Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 FE Plus Review

Summary

The Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 FE+, which retails for $599, is a more affordable variant of the Galaxy Tab S9 Android tablet launched by the firm. It does away with premium components, such as the OLED display found in the S9, in favor of more affordable alternatives.

You would anticipate something like this from a Samsung FE tablet. In the event that you are not familiar with them, Samsung’s Galaxy FE smartphones—the “FE” stands for “Fan Edition”—take the luxury appeal of the tech giant’s highest-end devices and pare down the spec sheet, resulting in a gadget that looks nice but is more cheaply priced. When it comes to tablets, the same holds true.

Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 FE Plus Review

On the other hand, the Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 FE+ brings yet another well-known combination. It has the appearance and the feel of a flagship Android tablet, but it lacks some of the features that are available on other Android devices, notably in terms of performance. The end result is a gadget that is attractive and overall quite functional, but it seems like it is lacking in terms of the amount of power that it packs into its body.

The trade-offs that were made in order to obtain the S9 FE+ prevent it from ranking among the finest Android tablets and the top Samsung tablets now available on the market. This is in contrast to its namesake. However, it is not that far off the mark, and if you are looking for a great Android tablet that is also affordable, this tablet is one that you should consider purchasing. With my Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 FE+ review, I will demonstrate why this is the case.

SAMSUNG GALAXY TAB S9 PLUS REVIEW: SPECS

Price: $599
CPU: Samsung Exynos 1380
Display: 12.4-inch 2560×1600 90Hz LCD Touch
RAM: 8GB
Storage:128GB
Ports:USB-C, microSD
Connectivity:Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.3
Accessories:S Pen stylus included
Dimensions:11.24 x 7.3 x 0.26 inches
Weight:1.38 pounds

SAMSUNG GALAXY TAB S9 PLUS REVIEW: PRICE AND RELEASE DATE

The starting price for the Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 FE+ is $599.

There is a smaller screen on the basic Galaxy Tab S9 FE, which has a starting price of $449.

Through Samsung’s official website, the Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 FE+ can be purchased beginning at $599 for a variant that comes equipped with 8GB of random access memory (RAM) and 128GB of internal storage. This is the model that we reviewed. A variant with 12 gigabytes of random access memory (RAM) and 256 gigabytes of internal storage ($100 extra) is also available. As tested, the tablet is available from Samsung in the color gray, as well as silver, mint, and lavender for the backing.

There is also a conventional Galaxy Tab S9 FE model that has a smaller screen and less battery capacity to match, but it may ultimately give equivalent uptime. The FE+ is a bigger version, as you might have guessed from the name of the device.

In contrast to the Galaxy Tab S9 FE+, which has a screen of 12.4 inches, the Galaxy Tab S9 FE has a screen measuring 10.9 inches and has a starting price of $449.99. Additionally, the normal FE model is offered with a 5G cellular connectivity option, whilst the FE+ model is only accessible with Wi-Fi-based connectivity.

An Analysis of the Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 Plus: Its Design

You get the impression that the Galaxy Tab S9 FE+ is a totally premium tablet.
Although it has a screen that is 12.4 inches in size, it does not feel overwhelming in terms of size or weight.
If you were to look at the Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 FE+, you would not be able to tell that it is a reduced version of a more expensive tablet since it still exudes the charm of a high-end product. The fact that it is still a tablet that costs $599 contributes to the fact that it is extremely polished and has a slender and elegant appearance. Nevertheless, it seems and feels very much like Samsung’s more expensive devices.

A huge screen may be held in your hands with the Galaxy Tab S9 FE+, which has dimensions of 11.24 inches by 7.3 inches by 0.26 inches and weighs 1.38 pounds. This tablet is designed to be lightweight and portable. Additionally, the black bezel is equally modest, which allows the large 12.4-inch display to be the true focal point of the experience.

It is true that the form of the rounded rectangle appears to be quite similar to what Apple has been doing on its iPad models for years, but with a display that is 16:10 and thinner. Despite the fact that Samsung’s tablet does not have any design elements that truly differentiate it from other tablets on the market, it yet exudes an air of luxury. In addition, the water and dust resistance that is certified IP68 is greatly welcomed in this context.

When held in landscape position, the device has a selfie camera located in the upper bezel, a power button with an integrated fingerprint sensor on the top edge, a volume rocker, and a microSD card for expanding the storage capacity of the device. After doing my tests, I found that the fingerprint sensor was both quick and dependable; however, you also have the option of using facial scanning instead.

