The Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 is a popular Android tablet with a similar design and performance to last year’s models. It features an AMOLED display that enhances viewing and gaming experience, but comes with worse battery life and can’t match Apple’s speed. It offers two significant upgrades: a faster Qualcomm processor and IP68 water and dust resistance, making it suitable for outdoor use.
Summary - The Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 is a popular Android tablet with a similar design and performance to last year's models. It features an AMOLED display that enhances viewing and gaming experience, but comes with worse battery life and can't match Apple's speed. It offers two significant upgrades: a faster Qualcomm processor and IP68 water and dust resistance, making it suitable for outdoor use.
Alex Wawro – Tom’s Guide
10/17/2023
SummaryFeaturesDisplayAMOLEDVisual QualityPerformanceBatteryOperating System
Overview - Build - The Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 has a slight buldge on its rear housing its camera, and a magnetic charging strip for its included stylus.
Overview - Features - The Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 is the first entry-level Galaxy Tab which comes with a 120Hz AMOLED display, boasting a 1600x2560 resolution in its 11-inch screen. It is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset – which offers improvements in battery life – as well as 8GB RAM, and 128GB storage. It comes with an S Pen stylus at no extra cost. It also has an IP68 rating for water and dust resistance.
Overview - Purpose - The Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 is seen as best suited for typical tablet tasks such as multimedia and light productivity, striking a balance between versatility and comfort with its reasonable 11-inch size.
Overview - Upgrade - The Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 comes with an impressive display upgrade compared to its predecessor, albeit with a $100 price increase as well.
Recommendation - The Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 is recommended for users with enough budget to spare for what amounts to primarily a display upgrade and a few minor feature improvements, and desire a good degree of portability as well. Otherwise, its predecessor is more appealing to keep using for the time being.
Pros - The Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 benefits from good display, speakers, sound quality, S Pen performance, battery life, expandable storage, water and dust resistance, multitasking capability, software support, and portability.
Cons - The Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 suffers from performance and battery competition, high price, insufficient included accessories, minor software issues, and aspect ratio concerns.
Build - Accessories - The Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 comes with an improved S Pen with better textured materials for better comfort, along with wider tilt angles for better operation.
Build - Dimensions & Weight - The Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 has a similar build to its predecessor, having dimensions of 10.01 x 6.53 x 0.23 inches, and a weight of 1.1 pounds.
Build - Variants - The Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 can come in various configurations, from as low as 128GB storage and 8GB of RAM, to as high as 512GB storage and 12GB of RAM.
Accessories - The Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 comes with an S Pen included in its package, which can be used for a variety of operations. It unfortunately doesn’t come with a keyboard or keyboard cover, requiring a separate purchase for both. The tablet is compatible with either the book cover keyboard or the book cover keyboard slim.
Chipset - The Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 comes with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset, providing improved single core, multicore, and GPU performance.
Display - The Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 has an 11-inch, 2560x1600, 120Hz, 274 PPI, 16:10 aspect ratio display, which has two color modes: vibrant and natural. It can reach up to 749 nits of brightness when watching HDR content. It has noticeably darker black levels, better color accuracy, better contrast, and up to 70% reduced blue light emission.
Samsung Second Screen - The Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 has the Samsung Second Screen feature, allowing use as an additional display in conjunction with a laptop or desktop.
Software - The Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 comes with dedicated software for various operations, such as Samsung Notes, Samsung Cloud, and Samsung Flow, among others, making data sharing across users’ compatible devices easier.
Speakers - The Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 comes with four speakers which provide good sound quality, bass and soundscape, as well as dolby atmos support. The speakers are estimated to be 20% larger than the previous generation.
Specifications - The Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 comes with an impressive set of specifications, ranging from CPU, display, RAM, storage, connectivity options, accessories, and overall dimensions and weight.
Battery - The Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 is estimated to last up to 15 hours on a full charge, but tests have resulted in an only decent 9 hours of screen on time.
Camera - The Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 has good image processing technology resulting in a better camera experience.
Chipset - The Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 has a great chipset for various tasks ranging from media editing to games, and the same chip also brings improvements to battery life.
Heat Management - The Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 has good overall sustained performance due to better heat management design in its advanced vapor chamber cooling system and two-way heat dissipation system.
