Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 Galaxy Tab S9 11.0" Qualcomm Review

The Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 is a weird one. It's a tablet that's trying really hard to be a laptop, but it's stuck with Android and a surprisingly old, slow processor. The one thing you need to know? This is a fantastic, super-portable screen for watching videos and browsing the web, but the second you ask it to do real work, it stumbles.

The performance is the biggest letdown. That AMD 1600 CPU is ancient, and it shows. It lands in the 27th percentile, which means it's slower than most modern tablets and laptops. The integrated GPU is even worse, sitting in the 18th percentile. That's why it scores a 4.4 out of 100 for gaming. Don't even think about it. The only thing that feels fast is the 12GB of RAM, which helps with multitasking, but you're still bottlenecked by that sluggish chip.

At $829, it's a tough sell. You're paying premium tablet money for mid-tier-at-best performance. The value isn't really there unless your only priority is having the absolute lightest, most portable screen possible.

If you want a true portable workhorse, the Apple 14" MacBook Pro with the M4 chip runs circles around this thing in every performance metric, though it costs more. For a similar price, the ASUS Zenbook Duo gives you a full Windows laptop with a second screen, which is far more capable. Even compared to other Android tablets, the Tab S9's processor is a generation behind. It's in a awkward spot.

I can only recommend the Galaxy Tab S9 to a very specific person: someone who values extreme portability and screen quality above all else, and who will only use it for media consumption and very basic tasks. For everyone else, especially students or anyone needing performance, there are better laptops and even better tablets for the money. Skip this one.