Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 Ultra review

Introduction

The next flagship Galaxy tablet is here, and it is huuuge! The Tab S9 Ultra is among the largest slates on the market, and it encompasses everything Samsung has to offer in 2023 for design, screen, hardware, and pen input.

The Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 Ultra is actually part of a trio of tablets (S9, S9+, S9 Ultra), which differ in size and camera count. They all have OLED screens, the latest hardware, aluminum unibodies, and bundled S-Pens.

So, the Tab S9 Ultra is based on a 14.6-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X screen and runs on the most powerful Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chip for Galaxy. It is wrapped in a classic aluminum unibody, one that is IP68-rated for dust and water resistance.

This tablet has the most cameras among the Tab S9 generation. It has a 13MP primary and an 8MP ultrawide cameras at the back. And then it packs a 12MP standard and a 12MP ultrawide imager at the front. The latter is responsible for the controversial screen notch.

The specs sheet is well-rounded with four powerful speakers, a large 11,200 mAh battery, 5G connectivity, a microSD expansion slot, and a UD fingerprint scanner. There is also a bundled S-Pen, IP68-rated at that, which rechargers magnetically on the back of the tablet. The Tab S9 Ultra comes with Android 13, One UI 5.1, and DeX support.

Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 Ultra specs at a glance:

• Body: 326.4x208.6x5.5mm, 732g; Glass front, aluminum frame, aluminum back; IP68 dust/water resistant (up to 1.5m for 30 min), Stylus, 2.8ms latency (Bluetooth integration, accelerometer, gyro).
• Display: 14.60" Dynamic AMOLED 2X, 120Hz, HDR10+, 1848x2960px resolution, 14.42:9 aspect ratio, 239ppi.
• Chipset: Qualcomm SM8550-AB Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 (4 nm): Octa-core (1x3.36 GHz Cortex-X3 & 2x2.8 GHz Cortex-A715 & 2x2.8 GHz Cortex-A710 & 3x2.0 GHz Cortex-A510); Adreno 740.
• Memory: 256GB 12GB RAM, 512GB 12GB RAM, 1TB 16GB RAM; UFS; microSDXC (dedicated slot).
• OS/Software: Android 13, One UI 5.1.
• Rear camera: Wide (main): 13 MP, f/2.0, 26mm, 1/3.4", 1.0µm, AF; Ultra wide angle: 8 MP, f/2.2.
• Front camera: Wide (main): 12 MP, f/2.2, 26mm; Ultra wide angle: 12 MP, f/2.4, 120˚.
• Video capture: Rear camera: 4K@30fps, 1080p@30fps; Front camera: 4K@30fps, 1080p@30fps.
• Battery: 11200mAh; 45W wired.
• Connectivity: 5G; Wi-Fi 6e; BT 5.3, dual-SIM (nanoSIM, eSIM).
• Misc: Fingerprint reader (under display, optical); stereo speakers (4 speakers); Wireless Samsung DeX.

We think the Galaxy Tab S9 Ultra is packing everything a tablet these days should offer. In fact, it could have spared us a camera or two, and we would have still said that.

Unboxing the Galaxy Tab S9 Ultra

The retail box of the Galaxy Tab S9 Ultra is incredibly thin, and there is a reason for that - it contains only the 5.5mm tablet, an S-Pen, and a USB-C cable. There is nothing else in the box.

The Galaxy Tab S9 Ultra supports 45W fast charging, so if you want to make use of that - you will need to shop for either Samsung's or a third-party USB-PD/PPS fast charger.