What’s the deal?
Save $45 on the Galaxy Tab S9 FE right now, or get up to $343<!–> in instant credit when you trade in an eligible device. In addition, you can save $43 on the Galaxy Tab S9 FE+–> model or get up to $497<!–> off with a trade-in before October Prime Day.
Also: The 50+ best early October Prime Day 2024 deals to shop now
ZDNET’s key takeaways
- Samsung’s latest Galaxy tablets come in two sizes, the 10.9-inch Tab S9 FE–> for the original price of $450 and the 12.4-inch Tab S9 FE+<!–> for $600.
- If you want a big tablet for watching movies and multitasking on the go but want to keep your spending in check, the Tab S9 FE+ is a solid choice.
- You may experience the usual Android tablet quirks, such as outstretched apps and the occasional slowdown.
The world of budget-friendly Android tablets continues to grow as more companies try to appeal to those who don’t feel like spending $1,000+ on a nice Netflix machine. Samsung is again trying to make something happen in the upper mid-range sector with the Galaxy Tab S9 FE series, which consists of the regular S9 FE–> and the S9 FE+<!–>. I’ve been reviewing the latter, which normally retails at $599… it’s pretty good!
Also: One of the best tablets for entertainment I’ve tested is not an iPad Air or Samsung Galaxy Tab
I won’t tell you it’s the greatest tablet since sliced bread. While it marks the return of Samsung’s Galaxy Tab FE line after a hiatus in 2022, the company’s mid-range tablets haven’t changed much, save for a few tweaks here and there to bring them up to 2024 standards. The S9 FE+ is a prime example, but despite being a boring update, it’s still a great option if you’re after a big screen with long battery life.
The screen is really what makes the Galaxy Tab S9 FE+. Samsung includes a 12.4-inch 16:10 IPS LCD that, to my eye, looks about as close as you can get to OLED without actually being OLED. Content looks pin-sharp thanks to the 2560 x 1600 resolution, while colors are vibrant and contrast is surprisingly adequate. I’ve enjoyed doing just about everything on this tablet, from watching movies to reading articles. It all looks superb, which is expected from a Samsung tablet.
Is it as beautiful as a straight-up OLED panel? No, not really. It doesn’t help that there’s a gray tint whenever something super dark shows up on the screen (such as nighttime in a movie), but for this price, it’s forgivable.
Also: iPad Air (2024) review: Apple’s M2 tablet is the iPad most people should buy
The screen sits on the front of an aluminum chassis that Samsung offers in four colors: Silver, Gray, Lavender, and Mint (the one I got – and yeah, it’s the best one). It shares many similarities with the other members of the Galaxy Tab series, with its flat sides, circular speaker grilles, and antenna stripes. This also makes it look like Apple’s iPads, which you cannot unsee when you set them next to each other.
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While the Tab S9 FE is not the most comfortable tablet to hold for long periods (no tablet with flat edges is), it’s at least thin and light enough that you don’t grow tired. After a while, it just tends to dig into your hand, which isn’t great. But then again, that’s with most modern tablets these days. At least the bezels are thick enough, so you have somewhere to put your thumbs.
Under the hood, Samsung packs in its Exynos 1380 processor, a mid-range chipset that isn’t positioned to take on the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2s and Apple M1s of the world. Instead, it’s a fine processor for the Galaxy Tab S9 FE+, with generally reliable performance during my testing. Apps and games respond promptly, with only a few slowdowns whenever I switch between apps rapidly.
My unit has 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage, which is fine for most consumers. If you want more, there’s a 12GB RAM/256GB storage option–>
