Samsung Galaxy Tab A9 – Review

Since its launch, the Galaxy Tab A8 has been one of the leading budget tablets. So, the question is if the Galaxy Tab A9 can do better than its predecessor. The fact that it is already cheaper than the Tab A8 is certainly a good start. What else does it have? Let’s find out.

Design and Build

At 8.7-inch the Tab A9 is smaller than last year’s model and similar to the Tab A7 Lite. Due to its size, you can easily hold it in one hand. The tablet is quite svelte, given that it is just 8mm thick and weighs 322g and is without the chunky bezels that most budget tablets tend to have. The feel and look of the device is not what you would expect for this price because it boasts a higher quality finish due to its clean lines, metal body and solid construction.

In terms of color options, you will find Graphite, Silver and Navy blue. It has been designed for use in Portrait Orientation, given that the ports are on the shorter side and the buttons on the longer one. It can also be used in landscape mode when required, and the top and bottom have speaker grilles to allow you to enjoy a stereo setup. There is no fingerprint scanner, but it does offer face unlock and it works better than you expect.

Screen and Speakers

As mentioned earlier, the Tab A9 is smaller than its predecessor at 8.7-inch and it has an LCD panel that offers a 60Hz refresh rate. The Tab A9+ is 11-inch and offers you a 90Hz refresh rate. Regardless, the display is quite decent as it has Full HD+ resolution and the viewing angles are also reasonable. Everything is crisp, from icons, text to videos. The brightness has been upgraded, but there is still room for improvement. It does not support S Pen, but an active stylus can be used.

The Tab A9 offers stereo speakers instead of the quad speakers on A9+. They are on the sides when you use it in landscape mode. They are surprisingly good and offer more poise and power than other tablets. It also comes with a 3.5mm headphone jack, which is another perk.

Specs and Performance

The Mediatek Helio G99 chipset was introduced in 2022 and comes with mid-range level specs. As it is an octa-core chip, it can offer some decent speed. You can get 4GB of RAM and storage of 64GB on the entry price, but if you are willing to spend more, you can get the 8GB and 128GB combination. MicroSD card support is also available.

While the Tab A9 does not work at lightning-fast speeds, it offers you decent performance. This is to be expected from a budget tablet. It can handle running two apps simultaneously and even games work on it quite well. As long as you need it for casual purposes, the Tab A9 delivers strong performance.