No new iPads? This big-screen Samsung tablet could be your holiday winner instead

ZDNET’s key takeaways

• Samsung’s latest Galaxy tablets can be found two sizes, the 10.9-inch Tab S9 FE for $599, and the 12.4-inch Tab S9 FE+ for $699.
• You in all probability have your coronary coronary heart set on an infinite tablet for watching movies and multitasking on the go and want to keep your spending in confirm, the Tab S9 FE+ is a steady choice.
• For sure likelihood is you’ll experience the usual Android tablet quirks, equal to outstretched apps and the occasional slow-down.

The world of budget-friendly Android tablets continues to develop as further companies try and attraction to people who don’t really feel like spending $1,000+ on a nice Netflix machine. Samsung is as quickly as as soon as extra attempting to make one factor happen inside the greater mid-range sector with the Galaxy Tab S9 FE sequence, which consists of the regular S9 FE and the S9 FE+. I’ve been reviewing the latter, which begins at $599, and… it’s pretty good!

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I’m not going to sit down proper right here and inform you it’s the greatest tablet since sliced bread. Whereas it marks the return of Samsung’s Galaxy Tab FE line after a hiatus in 2022, the company’s mid-range tablets haven’t modified all that loads, save for a few tweaks proper right here and there to hold them as a lot as 2023 necessities. The S9 FE+ is a first-rate occasion of that, nevertheless no matter it being a boring change, it’s nonetheless an incredible risk in the event you occur to’re after an infinite show display with prolonged battery life.

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Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 FE Collection

The most recent Galaxy tablets are geared in the direction of digital content material creators, college students, artists, and avid gamers, with an optionally available keyboard accent to accommodate.

The show display is de facto what makes the Galaxy Tab S9 FE+. Samsung encompasses a 12.4-inch 16:10 IPS LCD present that, to my eye, seems to be like about as shut as you could get to OLED with out really making the leap to OLED. Content material materials seems to be like pin-sharp as a result of 2560 x 1600 resolution, whereas colors are vibrant and distinction is surprisingly ample. I’ve beloved doing practically each half on this tablet, from watching movies to finding out articles. All of it seems to be like truly good, which is to be anticipated from a tablet from Samsung.

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Is it as beautiful as a straight-up OLED panel? No, not going. It will not help that there’s a gray tint at any time when one factor large darkish reveals up on the show display (equal to nighttime in a movie), nevertheless for $600, it’s forgivable.

The show display sits on the doorway of an aluminum chassis that Samsung provides in 4 fully completely different colors: Silver, Gray, Lavender, and Mint (the one I acquired — and yeah, it’s positively the simplest one). There isn’t any shortage of similarities between it and the other members of the Galaxy Tab sequence, with its flat sides, spherical speaker grilles, and antenna stripes. This moreover makes it look a lot like Apple’s iPads, which you cannot unsee the second you set them subsequent to at least one one other.

Whereas the Tab S9 FE is simply not in all probability probably the most comfortable tablet to hold for prolonged durations of time (no tablet with flat edges is), it isn’t lower than skinny and lightweight enough that you don’t develop drained. After a while, it merely tends to dig into your hand, which isn’t good. Nevertheless then as soon as extra, that’s with most stylish tablets as of late. Not lower than the bezels are thick enough so that you’ve gotten someplace to put your thumbs.

Beneath the hood, Samsung packs in its Exynos 1380 processor, a mid-range chipset that isn’t positioned to deal with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2s and Apple M1s of the world. In its place, it’s a good processor for the Galaxy Tab S9 FE+, with effectivity that’s usually reliable all through my testing. Apps and video video games reply in a properly timed technique with just some slow-downs at any time after I change between apps rapidly. 

There’s 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage in my unit, which is totally good for a lot of clients. When you’d like further, there’s a 12GB RAM/256GB storage option that’s $100 extra, which affords you a bit further headroom that will are available helpful in the event you occur to’re a extreme tablet multitasker.

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The system comes with Samsung’s One UI 5.1 on excessive of Android 13, and it’s a good working system. The Tab S9 FE+ dons the usual One UI aesthetic and everything-but-the-kitchen-sink technique to choices and settings, along with an array of multitasking choices like split-screen, multi-window, and even DeX, which provides you a desktop-like interface for getting work achieved. That attribute is most interesting paired with a keyboard and mouse, which Samsung is comfy to advertise you inside the kind of the $229 E e book Cowl Keyboard. I didn’t get it to judge, nevertheless I suppose it’s good when you’re in DeX mode.

In spite of everything, that’s Android on a tablet, so you could should deal with the entire weird strategies apps open and scale on the present. I’ll admit, the app help state of affairs just isn’t as unhealthy as a result of it was a few years ago, attributable to Google pressuring further builders to optimize their apps for larger models. Nonetheless, it isn’t good, and customary apps like X (beforehand Twitter), Instagram, and Slack will each not stretch to fill the present or stretch too extensively and depart you with a bunch of white home. This isn’t Samsung’s fault, by the easiest way — it’s a larger draw back with Android which I actually really feel obligated to say at any time after I consider an Android tablet.

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Oh, there’s but yet another software-esque attribute I’ve to say: drawing. The Tab S9 FE+ comes with an S Pen that magnetically attaches to the once more to recharge. You’ll be capable to write notes, sign paperwork, create drawings, sketch, and additional with steady accuracy and responsiveness. Samsung has been doing the S Pen issue for a while now, and it’s perfected its strategy.

Battery life has been truly good on the Tab S9 FE+, which is good to see. There’s a 10,090mAh battery inside that will last 2-3 days on a full value with my gentle use. Whenever you take it on a plane with you, you could merely watch two movies, play some video video games, and browse an e-book sooner than it dies. Standby will also be surprisingly good; I left this tablet unattended all night time time at 100 laptop and it solely dropped to 96 p.c by the next morning. It’s paying homage to the type of endurance you could get from an iPad Air.

ZDNET’s purchasing for suggestion

Whenever you’re considering deciding on up the Tab S9 FE+, I’d counsel considering exactly what you need out of your subsequent tablet. Whenever you’re after an infinite show display and prolonged battery life, that’s the one for you. 

Nevertheless in the event you occur to’d be okay with one factor barely smaller or serves as a second system when you aren’t using it, the Pixel Tablet is on a regular basis an incredible risk. It comes with a smaller 10.2-inch show display and a Tensor G2 processor, and it bundles a speaker dock inside the subject that turns it right into a smart present. Plus, it’s $200 cheaper.

Nevertheless you in all probability have your coronary coronary heart set on an infinite tablet for watching movies and multitasking on the go and want to keep your spending in confirm, the Tab S9 FE+ is a steady choice. There’s nothing truly specific that stands out regarding the system, nevertheless as a traditional frequently tablet (that happens to be larger than widespread and comes with a stylus inside the subject), it’s pretty good.