At a look
Knowledgeable’s Ranking
Execs
- Nice efficiency
- Refined design
- Spectacular quad audio system
- Consumer-friendly OS
Cons
- Gradual charging
- Poor cameras
- Battery life falls wanting rivals
Our Verdict
The Samsung Galaxy Tab A9+ is a stellar alternative should you’re after a bigger Android pill for streaming and each day duties, however be sure to store round as some rivals supply much more to your cash.
Samsung could also be finest identified for its flagship S sequence and Z foldable telephones, however the tech big additionally produces a superb vary of finances units, together with the Tab A sequence.
This 12 months there are two finances pill entries on supply. The Tab A9+ acts as a direct successor to final 12 months’s Tab A8 due to its bigger 11in display and quad audio system, while the cheaper Tab A9 affords a extra compact 8.7in show and a less expensive value.
There may be extra competitors on this house than ever from the likes of Xiaomi, Oppo and Nokia, however can Samsung beat them? Right here’s what I consider the Galaxy Tab A9+.
Design & Construct
- Three colors
- No IP ranking
- Premium and fuss-free design
Regardless of its sub-£250 price ticket, the Samsung Galaxy Tab A9+ has a premium feel and look, with a easy and glossy metallic physique. It is available in three colors: Graphite, Navy and Silver, which I examined.
It’s 6.9mm thick, so slimmer than its closest rival, the Xiaomi Redmi Pad SE. It weighs 480g, so it’s simple to hold round and maintain, and might slip right into a medium-sized bag to be used on the go.
The again has an ornamental bar alongside the highest/left-hand aspect (relying on should you use it in portrait or panorama however the design is for the latter) that’s barely paying homage to the Oppo Pad Air, however with much less flamboyance. In any other case, the again is fuss-free, with each the brand and digicam bump tucked away neatly.
Hannah Cowton / Foundry
While my pill didn’t decide up any marks throughout testing, it doesn’t include an IP ranking, so it isn’t protected in opposition to water or mud. That is widespread on finances tablets, however the A9+ is on the higher finish of the bracket, and cheaper rivals supply higher sturdiness – the Redmi Pad SE is IP52, for instance.
Within the field you get a USB-C to USB-C charging cable, although no adapter – that is widespread throughout most merchandise from Samsung lately. There may be additionally a 3.5mm headphone jack, which I used to be happy to see. I examined the Wi-Fi model, however should you go for the 5G possibility then you definately’ll get a SIM slot.
Face recognition is on the market for unlocking the pill, however there isn’t the choice for fingerprint unlocking – one other widespread theme throughout finances tablets. Face recognition nonetheless works when sporting glasses and in dimmer situations, which is a pleasant contact.
…the again is fuss-free, with each the brand and digicam bump tucked away neatly
Display & Audio system
- 11in FHD+ LCD show
- As much as 90Hz refresh fee
- Quad audio system
The Tab A9+ comes with an 11in LCD show, with a decision of 1900 x 1200 and 206ppi, a 16:10 ratio and an 80.9% display to physique ratio. Indoors, the display is daring and vivid, however computerized brightness usually makes it seem boring. When side-by-side with the Redmi Pad SE, the latter is noticeably extra spectacular.
Even when the pill is turned as much as full brightness, it isn’t the best to view outside beneath vibrant daylight, with numerous glare coming from the panel. This was additionally a difficulty with the final era Tab 8.
Hannah Cowton / Foundry
You may stand up to 90Hz refresh fee on the Tab A9+. Nevertheless, there isn’t an choice to completely flip this on – you possibly can go for the ‘adaptive’ mode which mechanically chooses the refresh fee when scrolling or enjoying movies. Alternatively, you possibly can go for the usual 60Hz possibility.
The upper refresh fee offers a easy expertise when scrolling, however you gained’t lose out an excessive amount of should you’d favor to preserve the battery life.
The pill comes fitted with quad audio system. Sound within reason loud and has a shocking quantity of depth for one thing with out Dolby Atmos or different audio software program help.
