Galaxy Tab S9 vs Galaxy Tab A9
70
out of 100
VS
44
out of 100
Here we compared two tablets: the 11-inch Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 (with Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2) that was released on July 26, 2023, against the Samsung Galaxy Tab A9, which is powered by MediaTek Helio G99 and came out 3 months after. 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 S9
- Waterproof body (IP68 classification)
- 3.5x better performance in AnTuTu Benchmark (1771K versus 508K)
- Higher display refresh rate β 120 Hz
- Has a 2.3 inches larger screen size
- Comes with 3300 mAh larger battery capacity: 8400 vs 5100 mAh
- Has 2x more RAM: 8GB versus 4GB
- Delivers 26% higher peak brightness (584 against 465 nits)
- Supports higher wattage charging (45W versus 15W)
- Fingerprint scanner
- Ability to record video in 4K resolution
- Compatible with Wi-Fi 6 wireless networks
- 53% higher pixel density (274 vs 179 PPI)
- More recent OS version: Android 14 versus 13
Reasons to consider the Samsung Galaxy Tab A9
- Shows 9% longer battery life (25:21 vs 23:10 hours)
- Much smaller footprint: 38% more compact case (40.8 vs 65.4 square inches)
- Weighs 165 grams less
- Includes a 3.5 mm headphone audio jack port
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
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 | Dynamic AMOLED | TFT LCD |
| Size | 11 inches | 8.7 inches |
| Resolution | 1600 x 2560 pixels | 800 x 1340 pixels |
| Aspect ratio | 16:10 | 5:3 |
| PPI | 274 ppi | 179 ppi |
| Refresh rate | 120 Hz | 60 Hz |
| Adaptive refresh rate | Yes (30-120 Hz) | No |
| Max rated brightness | 600 nits | 500 nits |
| HDR support | Yes, HDR10+ | No |
| Screen protection | Corning Gorilla Glass 5 | Tempered glass |
| Screen-to-body ratio | 83.2% | 81.9% |
| Display features | - DCI-P3 | - |
| RGB color space | 98.3% | 81.2% |
| PWM | 240 Hz | Not detected |
| Response time | 2 ms | 44 ms |
| Contrast | β Infinity | 1389:1 |
Screen space comparison
Galaxy Tab S9
11β³ (16:10 ratio) = 54.4 in2
Galaxy Tab A9
8.7β³ (5:3 ratio) = 33.4 in2
~62% more screen space
Peak brightness test (auto)
Design and build
| Height | 254.3 mm (10.01 inches) | 211 mm (8.31 inches) |
| Width | 165.8 mm (6.53 inches) | 124.7 mm (4.91 inches) |
| Thickness | 5.9 mm (0.23 inches) | 8 mm (0.31 inches) |
| Weight | 498 g (17.57 oz) | 333 g (11.75 oz) |
| Waterproof | IP68 | No |
| Rear material | Metal | Metal |
| Frame material | Metal | Metal |
| Colors | Gray, Yellow | Silver, Gray, Blue |
| Fingerprint scanner | Yes, in-display | No |
| Area | 422 cm2 (65.4 inches2) | 263 cm2 (40.8 inches2) |
Visual size comparison
Screen-to-body ratio
Tablet Ranking (64th and 140th place)
Android Tablet Ranking (47th and 110th place)
Performance
| Chipset | Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 | MediaTek Helio G99 |
| Max clock | 3360 MHz | 2200 MHz |
| CPU cores | 8 (1 + 2 + 2 + 3) | 8 (2 + 6) |
| Architecture | - 3 cores at 2 GHz: Cortex-A510 - 2 cores at 2.8 GHz: Cortex-A710 - 2 cores at 2.8 GHz: Cortex-A715 - 1 core at 3.2 GHz: Cortex-X3 |
- 6 cores at 2 GHz: Cortex-A55 - 2 cores at 2.2 GHz: Cortex-A76 |
| L3 cache | 8 MB | - |
| Manufacturing | TSMC | TSMC |
| Lithography process | 4 nanometers | 6 nanometers |
| Neural processor (NPU) | Hexagon | Yes |
| Graphics | Adreno 740 | Mali-G57 MP2 |
| GPU shading units | 1536 | 64 |
| GPU clock | 680 MHz | 1000 MHz |
| FLOPS | ~2089 GFLOPS | ~128 GFLOPS |
Benchmarks
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
Compute Score (GPU)
| Compute Score (GPU) | 9692 | 1294 |
| Single-core score | 2093 | 729 |
| Multi-core score | 5838 | 1943 |
AnTuTu Benchmark 11
| CPU | 623980 | 214958 |
| GPU | 451553 | 35695 |
| Memory | 275042 | 119172 |
| UX | 420840 | 138729 |
| Total score | 1771415 | 508554 |
| Samples | [3 tests] | [3 tests] |
3DMark Steel Nomad Light
| Stability | 97% | - |
| Graphics test | 9 FPS | 1 FPS |
| Graphics score | 1156 | 130 |
3DMark Solar Bay
| Stability | 94% | - |
| Graphics test | 21 FPS | - |
| Section 1 | 24 FPS | - |
| Section 2 | 22 FPS | - |
| Section 3 | 18 FPS | - |
| Graphics score | 5635 | - |
3DMark Wild Life Extreme
| Stability | 89% | - |
| Graphics test | 23 FPS | - |
| Graphics score | 3917 | - |
PCMark 3.0
| Web score | - | 8547 |
| Video editing | - | 5137 |
