​Pros | Cons |
+ Generously large display | - Power adapter not included |
+ Solid processor for gaming | - Pricey |
+ IP68-rated water and dust resistance | ​ |
Samsung Galaxy Tab S9+
Price: RM 5,199
If you watched the Galaxy Unpacked event in July 2023, you likely noticed that Samsung has extended the use of their flagship Galaxy S23 series processors to the latest Galaxy Z Flip5, Galaxy Z Fold5, and Galaxy Tab S9 series. With these top-tier processors onboard, the Galaxy Tab S9 series is undoubtedly the most powerful tablet available in the market currently. That being said, let us review the Samsung Galaxy Tab S9+.
Design
The Galaxy Tab S9+ boasts a sturdy and durable design; the tablet is built with a solid aluminum frame and aluminum back cover and weighs a total of 581g. The weight is just right for carrying around. However, I find the Book Cover Keyboard quite interrupting, as you need to fold it open whenever you want to use the tablet. Thus, I am more likely to detach the keyboard from the cover when it is not necessary.
The Galaxy Tab S9+ is available in two colour choices: Beige and Graphite, our reviewing unit today are the more elegant option, Beige. Moreover, the tablet is equipped with a 13MP AF + 8MP Ultra-wide dual-camera setup followed by a flashlight at the side. Most importantly, the magnetic S Pen slot now supports omnidirectional charging, eliminating unnecessary fiddling while charging the S Pen.
Apart from that, the Galaxy Tab S9+ also features Quad Stereo Speakers Sound by AKG, Dolby Atmos on both sides of the tablet, providing an immersive audio experience that caters to all your entertainment needs.
Display
The Galaxy Tab S9+ features a 12.4-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X that supports up to 120Hz dynamic refresh rate to balance smooth responsiveness and battery efficiency. When you have such a large display, the obvious thing to do is multitask!
As I've tried, we can only have up to three applications snapped on the screen at once, and not all apps can be used in split-screen mode. As said, apps like Netflix can only be displayed full-screen. However, you may pin as many applications in pop-up window mode as you want but you wouldn't be able to see much due to the apps all crumbling together on screen.
Performance
As mentioned before, the Galaxy Tab S9+ is powered by Samsung's strongest chipset to date - Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy. This powerful processor enables min min to spam multiple apps running and gaming with no lag experience. Hence, we'll be using AnTuTu Benchmark v10.0.1-OB1 to put the tablet on a test to find out the top performance for the Galaxy Tab S9+.
Turns out, the Galaxy Tab S9+ scores a total of 1,596,464 on AnTuTu Benchmark v10.0.1-OB1, a result that is good as the flagship smartphones with Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 processor. Moreover, the cooling on the Galaxy Tab S9+ is effective throughout the benchmark, with only slight heat around the camera area and it goes off very quickly.
Now, let's play Genshin Impact and Honkai: Star Rail on the Galaxy Tab S9+ for a game performance test on the highest setting, 60 fps. As expected, the Galaxy Tab S9+ is able to run both games smoothly without compromising the graphics quality, even while exploring the Sumeru region on high rendering settings.
The experience with Honkai: Star Rail was also relatively smooth, with seamless transitions between the world, character menu, or party menu without any lag or screen stutter, even after prolonged gaming sessions.
Storage-wise, the Galaxy Tab S9+ is equipped with a reasonable 12GB RAM + 512GB ROM of storage, there's no way you'll fill up all that storage available in a nick of time. Even so, any storage concerns can be easily resolved with a 1TB microSD card.
The Galaxy Tab S9+ houses a massive 10,090mAh battery capacity that could last for at least 4 days on standby on a full charge with WiFi enabled. Besides that, the battery's health remains in good condition even if you game for one or two hours, making it ideal for those who work outstations and desire entertainment options. The only downside is the missing 45W Power Adapter in the box, which consequently leads to longer charging times.
S Pen & Book Cover Keyboard
Most tablet these day boasts additional accessories to help boost work productivity and the Galaxy Tab S9+ is no exception. It's worth knowing that the S Pen is also IP68 rated for water and dust resistance, allowing content creators to freely pull out their S Pen and start doodling everywhere. Although I don't use the S Pen very often, I mainly rely on the physical keyboard for publishing articles.
The typing experience on the keyboard is decent, but still, it benefits me by offering more screen space to work on articles and other tasks because there is no longer a virtual keyboard taking up space. Not only that but, the keyboard is also equipped with the Samsung DeX feature that turns the Galaxy Tab S9+ tablet into a PC, by providing a similar UI and functions that resembles Windows.
Buy or no buy
The Samsung Galaxy Tab S9+ does come with a relatively high price point, reaching around RM5000 for the tablet (12GB + 512GB model), which is almost the price range of the flagship Galaxy S23 Ultra. Additionally, there are numerous other options available that offer similar functionality at a lower price.
The primary factor to consider on a tablet would be the processor. In the case of the Galaxy Tab S9 series, it boasts the best processing unit, making it an overpowered tablet suitable for heavy performance-oriented users.
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