It's been more than two years since the Galaxy Tab S7 FE went on sale as Samsung's first Fan Edition tablet. Now, a sequel is finally on the way, called the Galaxy Tab S9 FE+. How much have things changed in two years? Let's find out.
Samsung's new tablet sports the Exynos 1380 chipset, and it's no longer split between two SoCs based on connectivity options. Whether you're buying the Wi-Fi-only or the 5G model for 2023, you're getting the same Exynos solution. Benchmarks show that the Exynos 1380 chip performs roughly the same as the Snapdragon 750G and 778G, with slight differences in some areas.
This year, Samsung upgraded the memory. While the Galaxy Tab S7 FE started at 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage, those figures are not cutting it in 2023. The Tab S9 FE+ is available in two memory configurations: 8GB+128GB and 12GB+256GB. Expandable storage is also present.
On paper, battery specifications remain the same. The new Fan Edition model has a 10,090mAh battery with 45W fast charging capabilities. In practice, Samsung says this new FE tablet should give users up to 20 hours of video playback on a single charge, which means it should offer an additional 7 hours compared to the Tab S7 FE.
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Better display and build quality
Although the Galaxy Tab S9 FE+ retains a TFT LCD with a 12.4-inch diagonal, Samsung says the panel supports a refresh rate of up to 90Hz rather than 60Hz. The display also offers Vision Booster technology for better color accuracy in varying lighting conditions.
Another significant upgrade consists of a better 12MP ultra-wide selfie camera with auto-framing capabilities, which means the Tab S9 FE+ is better suited for video conferencing. The selfie camera can also record 4K videos at 30fps.
Last but not least, the new Fan Edition tablet is now dust and water-resistant thanks to an IP68 rating. It's the same rating the Tab S9 flagship has. The new FE mode ships with Android 13 and One UI 5.1.1 and will receive four major OS upgrades and five years of security patches. It will last much longer than its predecessor.
Check out our spec comparison below for more details, and stay tuned for our upcoming review. If you think the Galaxy Tab S9 FE+ is a worthy upgrade, the tablet will hit the shelves in select markets on October 10. And depending on the market, you might get a decent trade-in value if you exchange the old FE model for the new one.
Samsung
Galaxy Tab S9 FE+ 5G
Samsung
Galaxy Tab S7 FE
Samsung
Galaxy Tab S7 FE 5G
General Information
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Model Name
Galaxy Tab S9 FE+ 5G
Galaxy Tab S7 FE
Galaxy Tab S7 FE 5G
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Model type
Tablet
Tablet
Tablet
-
Colors
Silver ()Mint ()Gray ()Lavender ()
Black (Mystic Black)Silver (Mystic Silver)Green (Mystic Green)Pink (Mystic Pink)
Black (Mystic Black)Silver (Mystic Silver)Green (Mystic Green)Pink (Mystic Pink)
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Announced
2023, October
2021, May
2021, May
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Released
2023, October
2021, June
2021, June
Physical specifications
-
Dimensions
Tablet: 285.4 x 185.4 x 6.5 mm
Tablet: 185 x 284.8 x 6.3 mm
Tablet: 185 x 284.8 x 6.3 mm
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Weights
628g
608g
608g
-
IP rating
IP68
Operating system
-
Operating system
Android 13
Android 11
Android 11
-
One UI version
One UI 5.1.1
3.1
3.1
Networks
-
SIM
Single SIM
-
SIM card sizes
Nano-SIM (4FF)
Nano-SIM (4FF)
Nano-SIM (4FF)
-
Networks
2G3G4G5G
2G3G4G
2G3G4G5G
Display
-
Kind
Main Display
-
Name
Infinity Display
Infinity Display
-
Technology
LCD
TFT
TFT
-
Size
12.4 inch / mm
12.4 inch / mm
12.4 inch / mm
-
Resolution
/ x pixels
WQXGA / 2560x1600 pixels
WQXGA / 2560x1600 pixels
-
Pixel density
244 PPI
244 PPI
-
Refresh rate
90Hz
