REVIEW: Galaxy Tab S9 FE+, Samsung tablet with good value for money

O Galaxy Tab S9 FE+ is the latest release in the family of premium tablets from Samsung. With the aim of being more affordable for consumers, this model has the same screen size and battery capacity as the Galaxy Tab S9 +, premium version of the line.

Furthermore, the tablet has IP68 certification against water and dust, making it a possible alternative for those who want a mobile device for work and study without spending a lot.

Design

Weighing just 627 grams and 6,5 millimeters thick, the Galaxy Tab S9 FE+ It is an intermediate tablet with an elegant design and modern colors, available in traditional graphite or green and lavender colors.

At first glance there isn't much visual difference between him and his brothers. family Tab S9. The tablet has a matte metal casing on the back with the company logo. Samsung glowing discreetly below the cameras.

Its edges are smooth and rounded in metal, and it only has two sound outputs, one on each horizontal side of the tablet.

It has only one USB-C — like the rest of the line — on the right side, two volume buttons and a home button with digital reader, all positioned at the top.

On the back we find two photo cameras with 8 megapixels each and the flash. Next to the cameras is the magnet that charges and stores the camera. S Pen, the brand's touch pen, it is very discreet, but just touch it S Pen on site to find it.

On the front, we find the 12,4-inch screen and the front camera discreetly positioned high above, with 12 megapixels of resolution.

In general, I found the design elegant, despite being simpler and less pompous than the more expensive models in the line, it makes perfect sense to have maintained the language, but saved on some aspects such as the smaller number of sound outputs (4 in the other models). . It ends up not making that much of a difference in terms of appearance, but it helps to make the device cheaper.

S Pen and Cover protective

A big difference between the most expensive and cheapest models in the range Tab S9 is the absence of the Keyboard Cover Samsung and the replacement with a front and back protective cover, in fact, two covers that magnetically fit to the Galaxy Tab S9 FE+.

The protection works very well to preserve the device and the back piece has creases and a very interesting folding design that allows more than one support option to leave the tablet standing on a smooth surface.

Pulling the back cover from the left provides horizontal support that leaves the Galaxy Tab S9 FE+ slightly tilted upwards, if placed vertically it ends up laying down a lot, but it can be used.

Now if we pull the cover on the right side, a larger triangle appears that works better to keep the tablet vertical.

Personally, I didn't like it and I almost didn't use the front protection because I thought it overloaded the tablet with accessories, but the material is very resistant and serves the purpose well.

A S Pen is a touch pen that connects to the device with Bluetooth low power and can be used not only for navigation, but also for taking photos, assisting in presentations and much more.

I said earlier in the review Tab S9 Ultra and here I reinforce: I prefer to use S Pen to navigate the tablet instead of using my fingers, as I find it much more comfortable and dynamic.

With the grip of pencil to pen Samsung It is very comfortable to use and does not cause pain or discomfort with long-term use and also has IP68 certification against water and dust.

Fabric

The consumer who purchases the Galaxy Tab S9 FE+ you will receive a screen LCD 12,4 inches and 90Hz with adaptive refresh rate that promise to smooth the image. In fact, it is a very bright and colorful display, but not as much as the premium versions that have a screen. AMOLED with pure whites and blacks.

The screen LCD It uses more energy because the pixels are made up of liquid crystals that manage the passage of backlight. Behind the screen there is a lighting panel, which emits the light necessary to make the image visible. Already the AMOLED It has pixels that turn on and off independently, saving energy.

O LCD manages to bring a lot of sharpness to the image and good color balance, but it has a more limited contrast than the screen. AMOLED, in addition to being more opaque.

In this line the Samsung works with vision booster, a technology that allows good viewing of images in highly lit areas and an algorithm that detects the need for brightness in outdoor environments, improving contrast and color.

Compared to other models in the range S9 that I tested, the display of the Galaxy Tab S9 FE+ It has softer and less saturated colors, but is no less bright. Contrast works well and viewing is great in environments with varying lighting.

