I don’t see a lot of larger Android tablets around, but Samsung’s Tab series has a long history, and the devices are good, solid machines with features that make them stand out. The newest version—the Tab S9 family—ups the processing power, improves the screen, and adds some new enhancements. The result is a device that does pretty much everything I want in a tablet.
The Tab S9 series comes in three sizes—the 11-inch Tab S9, the 12.4-inch S9+, and the 14.6-inch S9 Ultra. I tried out the 12.4-inch version, a size I find convenient for reading and likely for drawing, though not as easy to carry as an 11-inch. Note the 14.6-inch version is one of the largest tablets on the market, but with extra weight to match.
The device has an aluminum casing, and has an IP68 rating for dust and water resistance, giving it some of the durability previously limited to things like the older (and smaller) Tab Active.
The screen is an improvement over earlier versions, with an AMOLED 2X display with a 2,800-by-1,752-pixel resolution and a 120Hz refresh rate. It seemed particularly vivid, with features such as adaptive brightness and I was quite happy with it.
The S9+ I tried measures 11.23 by 7.30 by 0.22 inches and the base unit weighs 1.28 lbs. (not counting the included S-Pen). It has rounded corners and felt good in my hand. Because of the larger size, it has a larger battery (10,090 mAh) than the smaller version. I found it quite sufficient for a day’s heavy use, and for a couple of days of light usage.
It comes with the latest version of Samsung’s S-Pen. This has a 2.8ms latency and feels very good to write with. (I’m not an artist, but it felt good to draw with as well.) There’s improved writing recognition that works in Word and Notes, but it didn't handle my lousy handwriting very well.
The Tab S9+ has a 13MP wide-angle camera and an 8MP ultrawide on the back, plus a 12MP ultra-wide camera on the front. I’ve never developed the habit of using a tablet for general photography—nearly all current midrange and higher smartphones have better cameras for that—but the front camera worked quite well for video conferencing. It seemed to have a slightly larger field of view than similar devices I’ve seen. It also has an AKG-based quad-speaker setup. As a result, I was very happy using the Tab S9+ for video conferencing.
You can also use the front camera for face recognition, and the device also supports passwords and an on-screen fingerprint reader. I usually used face recognition, which seemed a bit finicky in portrait mode, but usually did the job.
The Tab S9+ is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 processor with Adreno 740 graphics, the same used in the firm’s Galaxy S23 and Z Fold 5 smartphones; the unit I tested had 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage. It has a single USB-C 3.2 port used for charging or connecting to other devices as well as a microSD slot to add up to 1TB of storage.
I also tried out Samsung’s Book Cover ($89.99) and Book Cover Keyboard ($229.99). Both covers attach magnetically to the tablet and have a space on the back for holding the pen. (The pen actually also attaches magnetically to the back of the tablet even without a cover, but when I tried it that way, I often knocked it off.) While it doesn’t match up to the best laptop keyboards, I was pleasantly surprised with the Book Cover keyboard. Although the tablet version of Microsoft Office isn't nearly as full-featured as the Windows version, it worked quite well when used with the Tab S9+ and the keyboard cover. With the Book Cover Keyboard and pen, the total weight is 2.45 pounds, so in some ways, it feels like a lightweight laptop.
With the keyboard cover, you can use the tablet like a laptop using Samsung’s DeX mode, which gives you multiple windows and a real desktop experience. I liked it even better when plugged into an external monitor. (It also should work wirelessly with some new TVs.) One new feature lets you have a DeX screen on the external display while keeping a normal tablet mode on the tablet screen. I found this very productive, but did notice an occasional glitch in which an external mouse would work on the external display but not on the tablet itself. In general, I found DeX to be quite handy for making the unit function more like a PC.
Other nice features include the ability to use it very quickly as a second screen to a Windows PC, both as an extra screen or as an input device using the stylus. It also has Samsung’s QuickShare application which lets you more easily move content between a Galaxy phone and the tablet. It comes with Microsoft applications, including the ability to connect your mobile device to your PC to share things like SMS messages.
The list price of the Tab S9+ with 256GB is $999.99. I used a Wi-Fi version, but the Tab S9+ is also available with a 5G modem for $1,149, with monthly pricing depending on the carrier and contract.
This is very competitive with the similarly sized iPad Pro, the real rival for this device. Both are well-made devices, so choosing between them may come down to the ecosystem you prefer. But the Tab S9+ does have some nice features, such as including the S-Pen, the DeX feature, and the ability to use it very easily as a second screen or drawing pad with a Windows PC.