Samsung has taken a liking to Fan Editions of its select products over the past few years, and tablets are no exception. The manufacturer is returning to them after two years, and the new Galaxy Tab S9 FE has a decent display, supports DeX mode, has an S Pen stylus and also practical accessories. The price on the Czech market is also quite reasonable.
This year, Samsung launched its flagship line of tablets called the Galaxy Tab S9. First came the truly most equipped representative, followed a little later by variants with the FE epithet. The Galaxy Tab S9 FE tested today actually belongs to the flagship series, but the nickname FE (Fan Edition) proclaims that it is a slightly lighter version, which was reflected in the lower price. The main concessions are a slightly weaker processor and a not so great display. The question is, how much does it really matter?
Construction254.3 × 165.8 × 6.5 mm, 524 g, construction: classic, resistance: IP68 DisplayTFT IPS, 10.9″ (2560 × 1600 px) Camera8 Mpx, video: 3840 × 2160 pxChipsetSamsung Exynos 1380 . 13 Battery 8,000 mAh, wireless charging: noAvailability January 2023, CZK 16,999
Package contents
The basic package offers only the essentials. So, of course, it is a tablet and a USB cable. The presence of the S Pen touch pen is also a pleasant surprise. The end of the charger is missing, but that probably won’t surprise anyone too much.
We liked the practical stylus in the basic package. We didn’t like the charging adapter
Construction: thin and light
The Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 FE is 6.5 mm thin. Nevertheless, it holds comfortably, thanks to the weight of 523 grams. The body is solid, metal, pleasantly cool in the hands. Around the display, there are quite acceptable frames that are not distracting and are acceptable in the upper middle class.
On the contrary, for some, the antenna dividers that stretch along the edges of the back can be slightly disturbing. On the other hand, many of you may not deal with them. You can place the tablet in a case, or purchase a case with a keyboard. Magnetic pins on the bottom edge are used for adequate connection of accessories.
On the opposite edge is a set of buttons, one of which is significantly larger, and the reason is simple. It has an integrated fingerprint reader. It can be useful for a tablet, but it is advisable to scan multiple fingers because you will be holding the tablet in different positions. On the same side, there is also a magnetic surface where you can attach the S Pen supplied in the package. It is gray, it does not lack a button for quickly launching the required functions and is an interesting added value that the competition usually lacks.
The processing is exemplary, but the fact that the FE model also received increased resistance against water and dust according to IP68 is worth highlighting. The tablet is therefore not affected by spilling or falling into water.
We liked the high-quality construction, the fingerprint reader, increased durability, and the S Pen
Display: more than adequate
Compared to the top models of the Galaxy Tab S9 series, this time we have to put up with an IPS panel that has “only” 90 Hz. Despite initial concerns, however, the display soon won us over. At 10.9″, it operates with a fine resolution of 1,920 × 1,280 pixels, so expect a really great spectacle. If you don’t directly compare the display with other high-quality AMOLEDs, you will be extremely satisfied with it. The color reproduction is excellent and even black surfaces don’t look bad. For example consumption of multimedia is therefore a feast for the eyes. It probably goes without saying that the display understands the S-Pen. The display is protected by Gorilla Glass 3.
We didn’t like Samsung, but they could have used an AMOLED panel
Sound: very pleasant
The Galaxy Tab S9 FE has stereo speakers, one on the right and one on the left when held horizontally. Yes, there are only two, although tablets usually have more like four. However, the resulting sound is not bad at all. The 3.5mm jack is no longer available, so if you have wired headphones, you will have to connect them via a reducer and USB-C.
I liked the loud and high-quality presentation of 2 speakers
Hardware performance: solid foundation
Exynos 1380 with 8 cores takes care of the performance. In our case, we had at our disposal a very basic variant with 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage space. However, you have the option of reaching for a version with 8GB of RAM and 256GB of internal memory. In both cases, there is a slot for up to a 1TB memory card. With our variant, you have about 107 GB left for data after the first power on, which is not exactly a little. However, it very much depends on your requirements, and the choice of a suitable variant should depend on this.
