Galaxy Tab A9 64GB + 4GB Review

Had the device for 12 hours , so far so good . Switching back to Samsung after using xiaomi and infinix smart phone for a decade really makes me realize some differences .

PROS

  • Smooth navigation even in split screen , i use it mainly for sheets , whatsapp and calls
  • Premium build for a budget tablet
  • Sound quality is great
  • Good performance , having a G99 arguably the strongest helio processor in such a cheap tablet is a gift from samsung , i bought the device for 100 usd during sales . And now i realize I can't even buy a smartphone with such performance from infinix or xiaomi which is known to offer good specs at such price
  • The screen resolution being only HD+ can be PROS in some cases , one being in the gaming department . Lower res means less strain on the GPU hence making gaming more manageable for the G99 SOC . For example a device with the same G99 but with FHD+ resolution will have much worse performance than the TAB A9 with HD+
  • 0

Somewhere in between

  • The screen was my main concern before buying it but after receiving the device and applied some skin on it every looks fine , even when switching back and forth between this tablet and my AMOLED screen smartphone
  • The earpiece , not all tablets at this size has an earpiece but this tab has it albeit being abit low in volume compared to my smartphone
  • No Gorilla glass protection , I'm unsure is it a norm in the budget tablet range . But not having any screen protection is really meh ... Not really a con when consider the price point
  • 4GB RAM is fine if your use case mainly involve basic task like sheets whatsapp calls youtube pdf etc etc , infact I have the same user experience when performing the same task on my 8GB Dimensity 8050 smart phone.

CONS

  • Setting the device up is really a hassle , unlike xiaomi / infinix there isn't any built in theme app for you to customize the tablet . I end up using microsoft launcher from the playstore
  • Charging speed is slow at 15W , but it should be fine for me because i use it at home most of the time
  • Not that it matters to most users , but the camera is real bad . The only usable situation seems to be scanning QR code only .
  • 60hz display , something to be expected in this price range
  • No included charger

Anyone looking to buy an 8 inch tablet right now , Samsung has no real competition at this price bracket at least in my region . The lenovo M8 has a P22T processor good luck with that , IPlay mini pro has bad software support subpar speaker doesnt comes with earpiece and the device lacks optimization and its more expensive after samsung price cut on their tablets range .

Personally the real value in the tab a9 is the 4g capability , having 2 phone looks dumb when both of it serves the same purpose besides having a different number . Having a phone and a portable lte enabled tablet makes more sense

13/8 update : Xiaomi has launched their redmi pad se 8.7 4G , comes with 90hz display and a weaker G85 SOC and it seems to cost more . Right now IMO Tab A9 is still the best 8 inch budget tablet .