In our in-depth review of the Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 FE, we will share with you everything you need to know about this affordable Fan Edition tablet.
Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 FE : Smaller Fan Edition Tablet
Samsung is offering two Tab S9 Fan Edition models – the Tab S9 FE with a 10.9-inch display, and the Tab S9 FE+ with a 12.4-inch display.
They both run on the same Samsung Exynos 1380 mobile platform, featuring four high-speed Cortex-A78 cores, and four low-power Cortex-A55 cores, and a Mali-G68 MP5 GPU.
Surprisingly, they both come with an S Pen stylus, like their pricier brethren. Their displays also support a dynamic refresh rate of up to 90 Hz.
The unit we are looking at today is the Galaxy Tab S9 FE, which is currently the smallest and most affordable Fan Edition variant of the Galaxy Tab S9 family of Android tablets.
Recommended : Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra Review : A Complete Package!
Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 FE : Price + Availability
This Fan Edition tablet comes with colour options of Mint, Lavender, Gray and Silver. It comes with two RAM and storage options:
- 6 GB + 128 GB
- 8 GB + 256 GB
These are the available models and launch prices:
- 6 GB + 128 GB : US$449.99 / £549 / A$749 / RM2,099
- 8 GB + 256 GB : US$519.99 / £619 / A$899 / RM2,399
Here are some online per-order and purchase options:
- United States : Amazon
- United Kingdom : Amazon | Amazon | Amazon
- Malaysia : Shopee | Shopee | Shopee
Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 FE : Specifications
Here are the key specifications for this Fan Edition tablet :
Specifications | Galaxy Tab S9 FE (WiFi) |
Display | 10.9-inch IPS Display – 1440 x 2304 pixels (249 ppi) – 60 Hz / 90 Hz refresh rate |
Protection | Gorilla Glass 5 |
Water Resistance | IP68 |
Platform | Samsung Exynos 1380 |
CPU | 4 x Arm Cortex-A78 cores (2.4 GHz) 4 x Arm Cortex-A55 cores (2.0 GHz) |
GPU | Arm Mali-G68 MP5 (950 MHz) |
Memory + Storage |
6 GB + 128 GB 8 GB + 256 GB |
External Storage | microSD (up to 1TB) |
Front Camera | 12 MP camera |
Main Camera | 8 MP camera |
Connectivity | Wi-Fi : Wi-Fi 6E Bluetooth : BT 5.3 USB : USB 2.0 Type C |
S Pen | Yes |
Samsung DeX | Not supported |
Audio | Dual speakers tuned by AKG |
Fingerprint Sensor | Integrated Into Power Button |
Other Sensors | Accelerometer, Gyroscope, Geomagnetic, Hall, Light |
GPS | GPS, Beidou, Galileo, Glonass, QZSS |
NFC | No |
Battery | 8,000 mAh |
Charging | 45 watt super fast charging 15 watt reverse fast charging |
Dimensions | 254.3 mm wide 165.8 mm tall 6.5 mm thick |
Weight | 523 grams |
Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 FE Unboxing
Because this is an entry-level tablet, it comes with the bare minimum. Inside the box, you will find these items:
- Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 FE smartphone
- Set of documents – quick start guide in two languages, and a warranty card
- EP-DN980 (3A PD) USB Type C to Type C cable
- SIM card extractor pin
Even though the Galaxy Tab S9 FE supports 45 W super-fast charging, it does not come with any charger. Neither does it come with a case, like the more premium Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra.
In case you are thinking of buying a 45 watt super fast charger, please note that the bundled EP-DN980 cable can only support 3A PD charging, which is good enough for 25 watt, but not for 45 watt.
Next Page > Galaxy Tab S9 FE Key Features
Support Tech ARP!
Please support us by visiting our sponsors, participating in the Tech ARP Forums, or donating to our fund. Thank you!
Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 FE Key Features
The Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 FE is an entry-level model which will not appeal to some. However, it has some surprises, so let’s take a closer look at its key features.
10.9-inch Display
The Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 FE is a smaller sized, entry-level model, and comes with a 10.9-inch TFT display. It has a WQXGA resolution of 2560 x 1600 pixels, with a wider DCI-P3 colour gamut.
It supports a dynamic refresh rate of up to 90 Hz, which is limited to switching between three refresh rates – 30 Hz, 60 Hz, and 90 Hz.
Mid-Range Performance
The Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 FE runs on the Exynos 1380 mobile platform, which comes with an Arm Mali-G68 MP5 GPU, as well as eight processor cores in a dual-cluster architecture :
- four Arm Cortex-A78 high-performance cores, and
- four Arm Cortex-A55 low-power cores
The Samsung Exynos 1380 also has an neural processing unit (NPU) with a processing capacity of 4.9 TOPS, as well as an integrated 5G modem that supports download speeds up to 3.79 Gbps, and upload speeds of up to 1.28 Gbps.