| Photo editing | - | 15786 |
| Data manipulation | - | 7328 |
| Writing score | - | 11901 |
Recent User Tests
Samsung Galaxy Tab S9
| Date | Benchmark | Result |
|---|---|---|
| π 2026-06-11 (Mohammad Abu Sayeed) | AnTuTu 11 | 1749561 |
| π 2026-04-30 (Vulpes) | CPU Throttle | 87% |
| π 2026-04-30 (Vulpes) | AnTuTu 11 | 1777999 |
| π 2026-03-03 -> Lello75 | Geekbench 6 CPU | 2093 / 5838 |
| π 2025-10-12 (niko) | AnTuTu 11 | 1771415 |
Samsung Galaxy Tab A9
| Date | Benchmark | Result |
|---|---|---|
| π 2026-09-16 (ZION) | AnTuTu 12 | 659300 |
| π 2026-04-09 (Ji-Su 8090) | AnTuTu 11 | 409449 |
| π 2025-10-30 (Trung) | AnTuTu 11 | 508554 |
| π 2025-09-20 (ZION) | Geekbench 6 GPU | 1294 |
| π 2025-09-20 (ZION) | Geekbench 6 CPU | 729 / 1943 |
Memory
Configuration
| RAM size | 8 GB | 4 GB |
| Memory type | LPDDR5X | LPDDR4X |
| Memory clock | 4200 MHz | 2133 MHz |
| Channels | 4 | 2 |
| Storage size | 128 GB | 64 GB |
| Storage type | UFS 4.0 | UFS 2.2 |
| Memory card | MicroSD | MicroSD |
| Memory card max size | Up to 1024 GB | Up to 1024 GB |
Software
| Operating system | Android 13 (Can be upgraded to Android 14) | Android 13 |
| ROM | One UI 6.1 | One UI 5.1 |
| OS size | 40 GB | - |
Battery
| Capacity | 8400 mAh | 5100 mAh |
| Max charge power | 45 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 40 min) | Yes (50% in 60 min) |
| Full charging time | 1:30 hr | 2:30 hr |
| Web browsing | 07:39 hr | 09:04 hr |
| Watching video | 12:06 hr | 13:21 hr |
| Gaming | 06:18 hr | 05:24 hr |
| Standby | 133 hr | 143 hr |
General battery life
Main camera
| Matrix | 13 megapixels | 8 megapixels |
| Image resolution | 4128 x 3096 | - |
| Zoom | Digital | Digital |
| Flash | LED | No |
| Stabilization | Digital | Digital |
| 8K video recording | No | No |
| 4K video recording | Up to 30FPS | No |
| 1080p video recording | Up to 60FPS | Up to 30FPS |
| Slow motion | - | No |
| Lenses | 1) Standard: 13 MP |
1) Standard: 8 MP |
| Camera features | - | - |
| Image resolution | 13 MP | 8 MP |
| Aperture | f/2.0 | - |
| Focal length | 26 mm | - |
| Autofocus | Phase autofocus | Phase autofocus |
| Stabilization | Digital | Digital |
Selfie camera
| Megapixels | 12 megapixels | 2 megapixels |
| Image resolution | 4000 x 3000 | - |
| Aperture | f/2.4 | - |
| Sensor | - | CMOS |
| Autofocus | No | No |
| Stabilization | Digital | No |
| Video resolution | 2160p (4K) at 30 FPS | 1080p (Full HD) at 30 FPS |
| Depth sensor (TOF 3D) | No | No |
Connectivity
| Wi-Fi standard | Wi-Fi 6E (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax) | Wi-Fi 5 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac) |
| Wi-Fi features | - Dual Band - Wi-Fi MiMO - Wi-Fi Direct - Wi-Fi Hotspot - Wi-Fi Display |
- Dual Band - Wi-Fi Direct - Wi-Fi Hotspot - Wi-Fi Display |
| Bluetooth version | 5.3 | 5.3 |
| Bluetooth features | LE | LE |
| USB type | USB Type-C | USB Type-C |
| USB version | 3.2 | 2 |
| USB features | - Charging - USB-Storage mode - OTG |
- Charging - USB-Storage mode |
| DisplayPort | Yes | No |
| GPS | GPS, GLONASS, Beidou, Galileo, QZSS | GPS, GLONASS, Beidou, Galileo, QZSS |
| NFC* | No | No |
| Infrared port | No | No |
| Number of SIM* | 1 | 1 |
| Type of SIM card | Nano | Nano |
| eSIM support* | Yes | Yes |
| Hybrid slot | No | No |
| LTE Cat* | 20 | 13 |
| 5G support | Yes | No |
Sound
| Speakers | 4.0 | Stereo |
| Headphone audio jack | No | Yes |
| FM radio | No | No |
| Dolby Atmos | Yes | Yes |
Speakers test
Max loudness
Other
| Category | Flagship | Budget |
| Announced | July 2023 | October 2023 |
| Release date | August 2023 | October 2023 |
| Launch price (MSRP) | $799 | $159 |
| Successor | - | - Samsung Galaxy Tab A11 |
| SAR (body) | - | 0.51 W/kg |
| Sensors | - Hall-effect sensor - Proximity sensor - Gyroscope - Accelerometer - Ambient light sensor - Compass - Fingerprint |
- Accelerometer - Ambient light sensor - Compass |
| Keyboard weight | 423 g | - |
| Bundled charger | Not included | Not included |
Further details
Notes on Galaxy Tab A9:
- Doesn't have S Pen support.
*Disclaimer! NFC, GSM network support, and some other specs can be different depending on the country.
Conclusion
After analyzing all the data, we think that the Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 is definitely a better buy.
Cast your vote
Total votes: 35