If you are in the market for an Android tablet, it is hard to ignore the offerings from Samsung. The Korean giant makes somegreat high-end tablets, with theGalaxy Tab S9 Ultrarepresenting the best of what an Android tablet can deliver. But not everyone can spend $1,200 on a device. For simple use cases, you need acheap tabletto get the job done, possibly with a big screen. Samsung has announced the Galaxy Tab A9 and A9+ to cater to such customers.
Until last year, Samsung’s budget Tab A lineup only consisted of one model. This time, the company has split the series into two, with the Tab A9 packing an 8.7-inch display while the Tab A9+ features an 11-inch LCD panel with a higher 90Hz refresh rate. For comparison, theGalaxy Tab A8shipped with a 10.5-inch 60Hz LCD panel.
Both tablets use an octa-core Snapdragon 695 SoC, which might not be that powerful but is undoubtedly better than the Unisoc chip used by last year’s Galaxy Tab A8.
Samsung Galaxy Tab A9
The Galaxy A9 is Samsung’s budget tablet, packing an 8.7-inch LCD panel, stereo speakers, a quad-core SoC, and all-day battery life. Running on Android 13, the tablet is great for daily use if you don’t plan to run heavy apps or games.
The Tab A9 and A9+ are available in 4GB and 8GB RAM configurations. But Samsung has skimped on the storage, as the entry-level variant ships with 64GB of space. There’s a microSD card slot, so you can add more storage down the line.
Samsung’s budget tablets are runningAndroid 13, but they don’t pack the same software features as you will find in its more expensive tablets. They are also not covered by the company’s promise of four OS updates and five years of security patches.
The Galaxy Tab A9 houses a 5,100mAh battery, while the Tab A9+ packs a bigger 7,040mAh cell. They support 15W fast charging, though you don’t get a charger in the box.
Samsung is offering cellular connectivity on both models, but only the A9+ supports 5G networks. It is also the only model to supportSamsung DeX, which lets you connect the tablet to a TV to trigger a desktop-like mode. The bigger chassis of the Tab A9+ has allowed Samsung to equip it with quad speakers, while the regular Tab A9 has stereo speakers.
The Galaxy Tab A9 series will go on sale starting October 23 in Graphite, Silver, and Navy colors. Samsung has not detailed the price in its announcement, but given the low-end specs, these tablets should not cost much. Interestingly, the Tab A9 went official in India at the beginning of this month, with prices starting from as low as Rs 12,999 ($160).