I liked the 256GB memory and memory card support
Battery life: can handle a working day
The energy supply is provided by a battery with a solid capacity of 8,000 mAh, which comfortably ensures endurance throughout the working day. For example, you can watch videos via YouTube for about 10 hours. If you only use the tablet for an hour a day to consume messages and e-mails, you will charge it approximately once every 6 days. Charging is possible up to 45 W, but as we have already said, the manufacturer did not include a charging adapter, so you have to purchase it or use one you have at home.
Environment: clarity above all
The tablet has Android 13 with One UI 5.1.1 superstructure. The environment is not fundamentally different from the one you can see in mobile phones. With a tablet, it is quite irrelevant that it can be operated with one hand, but the clarity is definitely pleasing. As well as excellent optimization, where everything works really fast. The tablet currently has the November security patches, which is excellent.
However, the large display of the Galaxy Tabu S9 FE also encourages the use of the DeX mode, which you can turn on the fastest via the pull-down bar. Unfortunately, starting up DeX mode takes about 5 seconds. On the other hand, few people will switch all the time. In DeX mode, the tablet becomes almost a desktop device, where you have the opportunity to work better with multiple windows, have shortcuts clearly on the desktop, and a classic bar will be added at the bottom of the display. Even in normal tablet mode, however, you can have up to three applications side by side on the display, while the clarity is not bad at all.
You can make control easier with the excellent S-Pen stylus, which works in the entire environment and reacts to the intensity of pressure. It is very convenient to create notes with the stylus and by hand, without the need to use the keyboard. There is a single button on the stylus that can be used to quickly bring up a menu of shortcuts to launch. You can define the offer yourself in the settings.
We liked the clear environment DeXstylus S-Pen mode Work in multiple windows and in tablet mode
Connectivity: expected standard
Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.3 are a matter of course. Someone would be pleased with an infrared port or NFC, but both are unfortunately missing. A mobile internet connection would be useful on the go, but this is only available in the alternative version, it is pleasing that it is 5G. The tablet also has a GPS, thanks to which you can use it not only for viewing maps, but also for navigation.
We liked the GPS support for 5G in the better version of Bluetooth 5.3
Camera: only if necessary
There is an 8MP camera with automatic focus and f/2.0 aperture. The diode was no longer used, which is not particularly surprising for a tablet. The results are definitely usable for snapshots and, of course, for viewing on a tablet screen.
Video recording is possible in Full HD resolution with 30 frames per second. The result is average, but again, it is not something that would bother us significantly in the case of a tablet.
The frontal ultra-wide-angle 12 Mpx camera, which is used for example for video calls, will be permanent.
We liked the high-quality front camera
Evaluation: hit the nail on the head?
The Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 FE is interesting for more demanding users who, however, do not intend to spend 20,000 crowns or more for a tablet. In this case, the price starts below the threshold of 13 thousand crowns, where there is desperately little competition. For a lower price, Samsung decided to deploy a weaker but still powerful enough processor or an IPS panel instead of an AMOLED display. In practice, however, this does not matter in principle. You can still count on a sophisticated environment, including the DeX desktop solution, the tablet supports the S Pen, which is even included directly in the package, it even got regular increased resistance. If you are looking for a well-equipped Android tablet slightly above the 10,000 crown mark, definitely include the Galaxy Tab S9 FE in your shortlist.
Competition
The competitor is clearly the Apple iPad (2022), also with a 10.2″ display. However, for the same price, you may get an even better iPadOS environment, but even less memory, only 64 GB, which is admittedly not much.
Apple iPad (2022) 256GB Cellular
Dimensions 248.6 × 179.5 × 7 mm, 481 gTFT IPS display, 10.9″ (2,360 × 1,640 px) Camera 12 Mpx, video: 3,840 × 2,160 px, 30 FPS Processor Apple A14 Bionic, Memory storage: 256 GB, no Battery ?mAh
We must also mention the OnePlus Pad, which is slightly cheaper, has an even larger display, by less than one inch, with a finer resolution or significantly faster charging.
OnePlus Pad
Dimensions258 × 189.4 × 6.5 mm, 552 gTFT IPS display, 11.6″ (2,800 × 2,000 px) Camera13 MpxProcessorMediaTek Dimensity 9000, 1×3.05 GHz + 3×2.85 GHz + 4×1, 8 GHz Memory RAM: 8 GB, Storage: 128 GB, no Battery 9,510 mAh
Photo: Michal Pavlíček, mobilenet.cz
2023-10-29 08:00:00
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