The Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 looks great, but it ain’t cheap. That’s why Samsung launched the Galaxy Tab A9 and A9+ last year. These affordable tablets integrate with the Samsung ecosystem and offer a wealth of important features, though they aren’t quite as flashy as the S9 series, and now the Tab A9+ is available in the United States.
The standard Galaxy Tab A9 has been available for a few months in the international market, but it hasn’t yet arrived in the United States. It packs an 8.7-inch LCD display with a 60Hz refresh rate and 1340 x 800 resolution. It runs a modest MediaTek Helio G99 processor and packs an 8MP rear camera, a 2MP selfie camera, and a 5,100mAh battery. Interestingly, the Galaxy Tab A9 also comes with Bluetooth 5.3 connectivity and has an optional 4G LTE configuration. Samsung’s upgraded Galaxy Tab A9+ uses a larger 11-inch 90Hz LCD display with a much more attractive 1920 x 1080 resolution, its selfie camera is boosted to 5MP, and its battery capacity clocks in at 7,040mAh. It also packs a Qualcomm Snapdragon 695 processor, and its option cellular configuration includes 5G connectivity. Oddly, Galaxy Tab A9+ is stuck with Bluetooth 5.1, which is less impressive than the Bluetooth 5.3 connectivity of its little sibling.
Both tablets run Android 13. They also support Wi-Fi 5 and Dolby Atmos audio. Storage and RAM configurations are somewhat conservative, as customers must choose between 4GB RAM and 64GB storage or 8GB RAM and 128GB storage. That said, a microSD slot accommodates up to 1TB of additional storage in both models.
However, the Galaxy Tab A9+ is notable for its DeX functionality. As you may know, DeX is a desktop interface that unlocks when you connect a Samsung tablet or smartphone to an external monitor. But the Galaxy Tab A9+ can run DeX without an external monitor, effectively giving you a desktop-like experience right on your tablet’s screen (kind of like Microsoft Surface products). The desktop-like experience is aided by Samsung’s Book Cover Keyboard Slim (or any Bluetooth keyboard, for that matter). Note that Galaxy A-series tablets do not support Samsung’s S Pen stylus.
You can buy the Galaxy Tab A9+ on Samsung’s online store, and it might appear at other retailers soon. The 4GB storage option costs $130, and the 128GB storage version costs $180. There are also variants with cellular connectivity at a higher price point. It’s not clear if Samsung will ever bring the regular A9 to the United States, which would presumably be at a lower price point more competitive with Amazon’s Fire HD 8.
Source: Samsung, 9to5Google