The speakers are located on the upper right and left sides of the device when it is in landscape mode, while the USB-C connector is located on the right side. The bottom of the device contains magnetic connections that may be used for accessories such as keyboard attachments and coverings.

Examination of the Display of the Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 Plus

The display of the Galaxy Tab S9 FE+ is large, brilliant, and appealing to the eye.
Despite the fact that it is not an AMOLED display, it is astonishing.

The normal, more expensive Galaxy Tab S9 FE models were equipped with AMOLED displays, but Samsung replaced them with LCD panels for the FE variants, which included the 12.4-inch FE+. LCD panels, in general, are not capable of matching the vivid colors and deep black levels that are exhibited on OLED displays that are equivalent.

It is difficult for me to identify any significant flaws in the screen of the Galaxy Tab S9 FE+ because I have not yet had the opportunity to physically compare the two devices. When the adaptive brightness feature is turned on, it achieves a remarkable 760 nits, and when the high dynamic range (HDR) feature is selected, it achieves a brightness of 637 nits.With the default Vivid screen option, the color accuracy was 152.4% of the sRGB color gamut and a 108% DCI-P3 result. The Delta-E score was 0.15, and the color accuracy was in line with the advertised feeling. The ordinary Galaxy Tab S9, on the other hand, had an AMOLED screen that was superior to it in every respect.

This is a powerful screen, and on its own, I was amazed by the brightness and vibrant colors. Furthermore, the screen itself is impressive. When compared to the full-fledged Galaxy Tab S9 models, Samsung has obviously made certain intentional downgrades in this product. Although none of these downgrades are absolute deal-breakers or even very evident, they are likely to be taken into consideration in any value comparison that you are contemplating.

An Evaluation of the Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 Plus: Performance

The Galaxy Tab S9 FE+ has a power output that is lower than that of an iPad on the market in 2021.
The tablet may have difficulty with 3D games, despite the fact that it is still responsive when used for simple tasks.
One of the most notable shortcomings of the Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 FE+ is presented below; nevertheless, it is important to note that this is a complaint that may not even be noticed by all users. The gadget has a relatively quick response time when used for typical day-to-day activities such as surfing the web, viewing movies, and playing games that are not very demanding. Along with the Exynos 1380 CPU, the 8 gigabytes of random-access memory (RAM) definitely assists in this regard.

The Galaxy Tab S9 FE+, on the other hand, performs quite poorly in benchmark testing when compared to other tablets in its class, and you will notice this when you play games that are in three dimensions. A measly 761 was the score that the gadget achieved on the single-core benchmark of Geekbench 5, while it received a score of 2,657 on the multi-core test. We saw 1,555 single-core and 5,164 multi-cores on the full-fledged Galaxy Tab S9, so this is around half of what we saw on that device.

But what truly sticks out is that it is inferior to the current iPad Air, which costs $599 and was released in 2022 (1,707/7,151), as well as the current iPad, which costs $449 and was released in 2022 (1,580/4,400). Indeed, it is less expensive than the previous standard iPad, which was released in 2021 (1,384/3,387) and is still available for purchase for $329, which is around half the price of this more recent Samsung tablet.

Granted, the different 3D games that I played all performed reasonably enough, despite the fact that the visuals were reduced. Although you may play Fortnite at a frame rate of about 30 frames per second (fps), the game’s visuals are choppy and pixelated. Despite this, it is playable all the way through, and fuzzy is preferable to choppy.

I was able to increase the graphic settings of the role-playing game Genshin Impact to a smooth 60 frames per second and greater detail, despite the fact that the game warned me that the tablet may overheat and the game could crash. To its fair, the tablet did become warmer than it normally would have been, but the game continued to operate. Both the arcade racing game Asphalt 9 and the first-person shooter Call of Duty Mobile performed admirably.

When compared to other available choices, the Galaxy Tab S9 FE+ has a much lower graphics processing capability onboard, according to gaming benchmark testing. A score of 2,953 was recorded by the FE+ on the Wild Life Unlimited test conducted by 3D Mark. This is a significant improvement over the score of 14,831 on the basic Galaxy Tab S9, not to mention the score of 17,966 on the earlier iPad Air.

The lack of firepower still gives me pause, particularly when it comes to enduring the test of time in the coming years when new Android upgrades are published. Although not everyone needs a tablet for flawless 3D gaming, the lack of firepower still doesn’t make me feel comfortable.