It is a satisfactory experience for an intermediate tablet with the proposal that the brand brought to this model.

Cameras

The model has three cameras, two at the rear that are located in the upper right horizontal part of the tablet and have 8 megapixels each, while the front one located in the upper horizontal center has 12 megapixels. O Galaxy Tab S9 FE+ shoots in Ultra HD (4K) at 30 fps. Check out my impressions of this device's lenses Samsung.

In natural and indirect light I found both cameras slightly grainy, the colors are a little less vibrant, but the contrast between light and shadow is well balanced. These are tablet cameras, so don't expect impressive performance anyway. The experience was almost no different from when I tested the Galaxy Tab S9.

Under artificial light, the grain situation decreases a lot, but I didn't like the saturated colors of the rear camera.

Overall, they are good cameras that can be used to take some home photos and make video calls. The rear camera seemed a little more poppy, but that's almost standard for the cameras. Samsung.

I like how the brand's cameras are intelligent and adapt well to the environment, even in low light there is always an element that improves the experience.

Audio

There are two speakers AKG with ambient sound Dolby Atmos, the power and sound immersion that this tablet Samsung The sound is very loud and the sound is clean and clear in just the right way. Not as surprising as the more expensive models in the line, but equally satisfactory and more than what is necessary to deliver a good sound experience to the consumer.

The quality of the microphones is also satisfactory, the sound is clear and clean in just the right way.

Processor

O Galaxy Tab S9 FE+ has a processor Exynos 1380 high-performance octa-core and Android 13, the same as smartphones Galaxy A54 and M54. The chip is exclusive to Samsung and was developed for mid-range mobile devices.

It has 4 cores Cortex-A78 high-performance devices that run up to 2,4 GHz and 4 other cores Cortex-A55, focused on high efficiency that run up to 2,0 GHz.

There is 128 GB of storage and 8 GB of RAM with an additional 8 GB of RAM Plus and the possibility of expansion with a card MicroSD up to 1TB.

O Galaxy Tab S9 FE+ has connection USB 2.0, Bluetooth 5.3 and Wi-fi 6GHz 6E and can be found in the version 5G, being compatible with physical SIM or eSIM, in addition, it is equipped with GPS, Accelerometer, Fingerprint Sensor, Gyroscope, Geomagnetic Sensor, Hall Effect Sensor and RGB Light Sensor. The model does not have NFC connection for contactless payment.

O Android 13 is powered by the interface One UI 5.1.1 da Samsung, a layer of personalization that adds a series of features and improvements exclusive to the brand. A One UI is known for its intuitive interface and optimized design, providing a more fluid and pleasant user experience.

The device's performance and speed in day-to-day tasks is similar to other models in the line, but in functions that require more power it can present half that performance. Despite this, it is still a device that adapts well to daily activities.

As it is an intermediate model, it also heats up quite easily and discharges faster.

DeX mode

In the settings of Galaxy Tab S9 FE+ Is it possible to enable the famous DeX mode, a feature that simulates the experience of a notebook on the tablet. In the more expensive models of the line a Keyboard Cover can perform this function of activating and deactivating the DeX mode.

The lack of Keyboard Cover In this model, the glamorous do DeX mode, because it makes all the difference if you have a keyboard and a mousepad dedicated to bringing this gaming experience Desktop to the tablet. Without this accessory, the mode maintains its multi-tasking function very well, but the immersion is lost a little.

In the previous version of DeX mode featured in the series Galaxy Tab S8, we had little integration of Android applications with the “PC” format, presenting problems when using multi-tasking mode and a certain delay in opening applications. This time, some problems were overcome, making the DeX mode much more intuitive, faster and comfortable to use.

I have really enjoyed the DeX mode of the family S9, it is a comfortable experience that, although it does not replace a computer, greatly facilitates the use of the tablet as a study and work tool by allowing several windows and programs to be opened at the same time and customized according to the user's needs.

Performance

I performed the test AnTuTu benchmark to check the performance of the Galaxy Tab S9 FE+ when placed under stress and know how the graphics card performs in high demand situations.

