Budget tablets seem to be following a similar path to some of the leading budget smartphones – better build quality and better overall performance. In the Android tablet world, Samsung has been the most consistent across its entire range of large-screen devices. The Tab A lineup has largely dominated the budget tablet space over the years, and the new Samsung Galaxy Tab A9+ is the latest to join the fray. But, like budget smartphones, the tablet space is also getting crowded, and it takes more to stand out.
Samsung Galaxy Tab A9+
The Samsung Galaxy Tab A9+ is a solidly built tablet with useful software features that complement the hardware. The 4GB RAM model is a bit slow, so opt for the 8GB RAM model for better performance. Overall, it’s a budget device that’s good for casual use.
- Good build quality
- Samsung has nailed multitasking.
- Solid display specifications
- Great battery life
- 4gb model is slow
- No fingerprint reader
- The headphones are just good.
Price and availability
Happy Wallet
Samsung announced the Galaxy Tab A9+ on October 5, 2023, and it went on sale on October 17. The tablet comes in three colors and two configurations. For colors, you can choose between Graphite, Silver, or Navy with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of internal storage or 8GB with 128GB of RAM. You can purchase the tablet from several retailers, including Amazon, Best Buy, B&H, and Samsung. As for pricing, it will cost $220 for the base model and $270 for the 8GB version.
Design and Hardware
Samsung from start to finish
When it comes to design, Samsung has nailed its approach perfectly, if a bit dated at this point, in its flagship Android phones and Android tablets. The tech giant has settled on simplicity and industrialism, and it’s also moving forward in its mid-range devices. With the latest Samsung Galaxy Tab A9+, you get a single piece of aluminium that encases the back of the tablet and curves to form the sides of the device. I wish Samsung would put a fingerprint reader on the power button because, apart from the typical security features, you only get face unlock for biometrics.
The edges aren’t too sharp and it feels comfortable in the hand. By using aluminium, Samsung also reduces the overall weight of the device, which is good since it has an 11-inch glass-covered display. So, at a much heftier 480g than the current 480g, the tablet will start to feel a bit unmanageable. Back to the display, it’s an LCD panel with a 90Hz refresh rate. While it’s not the rich OLED panels that Samsung is known for, colours are vibrant, and the 480nits of brightness make the display look more than acceptable.
Along the sides of the Tab A9+, you’ll find two speaker grilles on each end when used in landscape mode for an immersive Dolby Atmos-enabled audio experience. However, the speakers do suffer from some distortion at high volumes, and it’s relatively easy to cover the bottom two speakers when holding the tablet. There is, however, a 3.5mm audio jack for connecting your favorite wired headphones.
Software, Performance, Battery
You win some, you lose some.
If there’s one area where Samsung has really nailed it over the past few years, whether on its phones or tablets, it’s software. While I personally don’t love some parts of the UI, there are plenty of ways to customize the interface to be exactly how you want it. Then there are the handy multitasking features that do a great job of helping you take advantage of the big screen. With the update to OneUI 6.0 based on Android 14, the Tab A9+ gets the excellent taskbar from the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 to make it easier to switch apps and use multi-window features.
There’s a Samsung Kids app that puts the device in a kid-friendly mode with access to parent-approved apps. It also opens up parental controls that limit screen time in general or for specific apps. It’s nice to see that on this type of device, and while it won’t top our list of the best tablets for kids, I’m glad it’s here.
The phone comes with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 695 5G processor and either 4GB or 8GB of RAM. Along with your RAM choice, you get 64GB of internal storage with the 4GB model or 128GB with the 8GB. Whichever configuration you choose, you’ll also be able to expand your storage by up to 1TB when you pop in any of the excellent microSD cards on the market. But if you can spare the extra $50 for the 8GB RAM model, go for it because the 4GB model I tested had a lot of performance issues.
The two interior configurations are about more than just storage options.
One of the biggest issues with any budget Android tablet is lag when it comes to basic tasks. This is often due to the choice to make the tablet as cheap as possible, and one way to do this is to limit the components inside. By offering just 4GB of RAM, Samsung severely hampers day-to-day use of the Galaxy Tab A9+. Everything from opening a new app to reopening an app in the background, installing apps, or even scrolling through social media, there are a lot of hiccups and lags. Do yourself a favor and avoid the 4GB model.
While performance leaves a lot to be desired, battery life doesn’t. The 7,040mAh battery handles everyday use very well, easily getting two days between charges. Standby time is also very good. I can use the Tab A9+ here and there, sitting on my coffee table, with the battery lasting about a week. Charging is an area that could use some help as it tops out at a painfully slow 15W wired.
Cameras
He can take pictures.
This is going to be a very short section because if you thought cameras were an afterthought on mid-range smartphones, they’re even more so on mid-range tablets. Tablets aren’t known for their photography, so when it comes to cutting corners on these larger slates, cameras tend to be pretty much on this list.
On the back of the tablet you’ll find a single 8MP sensor that can be used to take photos. Are the photos great? No. Are they bad? Well, not if the subject isn’t moving and it’s in good lighting. But even then, the photos tend to be soft with little detail, and the colors are washed out. The camera has autofocus, but in my testing, I had trouble focusing on the subject. Even when I tapped on the subject, the camera only held it for a second or two before searching for a place to land.
Here are some sample photos taken with the rear camera in different lighting conditions and shooting modes:
On the front, the camera is less impressive, but it does a good job when it comes to video calling. The 5MP sensor doesn’t have autofocus, and tends to have poor image quality like the rear camera. Again, this is a mid-range tablet with the expected flaws in the photography department.
Sample images from the front camera:
a race
Do not stand in a crowded place.
There are plenty of cheap tablets on the market, but most of them aren’t worth your money. That doesn’t mean they’re all bad. In fact, there are plenty of great Android tablets out there. As I said at the beginning of this review, Samsung has long been the default in this category, but more and more brands are targeting the mid-range tablet space. I recently reviewed the Xiaomi Redmi Pad SE and was very impressed.
Xiaomi offers the device in four configurations with a base storage of 128GB and 4, 6, or 8GB of RAM. The base model is about $20 less than Samsung’s model and has twice the storage. You can also get a 256GB model with 8GB of RAM for about $10 less than the base Galaxy Tab A9+. The build quality is just as good and it has a bigger battery than Samsung’s.
You can also consider buying the Amazon Fire HD 10 if you don’t mind using Amazon’s version of Android, FireOS. You’ll get almost the same overall experience, but once you boot up the device, you won’t be able to access the Google Play Store. But you can work around that if you’re willing to make a few tweaks.
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Should you buy it?
The Samsung Galaxy Tab A9+ is a big step up in almost every category from the previous generation of the series. The build materials, internals, and software have all been improved. While I can’t say from experience that performance is guaranteed to be better on the 8GB RAM model, the 4GB version struggles. If my testing of the Xiaomi Redmi Pad SE’s 8GB RAM configuration is any indication, you can and should opt for this Samsung setup.
Samsung’s software is a strong point for this tablet, even if the internals don’t let it fully shine. OneUI 6 is relatively clean, and the mature multitasking features are very useful on the tablet. While the hardware is generally pretty nice with the aluminum casing, it’s not a bad idea to give it some extra protection with one of the best Galaxy Tab A9+ cases if you decide this is the tablet for you.
Samsung Galaxy Tab A9+
The Samsung Galaxy Tab A9+ is a well-designed tablet with some useful software features to match the hardware. The 4GB RAM model is a bit slow, so definitely opt for the 8GB RAM model for better performance. Overall, it’s a budget device that’s good for casual use.
