Samsung once stood as the default tablet manufacturer for anyone interested in Android, but in 2023, that is no longer the case. Android tablets have seen renewed interest over the past couple of years, especially in the $400-$600 price segment. With the introduction of devices like theGoogle Pixel Tablet, Samsung is no longer alone in this space. While the company still makes some of thebest Android tabletson the market, especially if you are shopping for a premium tablet like theGalaxy Tab S9 Ultraor an inexpensive one like theGalaxy Tab A8, you’ll find more options than ever before.
The Galaxy Tab S9 FE+ sees Samsung go back to its roots, by taking its premium product line and reducing the specs to create an intriguing midrange device. This approach needs to strike a fine balance, as a watered-down gadget will leave buyers feeling underwhelming for the price. Luckily, Samsung nailed it this year.
Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 FE+
The Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 FE+ is a fantastic midrange tablet that gets a lot right. It has a beautiful display, excellent build quality, and fantastic battery life. It’s not a perfect device, though, with its Exynos 1380 chipset feeling a little sluggish.
Price & availability
The Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 FE series launched on August 11, 2025. Depending on your memory and storage configuration, the Galaxy Tab S9 FE+ has a retail price of $600 for the 128GB model or $700 for 256GB of storage. Unlike its smaller sibling, it is only available with Wi-Fi connectivity. If you need 5G connectivity, you must go with the regular Galaxy Tab S9 FE. The Tab S9 FE+ comes in gray, silver, mint, and lavender colorways, and can be purchased through Samsung or from retailers like Amazon or Best Buy.
Design and hardware
Well-built with a premium feel
Samsung has been hard at work unifying its design language across all of its various products. As a result, the Galaxy Tab S9 FE+ looks and feels exactly like the more premium products in Samsung’s stable. Thanks to its large 12.4-inch display, the Tab S9 FE+ is on the larger side. It clocks in at 11.24 x 7.30 x 0.26 inches and weighs a hefty 1.38 pounds (or 627g). As expected, this tablet feels as big as it sounds on paper. It’s not unwieldy, but definitely on the bulkier and heavier side of the scale. It is also IP68-rated, providing ample protection against water and dust.
Up front, there is a bit of bezel surrounding the display, which helps to hold the tablet without accidentally activating the display. Samsung built this tablet with landscape usage in mind. Holding the device horizontally puts the front-facing camera at the top center of the device. If you hold it vertically, it puts the camera lens along the right edge, exactly where you might place your hands.
Holding the Tab S9 FE+ horizontally also allows the excellent-sounding AKG-tuned stereo speakers to sit at the top left and right corners, well out of the way of you accidentally covering them with your hands. The USB-C port also sits on the right side. The volume and power buttons are located at the top-left of the device and the microSD slot can be found at the top-right corner.
The power button doubles as a fingerprint reader, but the placement of it is less than ideal. Its placement along the left side means you have to awkwardly balance the tablet and put your hand in an unnatural position if you want to use your right thumb or left hand. I may be nitpicking here, but as a right-handed person who uses my right thumb to activate fingerprint readers, it just doesn’t feel natural to use my left hand. Even when using your left hand, you still have to stretch to reach it. When you do manage to reach the fingerprint reader, it works quite well; thankfully, you’re able to just use face unlock and ignore it altogether.
Around the back, you get a dual-camera setup and an otherwise blank slate. Samsung does include an S Pen with the tablet, which attaches magnetically along the right edge of the back, just under the camera lenses.
No OLED but still beautiful
The display is one area where Samsung decided to cut corners. Gone is the OLED display of its more premium products. Instead, you will find a 12.4-inch TFT LCD display. While removing the OLED might be disappointing to some — you do lose those inky blacks — the display is still beautiful and vibrant. With a resolution of 2560 x 1600, it is clear and easy to read. The colors are punchy, and the display gets more than bright enough to see in just about any scenario.
Samsung also outfitted the display with a 90Hz refresh rate. I would have much preferred a 120Hz display at this price point, but the 90Hz display used here still felt smooth enough. As it stands, 90Hz is still a huge jump from displays that top out at 60Hz. Scrolling is fast and smooth and without any hiccups.
Other hardware and what’s in the box
All about the S Pen
Unboxing the Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 FE+ is an uneventful affair. In addition to the tablet, you will find an S Pen and a USB-C to USB-C cable. Like most other devices sold today, there is no power brick to be found. I do wish the back of the device had some indication as to where the S Pen should go. I had to place the S Pen around various spots on the tablet to find where it would magnetically stick. This is something Samsung had previously built into its design, but it was omitted for this version.
