Galaxy Tab A9 vs Galaxy Tab A8 10.5 (2021)
44
out of 100
VS
45
out of 100
Here we compared two budget tablets: the 8.7-inch Samsung Galaxy Tab A9 (with MediaTek Helio G99) that was released on October 5, 2023, against the Samsung Galaxy Tab A8 10.5 (2021), which is powered by Unisoc Tiger T618 and came out 1 year and 10 months before. On this page, you will find tests, full specs, strengths, and weaknesses of each of the devices.
Select the amount of RAM to evaluate performance and value for money more precisely
Key differences
Reasons to consider the Samsung Galaxy Tab A9
- 65% better performance in AnTuTu Benchmark (508K versus 308K)
- Newer Bluetooth version (v5.3)
- More energy-efficient CPU β Helio G99
- Has 2x more RAM: 4GB versus 2GB
- Much smaller footprint: 34% more compact case (40.8 vs 62 square inches)
- Faster storage type - UFS 2.2 versus eMMC 5.1
- 64% faster in single-core GeekBench 6 test: 729 and 445 points
- Weighs 175 grams less
- Ready for eSIM technology
Reasons to consider the Samsung Galaxy Tab A8 10.5 (2021)
- Has a 1.8 inches larger screen size
- Comes with 1940 mAh larger battery capacity: 7040 vs 5100 mAh
- More recent OS version: Android 14 versus 13
- 21% higher pixel density (216 vs 179 PPI)
Review
Display
Screen quality, color accuracy, brightness
Camera
Photo and video recording quality
Performance
CPU and memory performance (apps, system)
Gaming
Capabilities for playing modern games
Battery
Battery life, charging type and speed
Connectivity
Networks, ports, data transmission
Scores with a red asterisk (*) are approximate and may change in the future as we gather more data.
Select your primary usage scenario to get a more accurate NanoReview Score
Value for money (Beta)
Tests and specifications
Comparison table of technical specifications and testsDisplay
| Type | TFT LCD | TFT LCD |
| Size | 8.7 inches | 10.5 inches |
| Resolution | 800 x 1340 pixels | 1200 x 1920 pixels |
| Aspect ratio | 5:3 | 16:10 |
| PPI | 179 ppi | 216 ppi |
| Refresh rate | 60 Hz | 60 Hz |
| Adaptive refresh rate | No | No |
| Max rated brightness | 500 nits | 350 nits |
| HDR support | No | No |
| Screen protection | Tempered glass | Tempered glass |
| Screen-to-body ratio | 81.9% | 80% |
| RGB color space | 81.2% | - |
| PWM | Not detected | - |
| Response time | 44 ms | - |
| Contrast | 1389:1 | - |
Screen space comparison
Galaxy Tab A8 10.5 (2021)
10.5β³ (16:10 ratio) = 49.6 in2
Galaxy Tab A9
8.7β³ (5:3 ratio) = 33.4 in2
~48% more screen space
Peak brightness test (auto)
Design and build
| Height | 211 mm (8.31 inches) | 246.8 mm (9.72 inches) |
| Width | 124.7 mm (4.91 inches) | 161.9 mm (6.37 inches) |
| Thickness | 8 mm (0.31 inches) | 6.9 mm (0.27 inches) |
| Weight | 333 g (11.75 oz) | 508 g (17.92 oz) |
| Waterproof | No | No |
| Rear material | Metal | Metal |
| Frame material | Metal | Metal |
| Colors | Silver, Gray, Blue | Silver, Gold, Gray, Pink |
| Fingerprint scanner | No | No |
| Area | 263 cm2 (40.8 inches2) | 400 cm2 (61.9 inches2) |
Visual size comparison
Screen-to-body ratio
Tablet Ranking (136th and 137th place)
Android Tablet Ranking (106th and 107th place)
Performance
| Chipset | MediaTek Helio G99 | Unisoc Tiger T618 |
| Max clock | 2200 MHz | 2000 MHz |
| CPU cores | 8 (2 + 6) | 8 (2 + 6) |
| Architecture | - 6 cores at 2 GHz: Cortex-A55 - 2 cores at 2.2 GHz: Cortex-A76 |
- 6 cores at 1.8 GHz: Cortex-A55 - 2 cores at 2 GHz: Cortex-A75 |
| Manufacturing | TSMC | TSMC |
| Lithography process | 6 nanometers | 12 nanometers |
| Neural processor (NPU) | Yes | No |
| Graphics | Mali-G57 MP2 | Mali G52 MP2 |
| GPU shading units | 64 | 48 |
| GPU clock | 1000 MHz | 850 MHz |
| FLOPS | ~128 GFLOPS | ~81.6 GFLOPS |
Benchmarks
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
Compute Score (GPU)
| Compute Score (GPU) | 1294 | 1016 |
| Single-core score | 729 | 445 |
| Multi-core score | 1943 | 1419 |
AnTuTu Benchmark 11
| CPU | 214958 | 131035 |
| GPU | 35695 | 30005 |
| Memory | 119172 | 66964 |
| UX | 138729 | 80204 |
| Total score | 508554 | 308208 |
| Samples | [3 tests] | Less than 3 |
3DMark Steel Nomad Light
| Graphics test | 1 FPS | - |
| Graphics score | 130 | - |
3DMark Wild Life Extreme
| Stability | - | 98% |