RAM + Storage Options
Samsung is offering this tablet with two RAM and storage options :
- 6 GB RAM + 128 GB storage
- 8 GB RAM + 256 GB storage
You don’t have to worry too much about running out of storage, as it comes with a microSD card slot, allowing you to add up to 1 TB of additional storage.
Cameras
The Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 FE comes with a 12 MP front camera, and an 8 MP rear camera. Both cameras can record videos at up to 4K resolution (30 fps).
Pretty Tough
The Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 FE is protected by a tough aluminium frame all around its edges, and Corning Gorilla Glass 5 on its display.
IP68 Water Resistance
Even though this is an entry-level tablet, the Galaxy Tab S9 FE is IP68 rated for dust- and water-resistance!
While Samsung does not recommend it for beach or pool use, the Galaxy Tab S9 FE is rated to withstand submersion in up to 1.5 metres of freshwater for up to 30 minutes.
S Pen Stylus
The Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 FE also comes with a stylus, which is also IP68-rated for dust and water resistance.
Large Battery
The Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 FE comes with a large 8,000 mAh battery, which supports 45 watt super fast charging. It even supports 15 watt reverse fast charging.
However, it does not come with any bundled charger, and the bundled USB cable can only support 25 watt fast charging.
AKG Tuned Speakers
The Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 FE does not come with quad speakers like its more expensive brethren. However, its dual AKG-tuned speakers do a pretty good job.
No Support For Samsung DeX
This may be a deal breaker for power users or travellers – the Galaxy Tab S9 FE does not support Samsung DeX.
For one thing – it only has a USB 2.0 port, so it cannot output video through a USB to HDMI dongle. On top of that, it doesn’t support wireless DeX either.
Next Page > Battery Life + Recharging Performance
Support Tech ARP!
Please support us by visiting our sponsors, participating in the Tech ARP Forums, or donating to our fund. Thank you!
Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 FE : Battery Life Comparison!
This Fan Edition tablet comes with a large 8,000 mAh battery. To test its battery life, we turned off Automatic Brightness, and set its display brightness to 50%.
Why 50%? That is actually slightly higher than the average indoor brightness level of 40% during the day, and is what we usually use in all our mobile battery life tests.
It is important to fix the brightness level, to make sure the screen brightness does not change as the ambient brightness changes.
We then ran the PCMark Work 3.0 battery life test until its battery capacity dropped to 20% several times, and this was the best result we obtained with the standard, and the adaptive refresh rates :
Not bad! The Galaxy Tab S9 FE lasted almost 10 hours on the Standard refresh rate, and just over 9 hours on the Adaptive refresh rate.
With such results, it makes sense to just leave the Tab S9 FE on its default setting of Adaptive refresh. After all, it only saps its battery life by 8% (46 minutes).
Let’s compare its battery life against the Galaxy Tab S7 Plus and Galaxy S8 Ultra tablets.
Standard Refresh Rate (60 Hz)
This Fan Edition tablet delivered the best battery life with the Standard refresh rate of 60 Hz.
Thanks to its power-efficient Exynos 1380 processor and smaller display, it sips power compared to the other two larger and more powerful tablets.
Work 3.0 | Tab S9 FE (60 Hz) |
Tab S7 Plus (60 Hz) |
Tab S8 Ultra (60 Hz) |
Display Size | 10.9-inch | 12.4-inch | 14.6-inch |
Battery Capacity | 8,000 mAh | 10,090 mAh | 11,200 mAh |
Battery Life | 9 hrs 49 mins |
7 hrs 55 mins | 8 hrs 3 mins |
Utilisation per min. |
10.87 mAh | 16.99 mAh | 18.55 mAh |
Adaptive Refresh Rate (90 Hz / 120 Hz)
Switching on the Adaptive refresh rate allowed the display to switch between 30 Hz, 60 Hz and 90 Hz, and only cut down its battery life by 46 minutes (8%).
But as my evaluation shows – the Galaxy Tab S9 FE uses considerably less power than the two larger and more powerful tablets. In fact, it uses just over half as much as the Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra!
Work 3.0 | Tab S9 FE (90 Hz) |
Tab S7 Plus (120 Hz) |
Tab S8 Ultra (120 Hz) |
Display Size | 10.9-inch | 12.4-inch | 14.6-inch |
Battery Capacity | 8,000 mAh | 10,090 mAh | 11,200 mAh |
Battery Life | 9 hrs 3 mins |
6 hrs 11 mins |
6 hrs 38 mins |
Utilisation per min. |
11.79 mAh | 21.76 mAh | 22.51 mAh |
Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 FE : Battery Recharging Speed!