The S Pen is deeply integrated into One UI and allows you to do everything from taking a quick sticky note to taking a screenshot allowing you to mark it up with the pen. The S Pen feels fantastic in hand, and taking notes or journaling with it feels great. The Pen Up app was one of my favorite Samsung apps to use during the review. The Pen Up app is filled with blank designs, effectively allowing me to use it as a coloring book, which was way more satisfying than I expected.
Software and performance
Solid software, lacks oomph
The Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 FE+ comes with Android 13 and One UI 5.1.1 on top. Samsung’s One UI provides excellent features for an Android tablet. You get multi-window support, split screen, and the ability to use the S Pen just about everywhere. Opening an app like Gmail or the settings menu, allowed for the app to show the menu on the left and its content on the right. Using Gmail showed all of my emails on the left and the contents of the email on the right side.
The Galaxy Tab S9 FE+ comes with an Exynos 1380 processor and either 8GB of RAM with 128GB of storage or 12GB of RAM with 256 GB of storage. I used the 8GB/128GB model, which was more than enough for my needs. If you need more storage, you can always expand that with up to 1TB using a microSD card.
The real performance issue lies with the Exynos 1380 processor. It is a gigantic step down from the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset used in its more premium products. It’s not a handicap in day-to-day use, as the Exynos 1380 chipset had enough power to handle any task that I could throw at it. Streaming shows, browsing the web, and even playing games like Asphalt Legends, ran smoothly and looked great.
My issue with its inclusion here is for a $600 device, it just can’t compare to the other offerings in this price range. Even the Tensor G2 used in the Pixel Tablet is far more capable than this chipset.
I also worry about its long-term prospects and how much additional Android updates may slow this chipset down, regardless of Samsung’s typically excellent software policy. As it stands, it can still get you by and doesn’t produce a lot of heat.
Battery life
Full-day power
The Galaxy Tab S9 FE+ has a 10,090mAh battery that provides more than enough power to get you through a full day. With mixed usage, I was able to get over 18 hours of use before I began hunting for an outlet. This is a few hours shy of Samsung’s claimed 20 hours, but 18 hours is still plenty for me.
This tablet is capable of Samsung’s Super-Fast charging if you use a 45W charger. It’s not a speedy charging experience by any means, but the tablet goes from 0 to 100% charge in about 90 minutes.
It’s a tablet camera
Thanks to their large bodies, tablet cameras are awkward to use. The Tab S9 FE+ does come with an 8MP primary lens, an 8MP ultrawide lens, and a 12MP ultrawide front-facing camera. The two rear lenses are OK, but nothing to write home about. With enough light, they are capable of producing some decent shots. The front-facing camera is also good for selfies or conference calls.
The real issue with taking pictures from a device with a 12.4-inch display is its large size. The large display means what you see in the camera app is unusually large and kind of jarring. It’s tough to get a handle on what you are looking at. Maybe it’s just me, but taking photos with a tablet elicits some interesting looks from people walking by. It’s just not a common sight to see, and walking through the park, and taking pictures with a device the size of a laptop just looks strange.
Competition
The Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 FE+ has some strong competition in this price range. The $500 Google Pixel Tablet is a fantastic device that can double as a smart hub. The Tensor G2 processor is much stronger than the one found in the Tab S9 FE+, but it only comes with a 60Hz LCD display.
It also has to go up against theOnePlus Pad. At $480, the OnePlus Pad is quite a bit cheaper and it comes with an LCD display capable of hitting 144Hz. It doesn’t have the strongest processor, but for the price, the Mediatek Dimensity 9000 is much more forgivable.
It’s also worth considering theiPad Air, which retails for $600 but is often on sale for far less. Apple has dominated the tablet market for a reason. It combines an excellent display, fantastic battery life, and far superior performance with the inclusion of the Apple M1 chipset. It does run iPad OS, though, which can be limiting and won’t satisfy most Android users.
Should you buy it?
The Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 FE+ was an absolute joy to use and is, hands down, one of the better Android tablets on the market. Day-to-day performance was good enough for most users, and the battery life was quite good. The display is also fantastic, and the inclusion of the S Pen adds a lot of productivity options.
The major question mark is how the Exynos 1380 chipset will hold up as the years pass and Android updates take their toll. Today, it’s a snappy little chipset, but it sits below the performance of some of its direct competitors in this price range.
If you want a large and vibrant screen for content consumption, to browse the web, or to just sit back and relax, and you aren’t worried about future performance, the Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 FE+ can do all of that in spades. It’s a fantastic tablet and a return to form for Samsung’s FE lineup.
The Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 FE+ is a great all-around midrange tablet. Thanks to its build quality, battery life, and software, this tablet does more than enough to hold its own against some stiff competition. This is especially true if you already find yourself in the Samsung ecosystem.