Specs & Efficiency
- Snapdragon 695
- As much as 8/128GB
- 5G model obtainable
The Samsung Galaxy Tab A9+ comes fitted with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 695 chipset, paired with both 4GB RAM and 64GB value of storage, or 8GB RAM and 128GB value of storage.
Hannah Cowton / Foundry
This octa-core processor makes efficiency largely easy for day-to-day duties. It’s fast in addition up – one thing many finances tablets fail to do, the vanilla Tab A9 included (which runs on a MediaTek Helio G99). Putting in hefty apps did take a while, however for shopping the online, watching movies and scrolling by social media, I had no points.
Samsung Galaxy Tab A9+ benchmarks
The bottom model doesn’t have a lot storage – there wasn’t sufficient room to put in the performance-heavy sport Genshin Influence. I’d suggest forking out the additional £50 should you plan on utilizing this pill quite a bit, particularly with the additional RAM, however needless to say there’s a micro-SD slot for including as much as 1TB of extra storage.
The pill was in a position to play Mario Kart Tour with no lag or stuttering, however if you wish to do extra meatier duties, like enhancing movies or enjoying extra demanding cellular video games, then I like to recommend extra premium pill choices should you can afford one.
One benefit this pill has over the A9 is help for 5G – however that solely issues should you plan on getting it on a month-to-month rolling plan. It’s additionally £50 greater than the Wi-Fi model.
…for shopping the online, watching movies and scrolling by social media, I had no points
Cameras
- 8Mp rear digicam
- 5Mp entrance digicam
Cameras are sometimes an enormous issue when testing smartphones, however we don’t put the identical deal with them with finances tablets. It’s unlikely that you just’ll be utilizing them for on a regular basis snaps as you’d a telephone, and never many tablets include spectacular digicam {hardware} anyway.
That works in favour of the Samsung Galaxy Tab A9+, because the 8Mp rear digicam and 5Mp entrance digicam are fairly darn poor.
Hannah Cowton / Foundry
The principle digicam struggles to remain centered on distant particulars and produces fairly washed-out outcomes. It performs finest in vibrant daylight, which made testing tough because the pill didn’t need to give me a great shot on this gloomy December climate. The identical applies to snaps taken indoors or at night time.
Images that seize issues closer-up – like portrait photographs – are marginally higher however most unlikely to be extra spectacular than what your telephone can do. The bokeh impact is on the robust aspect and doesn’t have that easy really feel that extra premium smartphones seize.
There may be as much as 10x digital zoom obtainable, however I wouldn’t suggest going past 2x – the digicam will get extraordinarily shaky, and particulars change into blown out and noisy.
You’re probably to make use of the 5Mp entrance digicam extra, primarily as a consequence of video calls. For this it’s ample (and positively higher than the 2Mp snapper that’s on the Tab A9), however don’t expect any crisp pores and skin particulars on selfies. The digicam additionally has a wide-angle mode, and one other portrait mode.
Each cameras supply fundamental 1080p video recording at 30fps.
Battery Life & Charging
- 7040mAh battery
- 15W charging
- No brick in field
It’s not that the battery life on the Samsung Galaxy Tab A9+ is unhealthy, per say. It’s simply that rivals supply higher.
I used to be in a position to get simply over a day’s heavy utilization out of the 7040mAh cell on common, together with shopping social media, streaming Netflix and answering emails.
Compared to the two-day battery life on the Xiaomi Redmi Pad SE, this hasn’t bought the most effective longevity. That is additionally mirrored in our benchmarking scores, with Samsung’s pill getting eight hours and 32 minutes, and Redmi’s attaining 13 hours and 16 minutes.
It’s not that the battery life on the Samsung Galaxy Tab A9+ is unhealthy, per say. It’s simply that rivals supply higher
Turning on the usual 60Hz refresh fee does make a distinction. I seen a lot much less depletion watching YouTube and gaming, and the pill bought one hour greater in our benchmarking take a look at. I’d suggest this mode should you’re touring and must preserve energy.