This tablet surprisingly supports up to 45 watts of wired fast charging, but unfortunately, does not come with the charger in-the-box. On top of that, its bundled cable only supports 25 watt fast charging.
So we tested it on the standard 15 watt Samsung fast charger, and the optional 25 watt Samsung super fast charger.
Recharging Speed | Tab S8 Ultra | Tab S7 Plus | Tab S9 FE (25W) |
Tab S9 FE (15W) |
Display Size | 14.6-inch | 12.4-inch | 10.9-inch | 10.9-inch |
Battery Capacity | 11,200 mAh | 10,090 mAh | 8,000 mAh | 8,000 mAh |
Charger Output | 15 watts | 15 watts | 25 watts | 15 watts |
Battery Life | 86.5 mins | 86 mins | 90.5 mins | 145.5 mins |
Recharging Speed (per minute) |
103.6 mAh | 93.9 mAh | 70.7 mAh | 44.0 mAh |
Well, isn’t that interesting? Even with a more powerful 25W super fast charger, the Galaxy Tab S9 FE recharges slower than the Tab S7 Plus or the Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra using the standard 15W charger!!
The 15W charger took almost 2.5 hours to fully recharge its 8,000 mAh battery from 20% to 100%. Upgrading to the 25W charger cut that down to just 1.5 hours, shaving off almost a full hour.
The good news is that the Galaxy Tab S9 FE sips power, so you won’t need to recharge it quite so often.
Next Page > Work + Gaming Performance
Support Tech ARP!
Please support us by visiting our sponsors, participating in the Tech ARP Forums, or donating to our fund. Thank you!
Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 FE : Work Performance
We first tested the devices using PCMark, which simulates work applications like web browsing, playing video, writing text and editing photos.
Work 3.0 | Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra |
Galaxy Tab S7+ |
Galaxy Tab S9 FE |
Galaxy Tab S7 FE |
Mobile Platform | SD 8 Gen 1 |
SD 865+ |
Exynos 1380 |
SD 778G |
Performance Score | 12351 | 12348 | 11650 | 9747 |
Web Browsing | 9696 | 11864 | 9028 | 7355 |
Video Editing | 6194 | 7664 | 6193 | 6028 |
Writing | 14411 | 12659 | 15302 | 10512 |
Photo Editing | 31774 | 26230 | 27122 | 22188 |
Data Manipulation | 10449 | 9511 | 9248 | 8505 |
The Samsung Exynos 1380 did well in this test, delivering performance close – within 6% – to that of older flagship-class processors like the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 and the Snapdragon 865+. Interestingly, the Exynos 1380 did better in the Galaxy A54, delivering a score of over 13.5K.
In any case, the Exynos 1380 is fast enough, even if we did not run this test – Galaxy Tab S9 FE did not feel slow at any app we tried.
Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 FE : Gaming Performance
For gaming, we tested the devices using 3DMark, with these results :
3DMark | Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra |
Galaxy Tab S7+ |
Galaxy Tab S7 FE |
Galaxy Tab S9 FE |
Mobile Platform | SD 8 Gen 1 | SD 865+ | SD 778G | Exynos 1380 |
Wild Life Extreme Unlimited |
2221 | – | – | 826 |
Wild Life Unlimited | 9838 | – | – | 2997 |
Sling Shot Unlimited | 10728 | 8793 | 6688 | 6223 |
Where the Samsung Exynos 1380 really falls is in gaming performance. Even in the easy Sling Shot Unlimited benchmark, it was 7% slower than the mid-range Snapdragon 778G, which is 2.5 years old.
That doesn’t mean the Galaxy Tab S9 FE is useless at games. It runs 2D games and simple 3D games like Roblox perfectly fine. It’s the more strenuous 3D games that it will struggle in.
Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 FE : Overall Performance
We then tested the Galaxy Tab S9 FE using AnTuTu, yielding these results :
AnTuTu | Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra |
GGalaxy Tab S9 FE |
Galaxy Tab S7+ |
Galaxy Tab S7 FE |
Mobile Platform | SD 8 Gen 1 | Exynos 1380 | SD 865+ | SD 778G |
AnTuTu Score | 950630 | 591126 | 577726 | 508008 |
CPU | 213689 | 193122 | 161243 | 157465 |
GPU | 417669 | 136759 | 230859 | 155115 |
Memory | 161903 | 118456 | 98269 | 79972 |
UX | 157369 | 142789 | 87355 | 115456 |
The AnTuTu benchmark showed that this Fan Edition tablet performs at around the same level as the Snapdragon 865+, which is a flagship-class mobile SoC, albeit from 2020.
