesn't change the fact that the Galaxy Tab S2 is one of the best Android tablets available. It has a spectacular HD screen with vivid color and this new model sports a aspect ratio last year's Tab S had a wider screen that was geared toward video watching that's prime for reading, apps and surfing the Web.

It also features consistently smooth performance, a fingerprint scanner and decent cameras -- a rarity for a tablet. All of that is packed into a superskinny and featherweight design that looks cool, feels comfortable to hold, and is so compact, it'll barely make a dent in your bag.

Its petite dimensions make it a perfect portable companion for an everyday commute or travel. A great iPad alternative with sleek design, vibrant and sharp screen, plentiful storage. Editors' note: The 8-inch reviewed here and 9.

Portions of their reviews are similar. The Samsung Galaxy Tab S2 is -- to date -- one of the thinnest and lightest tablets available. It's a mere 5. Its design itself is sleek with a premium look and feel. The build might feel cheap to some who prefer the aluminum backs of the iPad Mini 4 or Dell Venue 8 , but it's heaps better than last year's plastic faux-leather texture with fake stitching accents.

The right side of the tablet houses the power button, volume rocker and microSD card slot. To insert a microSD card, you must use a small pointy object to eject the tray. A thick needle or paper clip should do the trick. On the bottom edge you'll find two speakers with a headphone jack and Micro-USB port between them.

Speaking of the edges, though the corners are nicely rounded, the edges themselves are flat. This gives you a surface big enough to rest your fingers on the sides when using it.

The dimensions of the 8-inch tablet are just right for one-handed use. Even with my small hands, I could comfortably hold it with a secure grip. The smooth suede-like finish on the back is also comfortable against your fingertips -- it almost doesn't feel like plastic. The Samsung Galaxy Tab S2 is so easy to carry around, the barely-there description of its presence is akin to an advertisement for pantyhose or Invisalign braces.

When I had it in my bag -- even with the 9. Aside from it's convenient portability, it's very comfortable to use. Everything from gaming to reading felt pleasant and my hands or wrists never tired when holding it for a long time.

The plastic build lacks the high-end aesthetic that aluminum-backed models -- like the Dell Venue 8 and Apple iPad Mini 4 -- have, however it's the reason why it's a featherweight.

If I were to use the Galaxy Tab S2 every day during a commute or every night while reading before bed, I'd definitely pick the lightweight nature of the plastic construction over the finesse of an aluminum design. It's easier on your hands and wrist, and no sweat to carry around everywhere. Despite its other great attributes, I'd have to say that its minimal design, aesthetically and physically, is my favorite thing about the Samsung tablet.

If you've used a Samsung tablet or phone before, it'll look familiar. There aren't any dramatic changes to the UI, however the Flipboard-esque Magazine feature that was premiered on last year's Tab S is notably absent.

Considering there's already an app that closely resembles the reading-aggregator function, this isn't a big loss. Like the Tab S, the new model packs a bunch of free goodies straight from Samsung, and most of them lend themselves to the new reading-friendly screen size. Included with your purchase of the Galaxy Tab S2 are free 6-month subscriptions to The Economist and The Guardian publications, as well as one for Pocket, an app that saves content for reading later.

There's also a three-month subscription to Scribd, which is like Netflix for books, and free premium content on Stitchr, a podcast app. If you're into writing as much as you like reading, Samsung also throws in free downloads of the Hancom Office apps. Also like last year's model, the Galaxy Tab S2 has multiwindow functions and a fingerprint scanner. The fingerprint scanner on this model works a bit differently; instead of swiping your finger down the home button, you simply place it on top of it.