Multitasking & DeX - The Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 has outstanding multitasking capabilities, able to display up to three tiled apps at the same time, along with popup windows, as well as enter DeX mode, which turns the tablet into a desktop OS in terms of appearance. It can also run a dual display setup with an external display, keyboard, and mouse.
Sound Quality - The Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 has good, consistent sound quality even at high volumes, and work well for watching content and for games that are not reliant on directional sound technologies.
Comparison vs. Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 Plus & Comparison vs. Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 Ultra
Comparison vs. Apple iPad Air 2022, Comparison vs. Lenovo Tab Extreme , & Comparison vs. Apple iPad Pro 2022
Comparison vs. Apple iPad Air 2022 & Comparison vs. Lenovo Tab Extreme
Comparison vs. Samsung Galaxy Tab S8
Comparison vs. OnePlus Pad
Comparison vs. Apple iPad
Comparison vs. Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 Plus
Comparison vs. Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 Plus
Comparison vs. Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 & Comparison vs. Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5
Comparison vs. Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 Ultra
Comparison vs. Samsung Galaxy Tab S7
Comparison vs. iPad Pro
Comparison vs. iPad Pro 3rd Gen
Comparison vs. Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra
Comparison vs. Samsung Galaxy Tab S6
Comparison vs. Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 Lite
Positive
Negative
Competition - The Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 has strict competition due to its high price point. Devices such as the Pixel Tablet and OnePlus Pad cost far less and have acceptable performance and features.
Comparison vs. Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 Plus & Comparison vs. Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 Ultra - The Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 is a versatile tablet with 8GB of RAM and an 11-inch screen. It's the best general use case tablet, as it's small enough for handheld gaming, reading, and note-taking. The Tab S9+ is a substitute for laptops and the S9 Ultra is ideal for drawing. The Tab S9 is the smallest tablet, while the S9+ is larger and has an extra camera. The Tab S9 Ultra is the biggest and has a notch and a selfie camera. The Tab S9 is the best choice for home use.
Julian Chokkattu – Wired
08/11/2023
Comparison vs. Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 PlusComparison vs. Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 UltraRAMCameraImage QualityBuildSizeScreen
Comparison vs. Apple iPad Air 2022, Comparison vs. Lenovo Tab Extreme , & Comparison vs. Apple iPad Pro 2022 - The Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 has better brightness levels and more colors than the Apple iPad Air 2022, Lenovo Tab Extreme, and Apple iPad Pro 2022, though the Apple iPad Pro 2022 has better brightness when viewing HDR content.
Alex Wawro – Tom’s Guide
10/17/2023
Comparison vs. Apple iPad Air 2022Comparison vs. Lenovo Tab ExtremeComparison vs. Apple iPad Pro 2022DisplayBrightnessColorsHDR
Comparison vs. Apple iPad Air 2022 & Comparison vs. Lenovo Tab Extreme - The Samsung Galaxy Tab S9’s Snapdragon chipset has worse CPU performance than the Apple M1 chip of the iPad Air 2022, and the MediaTek Dimensity 9000 chipset of the Lenovo Tab Extreme.
Alex Wawro – Tom’s Guide
10/17/2023
Comparison vs. Apple iPad Air 2022Comparison vs. Lenovo Tab ExtremePerformanceChipset
Comparison vs. Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 - The Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 has a worse camera quality, and one less camera, when compared to the Galaxy Tab S8. The Tab S8 also has better battery life. The Tab S9 has an AMOLED display however, which is more appealing to some users.
Alex Wawro – Tom’s Guide
10/17/2023
Comparison vs. Samsung Galaxy Tab S8CameraResolutionUltrawideAuto FocusLens
Comparison vs. OnePlus Pad - The Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 is far more expensive than the OnePlus Pad, which offers reasonable features and performance to the point of being seen as a more worthy buy.
Julian Chokkattu – Wired
08/11/2023
Comparison vs. OnePlus PadPriceValueAccessoriesBundlesDisplayFeatures
Comparison vs. Apple iPad - The Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 is seen as a good alternative to the Apple iPad for users who have other Samsung devices, due to ease of data sharing and general compatibility. Samsung also tries to prolong device life in order to rival the iPad which has up to 10 years of software support.