As you can see, its CPU is particularly fast, while its GPU is slow. In other words, this entry-level tablet will do great in work applications and simple games, but don’t rely on it for high-end 3D games!
Next Page > Verdict, Price + Availability
Support Tech ARP!
Please support us by visiting our sponsors, participating in the Tech ARP Forums, or donating to our fund. Thank you!
Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 FE : Verdict + Award
The Galaxy Tab S9 FE is Samsung’s entry-level Android tablet, built around a mid-range mobile platform, and a 10.9-inch display with a refresh rate that goes up to 90 Hz.
Even though it’s “just” an entry-level tablet, I was pleasantly surprised to find out that it is IP68-rated against dust and water. It also comes with an IP68-rated S Pen stylus!
It has decent performance, with a strong focus on work performance. And it offers a long battery life, thanks to its 8,000 mAh battery, and more power-efficient display and processor.
In other words – this Fan Edition tablet is not sexy, but it gets the job done.
If there is a major turn-off for some potential buyers, it will be the lack of Samsung DeX. There is no support for wireless DeX, or video output via its USB port. But of course – this limitation only concerns those who want to use Samsung DeX.
Otherwise, the Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 FE is a decent package of features and capabilities in a tough, and water-resistant tablet.
If you are looking for an affordable Android tablet for work or study, you really can’t go wrong with the Galaxy Tab S9 FE.
Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 FE : Price + Availability
This Fan Edition tablet comes with colour options of Mint, Lavender, Gray and Silver. It comes with two RAM and storage options:
- 6 GB + 128 GB
- 8 GB + 256 GB
These are the available models and launch prices:
- 6 GB + 128 GB : US$449.99 / £549 / A$749 / RM2,099
- 8 GB + 256 GB : US$519.99 / £619 / A$899 / RM2,399
Here are some online per-order and purchase options:
- United States : Amazon
- United Kingdom : Amazon | Amazon | Amazon
- Malaysia : Shopee | Shopee | Shopee
Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 FE : Specifications
Here are the key specifications for this Fan Edition tablet :
Specifications | Galaxy Tab S9 FE (WiFi) |
Display | 10.9-inch IPS Display – 1440 x 2304 pixels (249 ppi) – 60 Hz / 90 Hz refresh rate |
Protection | Gorilla Glass 5 |
Water Resistance | IP68 |
Platform | Samsung Exynos 1380 |
CPU | 4 x Arm Cortex-A78 cores (2.4 GHz) 4 x Arm Cortex-A55 cores (2.0 GHz) |
GPU | Arm Mali-G68 MP5 (950 MHz) |
Memory + Storage |
6 GB + 128 GB 8 GB + 256 GB |
External Storage | microSD (up to 1TB) |
Front Camera | 12 MP camera |
Main Camera | 8 MP camera |
Connectivity | Wi-Fi : Wi-Fi 6E Bluetooth : BT 5.3 USB : USB 2.0 Type C |
S Pen | Yes |
Samsung DeX | Not supported |
Audio | Dual speakers tuned by AKG |
Fingerprint Sensor | Integrated Into Power Button |
Other Sensors | Accelerometer, Gyroscope, Geomagnetic, Hall, Light |
GPS | GPS, Beidou, Galileo, Glonass, QZSS |
NFC | No |
Battery | 8,000 mAh |
Charging | 45 watt super fast charging 15 watt reverse fast charging |
Dimensions | 254.3 mm wide 165.8 mm tall 6.5 mm thick |
Weight | 523 grams |
Please Support My Work!
Name : Adrian Wong
Bank Transfer : CIMB 7064555917 (Swift Code : CIBBMYKL)
Credit Card / Paypal : https://paypal.me/techarp
Dr. Adrian Wong has been writing about tech and science since 1997, even publishing a book with Prentice Hall called Breaking Through The BIOS Barrier (ISBN 978-0131455368) while in medical school.
He continues to devote countless hours every day writing about tech, medicine and science, in his pursuit of facts in a post-truth world.
Recommended Reading
- Samsung Galaxy S23 FE Review : Hits The Sweet Spot!
- How To Setup Galaxy S23 FE For The First Time!
- Samsung Galaxy Buds FE Review : Affordable ANC Earbuds!
- Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 Review : Just A Better Flip 4!
- How To Setup Galaxy Z Flip 5 For The First Time!
Go Back To > First Page | Mobile | Tech ARP
Support Tech ARP!
Please support us by visiting our sponsors, participating in the Tech ARP Forums, or donating to our fund. Thank you!