In the test, the tablet achieved 576.882 points with CPU defeating 19% of users and the GPU For 12% of users, the battery heated up just under 1°C during the process. The cores of CPU They also didn't fluctuate much and I didn't witness any crashes.

When playing Honkai: StarRail, turn-based RPG hoyoverse, the tablet had difficulty running the game in high resolution, sometimes freezing for a few seconds. I chose to reduce the image quality and still saw slight delays during battles, but nothing that stopped the gameplay.

In lighter games like RPG open world MU: Dragon Havoc (you can tell that I'm a fan of the genre), the tablet does very well, the game works fluidly and cleanly.

Battery

A Samsung promises 18 hours of battery life with Wi-Fi connection, 20 hours of video playback and 131 hours of audio playback. It took two weeks using the Galaxy Tab S9 FE+ to work and have fun and the battery 10.090 mAh It held up very well, on days of continuous use the tablet was recharged every 1 and a half days, on days of light and moderate use it almost reached two days. To fully charge, the device took around two hours.

As it has a long-lasting battery, it is worth highlighting that smartphone users Galaxy They can share the tablet's battery with their cell phone with the help of a USB-C cable.

O Galaxy Tab S9 FE+ It came with the brand's standard 15W charger in the box, but it is compatible with fast charging of up to 45W like the rest of the line.

Final considerations

Even though it is the cheapest model recently launched, the Galaxy Tab S9 FE+ combines a good audio, video and battery experience. As it is an intermediate tablet, spectacular performance is not expected, but it does the job and does not let the consumer down. In this regard, despite the slight stutters and the drop in quality that I witnessed in gameplay, I don't think it's enough to disqualify the device as a great mobile device for studying and working.

O DeX mode still needs improvements to better integrate applications Android with technology and desktop layout, but we are already moving forward.

O Galaxy Tab S9 FE+ It has good battery life and interesting features and very useful accessories, especially the S Pen. Its size is extremely comfortable for daily use and the device is super easy to carry in your pocket and doesn't weigh anything down, the thin thickness is another positive point.

Now, if you're looking for a more immersive audiovisual experience, more memory space and a more powerful battery and don't mind spending more, opt for Galaxy tab s9 + or by S9Ultra.

It is well worth investing in any of the models in the line.

You can find the Galaxy Tab S9 FE+ in graphite, green and lavender colors R$3.599,10 (Wi-Fi version) or by R$4.049,10 (5G version) in the official store of Samsung.

Technical specifications

Brand	Samsung
Córdoba	Galaxy Tab S9 FE+
Social	GSM/HSPA/LTE/5G
GSM chip	Nano-SIM Card
Dimensions	285,4 x 185,4 x 6,5 mm
Weight	627 grams
Composition	Aluminum
Resistance	IP68 (water and dust), submersion up to 1,5m in fresh water for up to 30 minutes
Fabric	Resolution: 1600 x 2560 pixels – Pixel Density (PPI): 243 – Number of Colors: 16 million
Processor	SAMSUNG Exynos 1380 octa-core
GPU	Mali-G68 MP5
Sensors	Fingerprint (under screen, optical) Accelerometer, Gyroscope, Proximity, Compass, Compass Samsung DeX Wireless
Front cameras	12 Squares
Rear cameras	8 Mp + 8 Mp
Videos	4K is 30 fps sound recording stereo Stabilization
System	Android 13 with One UI 5.1
Wi-Fi	WiFi 6E
RAM and Internal Memory	8 GB of RAM 128GB internal storage
Memory card	Yes MicroSDXC up to 1024 GB
Battery	10090 mAh Fast charging support up to 45W
Adjustable	USB Type-C 2.0
Loudspeakers	2 AKG stereo speakers
Colors	Graphite, Green and Lavender
Price	R$3.599,10 (Wi-Fi version) R$4.049,10 (5G version)

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reviewed by Glaucon Vital in 29 / 11 / 23.