Samsung Galaxy Tab S9
The Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 is a solid upgrade from last year’s version, thanks in part to an AMOLED display and an IP68. It’s a great option.
Samsung Galaxy Tab S8
The Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 is a great tablet with a premium build quality, great performance and a decent price.
Samsung’s Galaxy Tab S9 is official, along with its Tab S9+ andTab S9 Ultrasiblings, a revampedGalaxy Z Fold 5, Galaxy Z Flip 5, and a couple of Galaxy Watch 6 models. Like last year’sGalaxy Tab S8, the Tab S9 offers a mix of performance and a great-looking display at a more affordable price point. And for the first time in Samsung’s Tab S-series lineup, the standard Tab S9 boasts an AMOLED display.
If you’re looking to pick up a new Galaxy tablet before the summer ends, here’s a rundown of the similarities and differences between the Tab S8 and the Tab S9.
Price, availability and specs:
TheGalaxy Tab S9is available to preorder right now from Samsung and participating retailers, with an official launch on August 11. Pricing starts at $799 in the US and £799 in the UK for a model with 8GB of memory and 128GB of storage.
The Galaxy Tab S8 is widely available from various retailers, Amazon and Samsung. Its standard price is $699, but you can find it for less due to various trade-in promotions and deals. For instance, right now you can get it directly from Samsung for $599.99 with 8GB of memory and 128GB of storage, no trade-in required.
The Galaxy Tab S9 and Tab S8 look almost identical, with only a small difference in total size between the two 11-inch tablets. For instance, the Tab S9 measures 165.8 x 254.3 x 5.9mm and weighs 498g. The Tab S8, meanwhile, measures 165.3 x 253.8 x 6.3mm and weighs 503g. The Tab S8 comes in more colour options than the Tab S9 though. The Tab S8 comes in graphite, pink gold, and silver, while the Tab S9 comes in two colour options of beige or graphite.
We’ve noticed one apparent design change on the Tab S9 when it comes to where you magnetically attach the S Pen to it. Instead of a solid black bar like is used on the Tab S8, Samsung has made that section of the housing match the colour of the tablet itself. On the graphite model, it’s a darker black and on the beige color option, it’s a slightly different shade of beige. It’s a small change, but one removes a black line that broke up the solid color options.
If you plan on using either tablet to listen to a lot of music or watch videos, you may want to lean towards the Tab S9 for its revamped quad-speaker system that uses 20 per cent bigger speakers compared to the Tab S8.
The Tab S8 has a fingerprint reader embedded in the power button, but with the Tab S9, Samsung has moved the sensor to underneath the display across the entire line. Another change on the backside of the tablet is the lack of a second rear-facing camera on the Tab S9. The Tab S8 had two cameras, while the latest tablet has a single 13-megapixel camera now.
Finally, the Tab S9 lineup is the first of Samsung’s tablets to offerIP68 water and dust resistance. That’s a big addition for any tablet, simply because it protects your investment from the occasional spill or splash. Otherwise, you’re more or less getting the same build between the two tablets. There’s a USB-C port for charging and data transfer, along with a microSD card slot for expanding the storage of your tablet.
Arguably, the biggest difference between the Tab S8 and the Tab S9 comes down to the display. More specifically, the fact the Tab S9 will now come with an AMOLED display, instead of the TFT LCD panel Samsung has used in its entry-level Galaxy Tab S-series tablets for the last few years. By upgrading the Tab S9’s display, putting it on the same level as the S9+ and S9 Ultra, looking at Samsung’s base Tab S9’s screen is about to be a lot easier on the eyes.
What that really translates into is a clearer picture, with better color saturation and deeper blacks when compared to the Tab S8. That should be a big boost for those who like playing games or watching shows and movies on their tablet - more life-like colors are a big boost to the overall gaming and viewing experience.
Hardware and software
The Tab S9 is equipped with the sameQualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxyprocessor. It’s optimised for better performance in specific situations, such as gaming or resource-intensive tasks. You’ll be able to pick between an 8GB of memory and 128GB of storage configuration, or a 12GB with 256GB storage configuration. Both variants of the Tab S9 support adding up to 1TB of additional storage via a microSD card slot.
Samsung’s upped the battery capacity in the Tab S9 to 8400mAh, up from 8000mAh on the Tab S8. That should distill down to longer battery life on the S9 compared to the S8, but we’ll have to wait until we fully test it before we can confirm.
The Tab S8 usesQualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 processor, which offers slightly less performance, but for most routine tasks you’ll be hard-pressed to tell the difference between the Tab S9 and the Tab S8. Unlike the Tab S9 which comes in 8GB with 128GB or 12GB with 256GB configurations, the Tab S8 is limited to just 8GB of memory, with an option for 128GB or 256GB of storage.
Both tablets runAndroid 13with Samsung’s OneUI customisations. That also means you’ll gain access toSamsung DeXwhenever you connect a keyboard and mouse to it, or one of Samsung’s keyboard and trackpad case combos. Once you enable DeX, Android’s tablet interface disappears and the Tab’s interface looks more like a standard laptop. That is, there’s a menu button and apps are displayed in windows for better multitasking.
The software experience on both tablets should be virtually the same, and any new software features that Samsung didn’t announce or discuss during Unpacked for the Tab S9 will surely make their way to the Tab S8 in a future update.
The Tab S9 has two cameras; one front-facing 12-megapixel ultra-wide camera that’s optimised for video calls. The rear-facing camera is a 13-megapixel sensor and should take a decent photo for those times when you only have your tablet to snap a picture.
The Tab S8’s front-facing camera is a 12-megapixel ultra-wide sensor, also ideal for video calls. But on the back of the tablet is a 13-megapixel wide camera and a 6-megapixel ultra-wide camera. The additional camera adds an extra option for those who like taking pictures with a tablet, however, don’t expect smartphone-level quality from either camera.
Which is right for you?
The Galaxy Tab S9 is more expensive, but you’re also gaining the latest that Samsung offers in terms of performance, software features, and a beautiful AMOLED display. When people buy tablets, they intend on keeping and using them for years to come. In other words, tablets are investments. And the Tab S9 is a solid investment if you’re looking for an 11-inch tablet that offers some of the best features Samsung has to offer.
The Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 is an 11-inch premium Android tablet that ships with a vibrant AMOLED display, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 processor, and an included S Pen.
The Galaxy Tab S8 is still a worthwhile option for someone who wants a tablet for occasional gaming, getting some work down or using it as a notepad. Its older hardware can still keep up with everyday tasks and should be able to for some time.
