Samsung Unpacked took place today and this particular event, held in Seoul, brought with it a bumper crop of new devices. Alongside the Galaxy Flip 5, Fold 5 and Galaxy Watch 6 models, the Galaxy Tab S9 series was unveiled.
The Korean tech giant’s tablet range once again arrives as a trio of devices with the regular edition joined by the Tab S9 Plus and Tab S9 Ultra with increasingly large screen sizes meaning there’s something for everyone. There was no mention of a Galaxy Tab S9 FE at Unpacked.
Samsung says the series “redefines the tablet landscape and sets new standards for immersive viewing and creative freedom.” but they still have to go up against the likes of the iPad Air and iPad Pro models.
When is the Galaxy Tab S9 release date?
The Galaxy Tab S9 series has an official on-sale launch date of 11 August, meaning you can buy them now.
They are available from Samsung’s official store as well as select retail partners such as Amazon and Currys.
In the UK you can get a free Slim Book Cover Keyboard, plus you can get up to £400 trade-in credit.
Meanwhile, in the US, Samsung is offering up to $650 trade-in credit as well as the free Slim Book Cover Keyboard. You can also get it from Amazon and BestBuy.
Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry
Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry
Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry
How much does the Galaxy Tab S9 cost?
You can see the full price breakdown for every model and SKU of the Galaxy Tab S9 below.
The good news, despite the economy and cost of living crisis, is that some are priced the same as last year’s Galaxy Tab S8 equivalent but with a storage upgrade. This is despite rumours of big price hikes this year.
It’s the regular Galaxy Tab S9 that gets the worst deal with the same storage capacities, but price rises of between £50 and £100.
Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 prices
- 128GB – Wi-Fi: $799/£799
- 128GB – 5G: £949
- 256GB – Wi-Fi: $919/£899
- 256GB – 5G: £1,049
Samsung Galaxy Tab S9+ prices
- 256GB – Wi-Fi: $999/£999
- 256GB – 5G: $1,149/£1,149
- 512GB – Wi-Fi: $1,119/£1,099
- 512GB – 5G: £1,249
Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 Ultra prices
- 256GB – Wi-Fi: $1,199/£1,199
- 256GB – 5G: £1,349
- 512GB – Wi-Fi: $1,319/£1,299
- 512GB – 5G: £1,449
- 1TB – Wi-Fi: $1,619/£1,549
- 1TB – 5G: £1,699
Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry
Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry
Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry
What are the Galaxy Tab S9 specs and new features?
- New AMOLED screens
- Upgraded processor
- Bigger speakers
- IP68
- Up to 1TB storage
Samsung’s tablets are getting closer to laptops in specs and features every year and for 2023 all three models come with a Dynamic AMOLED 2X panel. That’s a big upgrade for the regular model as the Tab S8 came with just a TFT display.
The S9 display features a 16:10 aspect ratio, HDR10+, a dynamic refresh rate automatically switches from 60- and 120Hz as well as Eye Comfort to reduce eye strain by more than 70% compared to a normal LCD panel.
A ‘Vision Booster’ feature detects bright lighting conditions to keep the screen vivid, although this sounds like a fancy name for automatic brightness.
They use the same technology, but the Tab S9 series come in three different screen sizes:
- Tab S9: 11in
- Tab S9+: 12.4in
- Tab S9 Ultra: 14.6in
Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry
Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry
Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry
Upgraded quad speakers – still with ‘sound by AKG’ – are 20% bigger than the Tab S8 range and there’s Dolby Atmos support too.
All three tablets get upgraded to the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 processor and this is a ‘for Galaxy’ edition meaning its overclocked for faster speeds (as seen in the Galaxy S23 phones. The S9+ and S9 Ultra now both come with at least 256GB of storage as standard and the Ultra is available in up to 1TB of space if you need it.
That Ultra model comes with a whopping 16GB of RAM.
Overclocking the Snapdragon can result in more heat but the Tab S9 series has an internal vapour chamber and a new two-way heat dissipation design to help keep things running cool.
The previous models didn’t come with an official dust or waterproof rating but Samsung has made the Tab S9 series IP68 which is the highest rating, and this also applies to the S Pen. It means they are fully dustproof and can survive being dunked in water of up to 1m for up to 30 minutes.
The Tab S9 body is reinforced with Armour Aluminium and the range is available in two colours: Beige and Graphite.
Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry
Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry
Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry
Samsung’s S Pen stylus comes in the box but you can upgrade to the S Pen Creator Edition if you like. This has a textured material design and a wider tilt angle to make it more usable and intuitive.
Although the Tab S9 Ultra is the obvious choice for a laptop replacement, Samsung’s Book Cover Keyboard is available for all three tablets. There are plenty of other productivity tools and features such as Multi Window, DeX, Second Screen.
New apps have been included such as GoodNotes for note taking and LumaFusion for video editing to name two.
Other specs include 13Mp rear and 12Mp front cameras, with the + and Ultra getting additional ultrawide cameras on the front and back. All three come in Wi-Fi only or 5G models and battery sizes are between 8400mAh and 11,200mAh.
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Author: Chris Martin, Reviews Editor, Tech Advisor
Chris got his break as a reporter at infamous site The Inquirer and has been at Tech Advisor for more than 12 years. With a BA degree in Music Technology, audio is his specialism, but over the years he has reviewed all kinds of gadgets, from smartwatches to mesh Wi-Fi to coffee machines.