The Galaxy Tab S9 series is finally here. During the Galaxy Unpacked 2023 event today in South Korea, Samsung unveiled three high-end tablets: Galaxy Tab S9, Galaxy Tab S9+, and Galaxy Tab S9 Ultra. These tablets bring a faster processor, louder speakers, improved software, and longer battery life.
More importantly, they are among the first high-end tablets in the world to feature an IP68 rating for dust and water resistance.
Galaxy Tab S9 specifications
All three tablets in the Galaxy Tab S9 series feature the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 For Galaxy processor. It is the same chipset that Samsung used in the Galaxy S23, Galaxy Z Flip 5, and Galaxy Z Fold 5. The tablets feature an advanced vapor chamber technology, which uses two-way heat dissipation to make the Galaxy Tab S9 the most heat-efficient Samsung tablet lineup ever. Samsung is promising that its new tablets have great sustained performance.
The Galaxy Tab S9 has an OLED screen, an upgrade over the Galaxy Tab S8's IPS LCD screen. It sports an 11-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X screen with QHD+ resolution, a 120Hz refresh rate, and HDR10+. The tablet has a 12MP ultrawide selfie camera and a 13MP rear-facing camera, and both cameras can record up to 4K 60fps videos. It is powered by an 8,400mAh battery and supports 45W fast charging. It is available in 8GB RAM + 128GB storage and 12GB RAM + 256GB storage variants.
The Galaxy Tab S9+ has a 12.4-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X screen with QHD+ resolution (2,800 x 1,752 pixels), a 120Hz variable refresh rate, and HDR10+. The tablet has a 12MP ultrawide selfie camera on the front and a 13MP+8MP dual-camera setup at the rear. The 8MP camera on the rear has an ultrawide lens. The front-facing and the primary rear-facing cameras support up to 4K 60fps video recording. The Galaxy Tab S9+ comes fitted with a 10,090mAh battery that supports 45W fast charging. It will be sold in 256GB and 512GB variants, both featuring 12GB RAM.
The highest-end tablet in the lineup is the Galaxy Tab S9 Ultra. It has a massive 14.6-inch Dynamic AMOLED screen with a 2,960 x 1,848 pixels resolution, a 120Hz variable refresh rate, and HDR10+. The display has a notch to accommodate two 12MP front-facing cameras, one with a wide-angle lens and the other with an ultrawide lens. The front camera setup switches between the two sensors to automatically pan and zoom on the person's face during video calls.
On the rear, the Galaxy Tab S9 Ultra has a 13MP primary camera and an 8MP ultrawide camera. It is powered by an 11,200mAh battery that can charge at a power of up to 45W. It comes in 256GB, 512GB, and 1TB storage variants. The 1TB version has 16GB RAM, while the other two storage variants have 12GB RAM.
The OLED screens on the Galaxy Tab S9, Galaxy Tab S9+, and Galaxy Tab S9 Ultra have Vision Booster that retains the contrast even in bright outdoors. The new S Pen can now charge in its cradle regardless of its orientation. You can use the S Pen to write directly in search bars, web browsers, and app stores. Samsung will also sell the S Pen Creator Edition, an optional accessory with a textured material for a comfortable grip and a wider tilt angle for more intuitive drawing.
These tablets have 20% bigger AKG-tuned quad speakers, a bundled IP68-rated S Pen, a microSD card slot (up to 1TB), an in-display fingerprint reader, and Wireless DeX. As usual, all the variants of these tablets come in Wi-Fi-only and Wi-Fi + 5G options. The boxes that these new tablets come in are made using 100% recycled paper, while the tablets use a wide variety of recycled materials for external and internal components.
Galaxy Tab S9, S9+, and S9 Ultra run Android 13-based One UI 5.1.1 out of the box
All three new Samsung tablets run Android 13-based One UI 5.1.1 out of the box. The South Korean firm has promised to offer four major Android OS updates to the Galaxy Tab S9 series, which means they're good for up to Android 17. The devices will get security updates for up to five years.
With One UI 5.1.1, Samsung has added a lot of new features that improve productivity. The taskbar can now show more (up to 4) recently-used apps. The multitasking menu shows the current size of each app's window. Apps running in the pop-up window can be hidden away to the side of the screen to focus on other tasks. When you hover the S Pen over the app's icon, it shows a preview of the app's state. One UI 5.1.1 also brings the ability to hold a file with one finger and switch to another app/location with the other finger for drag-and-drop.
There are improvements to Quick Share, Image Editor, and the Device Care section. Samsung has improved the design and layout of most of its apps to take better advantage of the bigger screen on tablets.
Additionally, creator apps like ArcSite, Clip Studio Paint, GoodNotes, and LumaFusion offer great productivity on the go, thanks to their tablet-optimized UI design.
Galaxy Tab S9 series pricing, pre-order date, release date
You can pre-order the Galaxy Tab S9 series in several countries starting today, and they will start reaching customers from August 11, 2023. The company is offering the Slim Book Cover Keyboard with the Galaxy Tab S9 series for free to those who pre-order any one of these tablets. The keyboard cover is worth £200.
The base Galaxy Tab S9 with 128GB storage and Wi-Fi-only connectivity is priced at £799. The Galaxy Tab S9+ starts at £999 for the 256GB storage variant with Wi-Fi-only connectivity. The Galaxy Tab S9 Ultra has a starting price of £1,199 for 256GB storage and Wi-Fi-only connectivity. The top-tier Galaxy Tab S9 Ultra with 1TB storage and 5G connectivity is priced at £1,699.
You can read about the pricing of all the variants of the Galaxy Tab S9, Galaxy Tab S9+, and Galaxy Tab S9 Ultra here.
