Samsung Galaxy Tab S9: The first IP68-rated Galaxy Tab S tablets, priced from RM3,699

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Samsung Galaxy Unpacked made a return for the second time this year with plenty of new Galaxy devices for the market including the Galaxy Tab S9 series. Alongside these new tablets, the Korean giant has also announced their new foldables, the Galaxy Z Fold5 and Z Flip5.

Taking place in South Korea, the Unpacked launch event also saw the unveiling of the Galaxy Watch6 and Watch6 Classic. As per their predecessors, all of these fresh Galaxy devices for 2023 are heading to Malaysia soon but first, let’s take a brief look at all the new things that the Galaxy Tab S9 series have to offer to consumers.

Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 series price, availability

The new Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 series tablet will be rolling out into retail stores nationwide on 18 August. This time around, the company is offering the 5G variant of tablets from the get-go.

In addition to that, there are more storage options too while selected models come standard with a keyboard. So, here’s the price list:

• Galaxy Tab S9 Ultra 512GB with keyboard: RM7,149 (5G) / RM6,499 (Wi-Fi)
• Galaxy Tab S9 Ultra 256GB with keyboard: RM6,649 (5G) / RM5,999 (Wi-Fi)
• Galaxy Tab S9+ 512GB with keyboard: RM5,849 (5G) / RM5,199 (Wi-Fi)
• Galaxy Tab S9+ 256GB: RM5,249 (5G) / RM4,599(Wi-Fi)
• Galaxy Tab S9 256GB with keyboard: RM4,849 (5G) / RM4,199 (Wi-Fi)
• Galaxy Tab S9 128GB: RM4,349 (5G) / RM3,699 (Wi-Fi)

In terms of colourways, the Galaxy Tab S9 Ultra is only available in Graphite. On the other hand, the Galaxy Tab S9+ and Tab S9 can be obtained in either Graphite or Beige.

Performance upgrade

As per the norm with new tablet offerings, the new Galaxy Tab S9 series tablets offer better performance than their 2022 counterparts with the help of Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 processor. Samsung did not delve much into the differences but Qualcomm said back in November last year that the Kyro CPU within the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 is 35% faster and up to 40% more power efficient than its predecessor.

The Adreno GPU within the chip also offers a 25% increase in performance and a 45% improvement in power efficiency. Meanwhile, Samsung has also equipped these tablets with vapor chamber cooling solution which is a first for Galaxy tablets and may help them deliver sustained performance.

New display panel and features

Just like last year, the Galaxy Tab S9 series tablets still come with the same screen sizes and Armour Aluminium body. This means that that the base Galaxy Tab S9 features an 11-inch display while the Galaxy Tab S9+ and Tab S9 Ultra are equipped with 12.4-inch and 14.6-inch displays, respectively.  

However, Samsung has opted for the same Dynamic AMOLED 2X panel throughout this series. This is different from last year whereby the company chose to fit an LTPS LCD display on the base Galaxy Tab S8 model while the Super AMOLED panel were reserved for the higher-end Galaxy Tab S9+ and Tab S9 Ultra.

First used on Galaxy smartphones, the Dynamic AMOLED 2X panel is said to have better colour output and contrast. Also new on the Galaxy Tab S9 series is the dynamic refresh rate feature, unlike the Galaxy Tab S8 series which has fixed refresh rate setting although the range is still the same at between 60Hz to 120Hz.

Having a dynamic refresh rate capability allows for better power efficiency which helps improve the tablet’s battery life. Also making its debut on Galaxy tablets through the Galaxy Tab S9 series is the Vision Booster technology that automatically optimizes the screen’s tone mapping to improve visibility in bright outdoor lighting.

Better durability, larger speakers

The Galaxy Tab S9 series tablets are also the first Galaxy Tab S series models that have been designed to meet the IP68 standards. Hence, they are generally more durable than their predecessors since these tablets can withstand fresh water depths of up to 1.5 meters for as long as 30 minutes.

Not only that, even the S Pen that is included alongside each Galaxy Tab S9 series tablet is also IP68-rated. Their AKG-tuned quad speakers are also 20% larger than before and continue to support Dolby Atmos.

Changes in camera setup, battery

For the 2023 models, Samsung has made some changes to the camera setup though. For example, there is no am ultra-wide camera on the rear camera module for the base Galaxy Tab S9 which features only a single 13MP camera.

For the Galaxy Tab S9+ and Tab S9 Ultra, they still have a 13MP primary camera but their ultra-wide camera now has a higher-resolution 8MP sensor instead. As for the front camera, Samsung has retained the same arrangement as last year’s models which involved a 12MP ultra-wide camera for the Galaxy Tab S9 and Tab S9+ while the Galaxy Tab S9 Ultra offered a combination of a 12MP primary camera and a 12MP ultra-wide camera.

It is also worth noting that the base Galaxy Tab S9 variant has been fitted with a larger capacity battery at 8,400mAh. The higher-end Galaxy Tab S9+ and Tab S9 Ultra still come with 10,090mAh and 11,200mAh batteries, respectively.

Unlike last year whereby the base Galaxy Tab S8 model fingerprint scanner is located on a side key, the base model for the Galaxy Tab S9 series features the same on-display fingerprint scanner as its higher-end siblings.