Every new Samsung tablet (and there have been already 13 different tablets released by Samsung just this year alone) is inevitably compared with the Apple iPad. The Tab S is so far a crowning achievement for Samsung and it is pinning it's fortune on the new Amoled display, which is simply put, gorgeous to look at. Amoled technology (unlike more conventional LCD which powers iPad and every other tablet on the market) does not rely on background lighting to assist display. Instead, each pixel (and there are more then 4 million on this tablet alone) can be individually lighted on demand. This translates to black colors that are true black and whites that are true whites. Resulting contrast is more then 1,000 times better then any leading LCD display on the market. This display is also more battery friendly and thinner then LCD which results in the record setting thinness of the entire tablet (only 6.6mm or .26"). Samsung Tab S display can go very bright in full sunlight to very dark in dark rooms at night. It is also easier on the eyes in the dark situation due to larger resolution and better contrast. You can read it in your bed at night without as much eye strain as other tablets. This display is revolutionary in the tablet market and Samsung should get all the credit for introducing it without additional price tag. So what about the rest of the tablet hardware?- CPU: Samsung uses 2 quad core CPUs that are slightly beating Apple in-house CPU in benchmarks.- RAM: 3GB of memory, compared to 1GB in Apple results in much better multitasking. iPad can perform marvelously when you are running just one App, but if you have many apps open and switch between them often, it simply can not keep up.- Wi-Fi: Dual-band AC Wi-Fi chip that Samsung is using supports the latest generation of routers and results in faster internet speeds and further distance it can go from the router, compared to iPad. I have a large property around my house and have no problems connecting to internet from 100 yards away with still respectable speeds. Of course your results would vary depending on the number of walls between router and the tablet and your router specs.- Battery: Samsung Tab S lasts me around 10 hours of general use (only light gaming, mostly browsing or streaming videos). Apple iPad in comparable scenario lasts around 12 hours. Kudos to Apple in-house CPU which is extremely power conscious and overall iOS more conservatively tuned compared to Android. Both tablets have very long life though.- Weight: Samsung Tab S 10.5" is much larger tablet vs latest iPAD Air yet it is lighter (even if by a hair). I use it without any cover and can comfortably grip with one hand for a long time.- Sound: Tab S has two side facing speakers (in landscape mode which is natural for watching videos) with stereo sound. There are complains that they feel under-powered and lack bass. These complaints are justified. While speakers can go pretty loud when source provides aggressive soundtrack, a lot of movies go for a subtler approach and this tablet can not compensate. So games, music and TV shows are usually loud enough with good stereo separation, but many movies feel a bit quiet even at maximum sound. I caught myself many times trying to adjust sound when watching movies specifically.- Other secondary specs are all in favor of Samsung. GPS, SD card slot that supports up to 127GB of extra on-board storage, fingerprint sensor for user login and support for multiple users (so you can safely share your tablet with your family), multi-window to run up to two different apps at the same time (for example watching movie and running browser on the side to read about actors/plot). Apple iPad has none of these features.So why, you would ask I still rate latest Tab S at 4 stars instead of 5? It is all due to software and App ecosystem that truly differentiates Samsung tablets from Apple iPads. iOS is simpler to use compared to Android with Samsung TouchWiz interface on top of it. If you prefer to use your tablet as is and don't like learning and exploring all the features that it can provide, Apple gives you what you want. Android has been leapfrogging iOS in features and functionality for the past couple of years, yet Apple is not fighting this battle. It gives you one option where Android would usually provide 4 or 5, but this single option is better implemented then most of the Android alternatives. Samsung own interface (TouchWiz) and App marketplace tries to bridge that gap and fails miserably. Samsung just can't write good software. They throw more and more bells and whistles at you hoping that at least something would stick. Alas, even techies would turn most of these off after a day or two of playing. For the rest of the consumer mass it only adds confusion and additional learning curve. I would list just few of these features here: face tracking, side syncing, low power mode, hand gestures, etc. They all are only marginally helpful and mostly gimmicks.Finally there is App ecosystem. If I can argue that Google marketplace has long caught app in Apps for smartphones, this is still not true for tablets where Apple marketplace still provides more and better refined options then Android. Most of the popular apps and games are present on both platforms. But developers prioritize iOS to Android due to better return on investment and wider, more affluent tablet audience with iPads compared to myriad of Android tablets. This results in many apps coming to iOS first and then ported to Android. And existing apps usually have better interface on iPad.So here you have it. Great tablet, best display on the market bar none, cutting edge hardware and very good software that is better suited to non-conservative consumers that are willing to play with all that the tablet can provide vs only wanting to use it as is.I would also add that you need to take a closer look at 8.4" version of the same Samsung tablet. It is lighter, better fitting to one hand using and provides same hi-res Amoled display and identical hardware. If you spend more time reading compared to video watching, it is a better alternative. It is also $100 cheaper, which puts it in more budget-friendly territory.