Dan Seifert – The Verge
08/17/2023
Comparison vs. Apple iPadCompatibilitySoftwareConnectivity OptionsVersatility
Comparison vs. Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 Plus - The Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 Plus has a better keyboard in comparison to the Tab S9’s cramped accessory, but the Tab S9 was the more comfortable choice for daily operation. For users who prefer comfort and portability, the Tab S9 is recommended, but for those who prefer multitasking capability, the S9 Plus is preferred.
TechOdyssey
08/04/2023
Comparison vs. Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 PlusAvailabilityConnectivity Options5GCarrier Support
Comparison vs. Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 Plus - The Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 is more compact than the Tab S8 Plus and has more features. Samsung is also offering good trade in deals to users upgrading from the S8 Plus to the S9.
@jrelitedk1814 – Tech Gear Talk
09/28/2023
Comparison vs. Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 PlusBuildSizeFeatures
Comparison vs. Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 & Comparison vs. Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 - The Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 is seen as better in features, functionality, and price when compared to the Galaxy Z Fold 5 and Galaxy Z Flip 5.
@ShellymanStudios – SamMobile
07/26/2023
Comparison vs. Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5Comparison vs. Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5ValueFeatures
Comparison vs. Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 Ultra - The Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 has a compact design which is better for portability, which when combined with its AMOLED screen, is a more appealing purchase for some users than the Tab S9 Ultra.
@hdahir545 – SamMobile
07/26/2023
Comparison vs. Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 UltraBuildSizeBody to Screen RatioDesignPortability
Comparison vs. Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 - The Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 has better speakers and sound quality than the Tab S7, producing richer sound and more pronounced bass, but the Tab S7 has better battery life.
r/samsung
08/05/2023
Comparison vs. Samsung Galaxy Tab S7SpeakersSound QualityBassEQDolby Atmos
Comparison vs. iPad Pro - The Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 with its gestures and resizable split screen layouts, along with a lack of backlight bleed, make it more appealing than the iPad Pro.
r/GalaxyTab
07/31/2023
Comparison vs. iPad ProSoftwareGesturesScreenPerformance
Comparison vs. iPad Pro 3rd Gen - The Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 has better portability and is more comfortable to use than the iPad Pro 3rd Gen, with more compatible software for users who use Samsung and Windows devices.
r/GalaxyTab
07/31/2023
Comparison vs. iPad Pro 3rd GenSizePortabilitySoftwareCompatibility
Comparison vs. Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra - The Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 is more expensive than the Tab S8 Ultra, making users consider the Ultra instead for purchase, especially when taking into account anticipated price drops.
r/samsung
07/26/2023
Comparison vs. Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 UltraPriceValueUpgrade
Comparison vs. Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 - The Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 is seen as a worthy successor to the Tab S6 thanks to its AMOLED display and better chipset.
r/samsung
07/26/2023
Comparison vs. Samsung Galaxy Tab S6WorthUpgradeFeaturesDisplayAMOLEDChipsetPerformanceBattery
Comparison vs. Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 Lite - The Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 is considered as overpriced in some regions even when trading in a Tab S6 Lite, prompting users to keep their current tablets.
r/samsung
07/26/2023
Comparison vs. Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 LiteValueTrade InPriceWorth
Availability - The Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 is being sold by Samsung with aggressive launch pricing promotions, discounts, and trade-in deals. It went on sale on August 11th.
Price - Availability - The Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 is sold at Samsung’s website and select third-party retailers for a starting price of $799 or $800, depending on the store.
Price - Variants - The Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 can be sold in different configurations depending on the buyer. It can be sold with Storage and RAM specifications as low as 128GB and 8GB respectively.
Issue - Accessories - The Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 does not come with accessories besides the S Pen, and acquiring these accessories, such as the keyboard and charging brick, can cost a significant amount, deterring users.
Issue - Display - The Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 display aspect ratio is frustrating for some users, as it is seen as too rectangular, making web browsing feel more cramped in landscape and feel too narrow in portrait orientation.
Issue - Price - The Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 is considered to be too expensive by some users, citing that one can buy a decent desktop instead with the same budget, and that the tablet’s size is hard to handle.
Issue - Screen Size - The Samsung Galaxy Tab S9’s DeX mode, makes the display look awkward unless users stick to basic side-by-side apps. It is not a suitable laptop replacement for productivity-related tasks.
Comments