Hannah Cowton / Foundry
The USB-C cable within the field gives as much as 15W charging. With a 30W charger I had, I used to be in a position to juice it by simply 16% in half-hour, which is gradual. You’ll be a number of hours for it to go from flat to full.
Software program & Apps
- Android 13
- One UI 5.1
- 4 years of safety patches
If clear software program is essential to you, then the Galaxy Tab A9+ affords the most effective on an Android pill. It runs on One UI 5.1, Samsung’s pores and skin over Android 13 which is the same expertise to what you’ll discover on Galaxy telephones. This isn’t the most recent OS obtainable, however it ought to get an replace to Android 14 within the close to future.
Apart from its personal browser and productiveness apps, there isn’t an excessive amount of pre-installed litter as you’ll discover on Xiaomi rivals. You’ll get the Google Suite (with a couple of exceptions together with Docs and Sheets, although these could be simply downloaded), in addition to fashionable apps like Netflix and Spotify.
Hannah Cowton / Foundry
Navigation is easy and the structure is nicely optimised for tablets, with the dropdown settings filling the display quite than being cramped right into a nook. When you could have a window open there’s a shortcut bar to your most not too long ago opened apps, and you may pin your favourites right here as nicely.
This may disappear should you activate full-screen mode on apps akin to Netflix. On the house display, the Edge panel (accessed by swiping from the right-hand aspect the place the gray bar is) affords the same expertise however has numerous panels you possibly can swap on akin to clipboard and instruments.
The Samsung Galaxy Tab A9+ will get 4 years of safety updates, however the variety of Android updates is unsure. Primarily based on different units, it’s probably that it’s going to get help for 3 years of OS updates quite than the 4 years that flagship fashions get.
Worth & Availability
The Samsung Galaxy Tab A9+ begins from £239 for the Wi-Fi model. Listed here are the precise configurations you will get:
- Wi-Fi, 4/64GB – £239
- Wi-Fi, 8/128GB – £289
- 5G LTE, 4/64GB – £289
- 5G LTE, 8/128GB – £339
Within the UK, you should purchase it from Samsung, Amazon, Argos and John Lewis, and get it on contract from EE and Sky.
On the time of writing, the pill isn’t on sale within the US – if that adjustments, we’ll replace this text.
Hannah Cowton / Foundry
There’s no denying that the Galaxy Tab A9+ is great worth for cash. It affords spectacular efficiency, a fantastic UI and a smooth design all for an affordable value. Nevertheless, some rivals just like the Xiaomi Redmi Pad SE supply much more bang to your buck.
This Tab A9+’s youthful sibling, the Tab A9, is one in all our high finances pill picks and one other nice various – offering you’re glad to downsize to a smaller 60Hz display and make do with simply two audio system and a decrease decision entrance digicam.
You could find much more choices in our article on the most effective tablets.
Must you purchase the Samsung Galaxy Tab A9+?
The Samsung Galaxy Tab A9+ affords nearly every little thing that you might need from a finances pill. It’s bought an understated however refined design, a slick OS and nice efficiency, making it perfect for streaming movies and browsing the online.
Maybe a couple of years in the past, this may’ve been our best choice for finances pill consumers. Nevertheless, the Xiaomi Redmi Pad SE affords longer battery life, a superior display and a less expensive value. As well as, the Tab A9 is far friendlier on the previous purse strings and has some comparable specs to the Tab A9+, simply in a smaller kind issue.
Nevertheless, if you’d like that bigger 11in display and would favor to stay with the Samsung software program and model, then you definately gained’t remorse investing within the Tab A9+.
Specs
- Android 13, One UI 5.1
- 11in, FHD+, LCD, 90Hz
- Snapdragon 695
- 4/8GB RAM
- 64/128GB storage
- microSD card slot (as much as 1TB)
- 8Mp predominant digicam
- 5Mp front-facing digicam
- Quad audio system
- Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac
- 5G (optionally available)
- Bluetooth 5.3
- Headphone jack
- USB-C port
- 7040mAh battery
- 15W charging
- 168.7 x 257.1 x 6.9mm
- 480g
- Launch colors: Graphite, Silver, Navy