Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 FE Review: this tablet could well be the one you will take on vacation

The world of cheap Android tablets continues to grow, as more and more companies are trying to attract people who don’t want to spend more than € 1,000 to watch almost exclusively videos on a beautiful screen.

Samsung is once again trying to shake things up in the high mid-range sector with the Galaxy Tab S9 FE series, which includes the S9 FE and the S9 FE+. I reviewed the latter, which starts at €700, and… she’s pretty good!

The important points of the Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 FE tablet

• 
  
  The latest Samsung Galaxy tablets are available in two sizes, one at €530 and the other at €700.
  
• 
  
  If you feel like a big tablet for watching movies
  and multitasking on the go, and that you want to limit
  your expenses, the Tab S9 FE+ is a good choice.
  
• 
  
  Keep in mind that you may be faced with the
  usual oddities of Android tablets, such as vision
  extent of some extension apps and slowdowns
  occasional.
  

I’m not going to tell you here that this is the best tablet since the dawn of time. Although it marks the return of Samsung’s Galaxy Tab FE range after a hiatus in 2022, the company’s mid-range tablets have not changed much, except for a few adjustments here and there to make them conform to the standards of 2023. The S9 FE+ is a great example of this, but despite this relatively banal refresh, it is still a great option if you are looking for a large screen with a long battery life.

The screen is really what makes the strength of the Galaxy Tab S9 FE+. Samsung has included a 12.4″ 16:10 IPS LCD screen which, in my opinion, comes as close as possible to OLED without reaching its level. The contents are very clear thanks to the resolution of 2560 x 1600, the colors are vibrant and the contrast is surprisingly high. I enjoyed doing everything on this tablet, whether it was watching movies or reading articles. The whole thing is very beautiful, which is quite normal for a Samsung tablet.

Is it as beautiful as an OLED screen? No, not really

Is it as beautiful as an OLED screen? No, not really. The fact that there is a gray tint as soon as something very dark appears on the screen (like at night in a movie) does not help, but for € 700 it is acceptable.

The Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 FE+ broadcasts a video about watches on YouTube. Max Buondonno/ZDNET

The screen is embedded in an aluminum chassis that Samsung offers in four different colors: anthracite, silver, lavender and mint (the one I received and which is certainly the best). There is no shortage of similarities with the other members of the Galaxy Tab series, with its flat sides, circular speaker grilles and antenna bands. It also looks a lot like iPads, which you can’t help but see as soon as you place them next to each other.

Although the Tab S9 FE+ is not the most comfortable tablet to hold for long periods of time (no flat-edged tablet is), it is at least thin and light enough that it is not too tiring to carry. Of course, after a while, it tends to sink into the hand, which is not great, but then again, this is the case with most tablets nowadays. At least the edges are thick enough that you have a place to put your thumbs.

Max Buondonno/ZDNET

Under the hood, an Exynos 1380 processor, a chipset
mid-range that does not pretend to face the Snapdragon 8
Gen 2

Under the hood, Samsung embeds its Exynos 1380 processor, a mid-range chipset that cannot pretend to compete with Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 and Apple M1. However, it remains a good processor for the Galaxy Tab S9 FE+, with performance that has proven to be generally reliable during my tests. Applications and games respond efficiently, with only a few slowdowns when I quickly switch from one application to another.

My test device has 8 GB of RAM and 128 GB of storage, which is perfectly suitable for most users.

The device comes with Samsung’s One UI 5.1 interface in addition to Android 13, and it is a great operating system. The Tab S9 FE+ takes over the usual One UI aesthetics, functions and settings, including a set of multitasking functions such as split screen, multi-windowing and even DeX, which gives you a desktop-like interface to work with. This feature is even more convenient using a keyboard and a mouse.

Max Buondonno/ZDNET

The Tab S9 FE+ comes with an S Pen stylus that attaches magnetically to the back of the tablet to recharge it

Of course, this is Android on a tablet, so you will have to deal with all the strange ways in which applications open and scale on the screen. I have to admit that the application support is not as bad as it was a few years ago, thanks to Google putting pressure on developers to optimize their applications for larger devices. Nevertheless, it’s not perfect, and common applications like X (formerly Twitter), Instagram and Slack will not stretch to fill the screen or will stretch too much. It’s not Samsung’s fault, by the way – it’s a broader problem with Android that I feel compelled to mention every time I write an article about an Android tablet.

Oh, there is another software feature that I should mention: drawing. The Tab S9 FE+ comes with an S Pen stylus that attaches magnetically to the back of the tablet to recharge it. You can write notes, sign documents, create drawings, make sketches and much more with satisfactory accuracy and responsiveness. Samsung has been using the S Pen stylus for some time now and has perfected its technique.

The battery life of the Tab S9 FE+ is very good, which is appreciable. It is equipped with a 10,090 mAh battery that can last 2 to 3 days with a full charge in case of light use. If you take her on a plane, you can easily watch two movies, play games and read an e-book before she dies. I left this tablet overnight, it went from 100% to only 96% the next morning. This reminds us of the type of autonomy we can get with an iPad Air.

ZDNET’s buying tips for the Tab S9 FE+

If you are thinking of buying the Tab S9 FE+, I recommend that you think about what exactly you want from your next tablet. If you are looking for a large screen and a long battery life, this is the tablet for you.

On the other hand, if you prefer a device that is a little smaller or that will serve as a second device when you are not using it, the Pixel Tablet is still an excellent option. It is equipped with a smaller 10.2-inch screen and a Tensor G2 processor, and it comes with a speaker docking station that turns it into a smart display. It is slightly cheaper, at €680.

But if you want a large tablet for watching movies and multitasking on the go, and you want to limit your expenses, the Tab S9 FE+ is a concrete choice. The device is nothing really special, but as an everyday tablet (larger than average and delivered with a stylus), it is quite satisfactory.

Source: “ZDNet.com “