Thanks for the responses. Some thoughts:
1. My primary use cases are reviewing videos (especially HD), slack (which can be surprisingly sluggish!), and a proprietary app that can be pretty CPU intense.
2. I really liked the 8" form factor because it's somewhat pocketable, and I'm a bit on the smaller size. This is definitely a travel/on-the-go scenario kind of device for me. When I need it, I really need it.
3. I looked at the Tab A and it has surprisingly bad CPU benchmarks. It's actually worse than the Tab S(1?) that I used to have. I'll keep an eye out for the S2 at Costco, but it seems sad to buy a 2016 device in 2019.
4. I've never heard of those Chinese brands, I'll take a look. Thanks.
I guess I'm a dinosaur in a world of phablets. (Hm... it looks like people stopped using this word too!)