Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 FE and Tab S9 FE+ Fan Edition

08/10/2023
By Ray Shaw
In Announcements

The Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 FE and S9 FE+ Fan Edition sit between Samsung’s value Tab A and the premium Tab S9 series.

What are the main differences between the Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 FE and Tab S9 (in brackets)

10.9” 2304 x 1440, 90Hz IPS LCD (11” 2560 x 1600, HDR10+ 120Hz AMOLED)
Exynos 1380 5nm (Qualcomm SD8 Gen 2 4nm)
Mali-G68 MP5 (Adreno 740)
6 or 8GB LPDDRX4 RAM (8 or 12GB RAM LPDDRX5)
128 or 256GB UFS 3.1 (same UFS 4.0)
8MP FF wide (13MP F/2.0, PDAF)
Wi-Fi 6 AX dual-band (Wi-Fi 6E AXE tri-band)
USB-C 2.0 (USB-C 3.2 Gen 2 with Alt DP audio/video/data)
Dual speakers (quad speakers)
8000mAh 45W no charger supplied (8400mAh same)
Base 128GB $749 ($1299)

While it is called a Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 FE – Fan Edition – the compromises made to come in $550 cheaper than the S9 are quite significant.

The Samsung Exynos SoC is significantly slower than the Tab S9 Qualcomm SD8 Gen 2 – benchmarks here. Buyers could be confused with the S9 FE nomenclature for a SoC with less than 50% of the S9 series processing power and 16% of the AI TOPS. Gamers will be disappointed with 62% slower GPU speeds, offering a maximum of 60fps in PUBG Mobile and 25fps in Fortnite (SD8 Gen 2 is 120/60fps). As long as buyers realise what they are buying, we have done our job.

The IPS LCD versus AMOLED is more a matter of preference. Most tablet users won’t know unless they have experienced the Tab S9’s HDR10+ AMOLED when watching video content.

Base Specs Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 FE S9 and S9+ FE (in brackets)

254.3 x 165.8 x 6.5 mm x 524g (285.4 x 185.4 x 6.5 mm x 628g)
10.9” 2304 x 1440, 16:10, 90Hz, 8-bit/16m colours, IPS LCD (12.4” same)
Glass front not specified, aluminium frame and back (same)
Exynos 1380 5nm and Mali-G68 MP5 SoC (same)
Micro-SD slot to 1TB
Rear camera – 8MP wide (Same plus 8MP ultrawide)
Front camera – 12MP ultrawide (same)
Stereo speakers – no 3.5mm jack (same)
Wi-Fi 6 AX dual-band, BT 5.3, GPS
USB-C 2.0 OTG
8000mAh battery, 45W capable, no charger (1090mAh same)
IP68
S-Pen included
Android 13 – One UI 5.1 x 4 OS upgrade and 5 years security patch policy (same)
Mint, Lavender, Grey and Silver
US Website

Price

Add $200 for 5G – order at purchase

S9 FE

6/128GB Wi-Fi $749
8/256GB Wi-F $899

S9 FE+

8/128GB Wi-Fi $999
12/256GB Wi-Fi 1149

You can register your interest at Samsung AU.

Competition

The closest competitor is the $899, 10.95” Google Pixel Tablet 2023 – The definitive deep-dive comes with a speaker dock, faster Tensor G2 processor (Exynos 2200), four speakers (and dock speaker), Pure Android 13 and 5+5 OS upgrade and security patches.

The $699 OPPO Pad 2 – premium Android tablet with a new format screen is very impressive with an 11.61”, 2.8K, 7:5, 10-bit/1.07 billion colour, 144Hz AMOLED screen. It has a much faster MediaTek Dimensity 9000 (like SD8 Gen 1), Wi-Fi 6E AXE Tri-band, 9510mAH battery with a 67W rapid charger inbox, and quad speakers. It has Android 13 and 3+4 years of OS upgrades and security patches. You can get the bundle with the keyboard cover and stylus for $937.