Listen to our review of the Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 Plus

The two speakers are superior than what was anticipated, although they are missing in bass.
The S9 FE+ puts up a great performance with a pair of speakers that get loud and sound very clear, with Dolby Atmos compatibility providing a beautifully atmospheric kick to the output. This is despite the fact that the S9 FE+ only has half of the speakers that the full-bodied Galaxy Tab S9 models have. The bass is not as strong as we had hoped for, but it is better than we had anticipated; nonetheless, we had the similar impression regarding the Galaxy Tab S9.

Reviews of the Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 Plus, Including Software

The Samsung tablet that is based on Android is streamlined and simple to operate.
Android 14 is presently being used on the Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 FE+, which also features the company’s very own One UI 6.0 user interface. It is a beautiful and aesthetically pleasing layer that is built on top of Android, and it brings with it a multitude of Samsung’s own applications, such as the Galaxy Store, in addition to Google’s own Play Store.

The Gaming Hub, Health, and the SmartThings linked home hub are four additional Samsung applications that are included in the bundle. It was not difficult for me to use the interface, which has been modified to fit a tablet screen. For example, the navigation buttons have been repositioned to the bottom right or left side of the screen to make them more accessible.

REVIEW OF THE SAMSUNG GALAXY TAB S9 PLUS SPORTING ACCESSORIES

Included in the package is a stylus that can be attached to the rear of the S Pen.
Samsung also offers keyboard adapters and cases that may be purchased separately.
An S Pen pen is included with the Galaxy Tab S9 FE+ at no additional cost. This stylus may be magnetically attached to the upper back of the tablet, next to the module that houses the rear camera. In contrast to the Galaxy Tab S9, this particular iteration of the stylus does not come equipped with an internal battery.

This S Pen promises to have the same feature set and sensitivity even when it is not charged. As someone who uses styluses on a regular basis, I discovered that it had the same level of responsiveness as Samsung’s battery-powered S Pen versions. My impression is that this one is just as capable as the others.

The two-piece Book Cover, which costs $90 and can be seen in some of these photographs, is one of the extra accessories that Samsung offers for purchase. A smart fold-down stand and a tiny bulge to hold the stylus in place are also features of the backing piece, which maintains its magnetic connection to the tablet and maintains its magnetic connection.

Additionally, the front flap is connected to the connection, and it serves the purpose of concealing your screen while it is not being used. When I was using the tablet, I would generally remove the front cover completely; but, because I enjoyed the way the back cover fit and felt, I would typically keep it connected while using the tablet.

With a battery life that lasts for 18 hours, this tablet is built to last for the long haul.
What you give up in terms of sheer power on the Galaxy Tab S9 FE+, you unquestionably make up for in terms of battery length. With its very large 10,090 mAh battery, this gadget is a beast that puts its power to good use. In the normal battery rundown test that we do, the Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 FE+ lasted for 18 hours and 6 minutes. During this test, the tablet continuously browses the web over Wi-Fi while the screen is set to 150 nits of brightness.

Test results for the battery
The Galaxy Tab S9 FE+ from Samsung(18:06)
9:06 Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 (Sandroid)
Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 Ultra, at 9:27 Minutes
12:52 Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 Screen Size
Tablet Extreme from Lenovo @ 9:28
1:09 Apple iPad Air, the year 2022
iPad Pro from Apple, year 2022, 10:37

That is around twice as fast as the 9:06 result from the ordinary Galaxy Tab S9 (and not the bigger S9+ model, mind you), and it is almost exactly twice as fast as the 10:09 result that we marked on the iPad Air device that is now available from 2022. In the event that you play 3D games or adjust the brightness setting to a greater level, you will surely be able to reduce that estimate by a few hours. But if you use it for mild, general purposes, this tablet will survive for a very long time.

Concluding Remarks Regarding the Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 Plus

Using the Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 FE+ on a daily basis was a lot of fun for me. I spent a lot of time playing Hearthstone card battles, watching YouTube while it was propped up with the Book Cover covering, and browsing the web.

However, when it is unable to even function to the level of an iPad that is two years older and almost half the price, it is difficult to make sense of the $599 price tag. The tablet has a luxurious feel to it and impresses in a variety of different ways. On the other hand, the very long battery life and the included S Pen stylus might help compensate for the lack of raw power, particularly for individuals who do not engage in a significant amount of gaming.

Despite this, it is difficult to justify the price point of $599, and I have serious doubts about the capability of this low-powered tablet to keep up with the release of future Android upgrades. In the event that it were on sale, it may be more enticing; alternatively, the Galaxy Tab S9 FE, which is somewhat smaller, might offer a better combination of power and pricing at $449.