| Graphics test | - | 1 FPS |
| Graphics score | - | 185 |
PCMark 3.0
| Web score | 8547 | 7085 |
| Video editing | 5137 | 3913 |
| Photo editing | 15786 | 15223 |
| Data manipulation | 7328 | 6203 |
| Writing score | 11901 | 9356 |
Recent User Tests
Samsung Galaxy Tab A9
| Date | Benchmark | Result |
|---|---|---|
| π 2026-04-09 (Ji-Su 8090) | AnTuTu | 409449 |
| π 2025-10-30 (Trung) | AnTuTu | 508554 |
| π 2025-09-20 (ZION) | GeekBench GPU | 1294 |
| π 2025-09-20 (ZION) | GeekBench CPU | 729 / 1943 |
| π 2025-09-20 (ZION) | AnTuTu | 511895 |
Samsung Galaxy Tab A8 10.5 (2021)
| Date | Benchmark | Result |
|---|---|---|
| π 2026-05-02 (ken) | AnTuTu | 308208 |
Memory
Configuration
| RAM size | 4 GB | 2 GB |
| Memory type | LPDDR4X | LPDDR4X |
| Memory clock | 2133 MHz | 1866 MHz |
| Channels | 2 | 2 |
| Storage size | 64 GB | 32 GB |
| Storage type | UFS 2.2 | eMMC 5.1 |
| Memory card | MicroSD | MicroSD |
| Memory card max size | Up to 1024 GB | Up to 1024 GB |
Software
| Operating system | Android 13 | Android 11 (Can be upgraded to Android 14) |
| ROM | One UI 5.1 | One UI 6.1 |
Battery
| Capacity | 5100 mAh | 7040 mAh |
| Max charge power | 15 W | 15 W |
| Battery type | Li-Ion | Li-Ion |
| Replaceable | No | No |
| Wireless charging | No | No |
| Reverse charging | No | No |
| Fast charging | Yes (50% in 60 min) | Yes (20% in 45 min) |
| Full charging time | 2:30 hr | 2:30 hr |
| Web browsing | 09:04 hr | - |
| Watching video | 13:21 hr | - |
| Gaming | 05:24 hr | - |
| Standby | 143 hr | - |
General battery life
Main camera
| Matrix | 8 megapixels | 8 megapixels |
| Zoom | Digital | Digital |
| Flash | No | No |
| Stabilization | Digital | Digital |
| 8K video recording | No | No |
| 4K video recording | No | No |
| 1080p video recording | Up to 30FPS | Up to 30FPS |
| Slow motion | No | No |
| Lenses | 1) Standard: 8 MP |
1) Standard: 8 MP |
| Camera features | - | - |
| Image resolution | 8 MP | 8 MP |
| Autofocus | Phase autofocus | Phase autofocus |
| Stabilization | Digital | Digital |
Selfie camera
| Megapixels | 2 megapixels | 5 megapixels |
| Sensor | CMOS | CMOS |
| Autofocus | No | No |
| Stabilization | No | No |
| Video resolution | 1080p (Full HD) at 30 FPS | 1080p (Full HD) at 30 FPS |
| Depth sensor (TOF 3D) | No | No |
Connectivity
| Wi-Fi standard | Wi-Fi 5 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac) | Wi-Fi 5 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac) |
| Wi-Fi features | - Dual Band - Wi-Fi Direct - Wi-Fi Hotspot - Wi-Fi Display |
- Dual Band - Wi-Fi Direct - Wi-Fi Hotspot - Wi-Fi Display |
| Bluetooth version | 5.3 | 5 |
| Bluetooth features | LE | LE |
| USB type | USB Type-C | USB Type-C |
| USB version | 2 | 2 |
| USB features | - Charging - USB-Storage mode |
- Charging - USB-Storage mode |
| DisplayPort | No | No |
| GPS | GPS, GLONASS, Beidou, Galileo, QZSS | GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, QZSS |
| NFC* | No | No |
| Infrared port | No | No |
| Number of SIM* | 1 | 1 |
| Type of SIM card | Nano | Nano |
| eSIM support* | Yes | No |
| Hybrid slot | No | No |
| LTE Cat* | 13 | 7 |
| 5G support | No | No |
Sound
| Speakers | Stereo | 4.0 |
| Headphone audio jack | Yes | Yes |
| FM radio | No | No |
| Dolby Atmos | Yes | Yes |
Speakers test
Max loudness
Other
| Category | Budget | Budget |
| Announced | October 2023 | December 2021 |
| Release date | October 2023 | January 2022 |
| Launch price (MSRP) | $159 | $189 |
| Successor | - Samsung Galaxy Tab A11 | - |
| SAR (body) | 0.51 W/kg | - |
| Sensors | - Accelerometer - Ambient light sensor - Compass |
- Gyroscope - Accelerometer - Ambient light sensor - Compass |
| Bundled charger | Not included | Yes, 8 W |
Further details
Notes on Galaxy Tab A9:
- Doesn't have S Pen support.
Notes on Galaxy Tab A8 10.5 (2021):
- Doesn't have S Pen support.
*Disclaimer! NFC, GSM network support, and some other specs can be different depending on the country.
Conclusion
If the display, camera, gaming, battery life, and software are more important to you, then choose the Samsung Galaxy Tab A8 10.5 (2021). But if the performance, connectivity, and design are more of a priority β go for the Samsung Galaxy Tab A9.
Cast your vote
Total votes: 45