Samsung Galaxy Tab A8 vs Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 FE: Should you upgrade?

With the exception of Google’s Pixel Tablet, there may as effectively be one identify on the town with regards to high quality Android tablets, and that’s Samsung. If you have Samsung’s Galaxy Tab A8 from 2022, you is likely to be contemplating a step as much as the brand new Galaxy Tab S9 FE, which is costlier however not as costly as a full-fledged Tab S9. Is it well worth the bounce?

As you may anticipate leaping from an early 2022 finances pill to a late 2023 mid-range choice, there’s loads to achieve right here. For starters the show expands from 10.5 to 10.9 inches, and you get a sharper 2304 x 1440 decision paired with a smoother 90Hz refresh price. The A8’s display screen is ok, however you’ll discover the distinction.

The Tab S9 FE additionally combines Samsung’s Exynos 1380 processor with not less than 6GB of RAM, and 8GB on some fashions. The A8 performs effectively sufficient with its Unisoc Tiger T618 chip, however that and not more than 4GB of RAM places a low ceiling on what the pill can do — the S9 FE is a significantly better gadget for issues like gaming or picture and video enhancing.

Storage choices on the S9 FE change to 128 or 256GB, utterly ditching 32 and 64GB, which is ok contemplating that these are too small to do a lot with. There’s nonetheless a microSD slot with help for playing cards as much as 1TB, which is nice information if you have a big app or media assortment.

Other upgrades on the S9 FE value mentioning are a fingerprint scanner on the facility button — there aren’t any biometrics in any respect on the A8 — and improved wi-fi tech together with Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.3, and (on mobile fashions) 5G as a substitute of simply 4G. There’s additionally a sharper 12-megapixel entrance digital camera for video calls, and you get an S Pen within the field as a substitute of getting to purchase one.

Battery tech has additionally been improved, however we’ll cowl that in a later part. We’ll finish this one by noting a few downsides — there’s no 3.5mm headphone jack on the S9 FE, and no bundled charger, so you might have to purchase some equipment.

There isn’t a lot to speak about right here, however that’s really a superb factor. A pill needs to be little greater than a window into your apps and media, and that’s what you get with each merchandise. There isn’t a lot aesthetic distinction between the 2, and a few individuals may even choose the A8.

The S9 FE (above) is a bit wider, taller, and heavier, however not in any significant method. The A8 (beneath) was already 508g (about 1.1 kilos), so neither pill is one thing you wish to maintain one-handed for various minutes.

We have but to completely assessment the S9 FE, so we don’t but have many specs on battery life past Samsung’s declare of 18 to twenty hours of video playback. It does nevertheless have an 8,000mAh battery pack, considerably bigger than the one on the A8, which may already final two days underneath a mixture of streaming, internet looking, and social media. The S9 FE may probably be extra power-hungry owing to superior show and processor expertise, however we’ll see.

While the brand new pill doesn’t ship with a charger, it does provide a lot sooner charging capability, topping out at 45W versus the A8’s meager 15W. You ought to be capable of absolutely recharge the S9 FE in as little as 90 minutes — assuming after all you have a USB-C adapter able to 45W or increased.

Samsung remains to be promoting the A8, and it’s even cheaper than it was at launch, sliding underneath $200 if you get can get away with a 32GB Wi-Fi mannequin. There’s a superb cause why — an A9 is already on the horizon, if nonetheless with out a agency launch date. The firm is presumably attempting to filter out as a lot stock as it may.

The Galaxy Tab S9 FE began transport to some retailers on October 5, 2023, with plans for wider distribution on October 10. Samsung has been cagey on US pricing and the roster of nations it’s concentrating on, however likelihood is that if Samsung sells electronics someplace, the S9 FE ought to arrive ultimately.

Perhaps. You’re vaulting from a finances pill to a mid-range one, and you’ll undoubtedly benefit from the enhancements in show, efficiency, and charging expertise. It’s a disgrace that the S9 FE doesn’t have a 3.5mm jack, however that’s par for the course as of late, and you do get a bundled S Pen. That lets you dive straight into notetaking and drawing, or not less than leaving fewer fingerprints in your display screen.

Of course, the impediment right here is that the S9 FE can simply be twice as costly, regardless of being comparatively low-cost subsequent to an iPad Air, an iPad Pro, or a daily S9. If you wish to keep inside finances territory it could be higher to attend for the A9, which may very well be transport inside a matter of days or perhaps weeks. Just don’t anticipate any radical enhancements — in actual fact, it’d be wiser to attend for an A10 or A11 if you wish to see significant function advances within the finances realm.