You’re standing in the tech aisle, or more likely scrolling through a dozen tabs, and you see it. The Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 FE Plus. It looks exactly like the high-end flagship that costs nearly a thousand bucks, but the price tag is hundreds of dollars lighter. It’s tempting. Really tempting. But there's always that nagging feeling—what am I giving up? Honestly, most people get the "FE" line wrong. They think it’s just a "cheap" version. It’s not. It’s a calculated set of compromises.
Samsung basically took the chassis of their most expensive tablets and swapped the engine.
If you want the absolute fastest processor on the planet for heavy 4K video editing, stop reading. Go buy the standard Tab S9 Ultra. But if you’re a student, a digital artist on a budget, or someone who just wants a massive screen for Netflix and emails without draining your savings account, this is where things get interesting.
The Screen Situation: LCD vs OLED
Let's address the elephant in the room immediately. This thing uses an IPS LCD.
If you’ve used a Samsung phone or a high-end Tab S9, you’re used to AMOLED. You’re used to those "inky blacks" where the pixels literally turn off. You won't get that here. When you watch a movie in a dark room on the Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 FE Plus, the black bars at the top and bottom will glow a tiny bit. That’s just how LCD technology works. Is it a dealbreaker? For most, no.
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The 12.4-inch display is huge. It’s spacious. It runs at a 90Hz refresh rate, which is sort of the "sweet spot." It’s smoother than the standard 60Hz on an entry-level iPad, though not quite as buttery as the 120Hz on the Pro models. Samsung also included something called "Vision Booster." It basically cranks the contrast and colors when you’re outside so you can actually see what you’re doing in direct sunlight. It works surprisingly well, even if it drains the battery a bit faster.
Performance Reality Check
Inside, you’ve got the Exynos 1380 chipset.
Now, tech reviewers love to hate on Exynos. And sure, compared to a Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, it’s slower. But let’s be real—are you trying to simulate a weather pattern or are you trying to take notes in a lecture? For multitasking, it’s actually decent. You can snap three apps on the screen at once using Samsung’s Multi-Active Window feature, and it holds up.
I’ve seen some lag when jumping between really heavy games like Genshin Impact and Chrome with 20 tabs open. If gaming is your primary life, you might feel that friction. But for the average user? It’s fine. It really is. You get either 8GB or 12GB of RAM. Get the 12GB if you can find a deal, but 8GB is plenty for Android 14 and One UI.
Why the S Pen is the Secret Weapon
The best part? The S Pen is in the box.
Apple makes you pay over a hundred dollars extra for their pencil. Samsung just gives it to you. And it’s not some cheap plastic stylus. It’s the real deal with 4,096 levels of pressure sensitivity. Writing on the Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 FE Plus feels incredibly natural. There is a tiny bit more "latency" (the gap between the pen tip and the line appearing) than on the flagship models, but you’d have to be looking for it with a magnifying glass to really care.
Interestingly, the S Pen here is "passive." It doesn't need a battery to write. The downside is you don't get those "Air Actions" where you wave the pen like a magic wand to take a selfie or skip a song. Personally, I’ve never seen anyone actually use those features in real life anyway.
Durability You Don't Usually Get
One thing Samsung didn't cut corners on is the build quality.
The Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 FE Plus is IP68 rated. That means it’s water and dust resistant. You can literally drop it in a pool or spill a coffee on it, and it’ll survive. This is rare for a "mid-range" tablet. Most tablets in this price bracket are delicate. This one feels like a tank. It’s made of aluminum, it’s thin, and it feels expensive in the hand.
Battery life is another win. Because the Exynos chip isn't a power-hungry monster and the screen is LCD, the 10,090mAh battery lasts forever. You can easily get through two days of moderate use. If you’re just binging shows, expect around 13 to 14 hours of screen-on time.
What’s Missing? (The "Fine Print")
We have to talk about the trade-offs because no device is perfect.
- No Video Out: The USB-C port is version 2.0. This means you can't plug it into a monitor via HDMI to use Samsung DeX on a big screen. You can still use DeX on the tablet itself, which turns the interface into a desktop-like experience, but "Wired DeX" is gone.
- Charging Speed: It supports 45W charging, which is fast, but it doesn't come with a brick. You'll need to buy one.
- The Speakers: They are tuned by AKG and support Dolby Atmos, but there are only two. The flagship has four. It’s loud, but it lacks that "surround sound" depth.
Real World Use Cases
Let’s look at how this actually fits into a daily routine.
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- For the Student: This is the gold standard. You get a massive screen for split-viewing a PDF textbook on one side and Samsung Notes on the other. The S Pen is included, so your "entry cost" is just the tablet. It’s the best value for money in education right now.
- For the Corporate Worker: Samsung DeX is a game changer. If you buy a keyboard cover, the Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 FE Plus becomes a mini-laptop. It’s great for emails, Excel, and Slack. Just don't expect to do heavy video encoding during a Zoom call.
- For the Artist: If you use apps like Clip Studio Paint or Canva, the 12.4-inch canvas is glorious. The colors are accurate enough for digital hobbyists, though professional color graders will want the OLED of the S9+ or S10+ series.
A Note on Longevity
Samsung is actually pretty good with updates these days. They’ve promised four generations of Android OS upgrades and five years of security patches for this model. Since it launched with Android 13 (and is now onto 14 and 15), you’re covered until at least 2027 or 2028. That’s a long time for a mid-range Android device.
The competition, like the OnePlus Pad or the iPad Air, offers different perks. The OnePlus has a faster screen and faster charging. The iPad has a way more powerful chip but a much smaller screen for the same price. The Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 FE Plus sits right in the middle—it’s the "big screen" specialist.
How to Get the Most Out of It
If you decide to pick one up, do a few things immediately to make it feel faster.
First, go into the settings and turn on "Ram Plus." It uses a bit of your storage as virtual memory. It’s not a miracle worker, but it helps with app switching. Second, get a decent microSD card. One of the best features of this tablet is the expandable storage. You can add up to 1TB of space for movies and photos, which is something you simply can't do on an iPad.
Lastly, check for the "S Pen to Text" setting. It lets you write directly into search bars or text boxes, and it converts your messy handwriting into typed text. It’s surprisingly accurate.
The Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 FE Plus isn't a "compromise" tablet; it’s a "priority" tablet. It prioritizes screen size, battery life, and durability over raw gaming power and fancy screen tech. For 90% of people, that’s exactly the right trade-off.
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Next Steps for Potential Buyers:
- Check the SKU: Ensure you are looking at the "Plus" model if you want the 12.4-inch screen; the standard FE is much smaller at 10.9 inches.
- Bundle Up: Look for retailers that bundle the Book Cover Keyboard, as buying it separately later is significantly more expensive.
- Verify Storage Needs: If you plan on downloading large files, opt for the 128GB or 256GB model, but remember that a $20 microSD card is a cheaper way to get more space for media.
- Test the Weight: At over 600 grams, it’s a bit heavy to hold with one hand for long periods; consider a stand or a case with a built-in kickstand.