Is it worth it?
Juggling family streaming, hybrid work and the kids’ gaming sessions on a single screen is a recipe for stutters and arguments – unless the screen is large, sharp and backed by enough memory. Samsung’s 11-inch Galaxy Tab A9+ steps into that everyday chaos aiming to deliver laptop-like multi-tasking in a feather-light frame for under flagship money. If you have ever wished your budget slate had just a bit more oomph for Google Meet or Disney+, keep reading – the A9+ hides a surprise or two.
After three weeks living with the Galaxy Tab A9+, I’m convinced it nails the sweet spot for sofa surfers, commuters and students, yet power-hungry creatives might want to look elsewhere. Its Snapdragon engine and 8 GB of RAM keep Netflix and Sheets smooth, but the LCD panel’s brightness ceiling and single rear camera expose its mid-range DNA. Stick to office apps, streaming and light sketching and you’ll grin; demand HDR movies on the sun-soaked patio and you’ll grimace – curious? Let’s dive in.
Specifications
| Brand | Samsung |
| Model | SM-X210NZAUB |
| Display | 11-inch 1920×1200 90 Hz |
| Storage | 128 GB (expandable via microSD) |
| RAM | 8 GB |
| Battery | 42.2 Wh (15 W USB-C charging) |
| Weight | 510 g |
| Wireless | Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.0. |
| User Score | 4 ⭐ (88 reviews) |
| Price | approx. 180£ Check 🛒 |
Key Features
90 Hz LCD Smoothness
The panel refreshes 50 % faster than standard 60 Hz screens, so scrolling Instagram or annotated PDFs feels fluid. While not OLED-deep, colours cover 96 % sRGB which keeps web images honest. In practice, page turns in Kindle and TikTok swipes look instantly more responsive.
8 GB RAM Multitasking
Budget tablets typically ship with 4 GB, leading to constant app reloads. Here, 8 GB allows three apps to remain resident, so hopping from Zoom to Notes to Spotify during a lecture is frustration-free. It’s the hidden hero behind the Tab’s ‘always ready’ feel.
Dolby Atmos Quad Speakers
Four speaker grilles pump out stereo wider than the chassis. Dolby Atmos tuning lifts dialogue and simulates height; watching Clarkson’s latest rant on Prime Video genuinely sounds like the TV in the living room. At 80 dB peak it can fill a bedroom without distortion.
Expandable Storage
128 GB onboard sounds ample, yet two seasons of Bluey in 1080p eat space rapidly. A microSD slot (up to 1 TB) means you can archive shows for offline flights instead of deleting games. Slotting in my 256 GB card was tool-free and Android mounted it in seconds.
Samsung DeX Desktop Mode
Toggle DeX and the UI morphs into a windowed desktop with taskbar – connect a monitor and Bluetooth mouse and you have a pseudo-laptop. Perfect for draft edits or PowerPoint tweaks when your real laptop stays at home.
Children’s Space with Parental Controls
Samsung Kids creates a walled garden of age-appropriate apps, timed usage and content filters. Setting a 30-minute gaming limit stopped the bedtime battles, and switching back to adult mode requires a PIN – peace of mind for parents.
Firsthand Experience
Unboxing felt premium despite the friendly price: only the tablet, a USB-C cable and a tiny 15 W brick, but the aluminium back in Graphite looked classier than the plastic on most sub-£300 rivals. At 510 g it balanced comfortably in one hand while I queued for my flat white – a pleasant surprise after lugging my 12.9-inch laptop around.
Setup was painless: Samsung’s Smart Switch grabbed my apps over Wi-Fi in 12 minutes, and Android 14 greeted me with just 36 GB consumed out of the box. Within an hour I had split-screen Chrome and YouTube Kids, plus a floating Samsung Notes window – Multi-Window kept 3 apps alive without a hint of reload, something the older Tab A8 struggled with.
Day three was my commute stress-test. The 90 Hz panel made scrolling BBC News silky, though at 430 nits measured with a Spyder5 it looked washed-out against the train’s morning sun, forcing brightness to max and nibbling 12 % battery per hour of 5G tethered browsing. Still, I squeezed 9 hours 10 minutes of mixed use before the battery warning – respectable, not record-breaking.
Gaming night: CoD Mobile defaulted to Medium graphics at 60 fps. After 30 minutes the back warmed to 39 °C, noticeable but never uncomfortable. Frame drops were rare; the Adreno 619 GPU clearly benefits from the 8 GB RAM. Pairing my PS5 controller via Bluetooth happened first time – my nephew now begs for the Tab instead of the Switch Lite.
A week later I used DeX mode on an external monitor via USB-C-to-HDMI. Word and Spotify ran side-by-side like on a Chromebook. Keyboard latency was minimal, yet intensive Excel macros crawled – the mid-tier Snapdragon 695 simply isn’t cut out for heavy crunching. Still, drafting this review on a café table with a Bluetooth keyboard felt liberating.
Pros and Cons
Customer Reviews
Early adopters are generally pleased with the A9+, praising its smooth performance and bang-for-buck, though a few users lament receiving older stock and point at average cameras as weak spots.
Perfect for binge-watching and Google Meet, no lag so far
Still going strong after 18 months, value feels solid although screen could be brighter
Sleek look and fluid UI, battery lasts my entire workday
Received an outdated unit and the accelerometer failed within days
Does everything my kids need and the price didn’t break the bank.
Comparison
Within Samsung’s own line-up, the Tab A9+ sits below the S9 FE. The latter offers a brighter 500-nit IPS panel, S-Pen in the box and IP68 protection, but costs roughly 40 % more. If stylus creation and water resistance matter, the S9 FE justifies the premium; otherwise the A9+ gives you similar day-to-day speed for less.
Compared with Lenovo’s Tab P12, Samsung wins on weight (510 g vs 615 g) and One UI software updates, though Lenovo’s 2K panel is sharper and its 10,200 mAh battery lasts an extra two hours in video loops. Students prioritising battery endurance may lean Lenovo.
Apple’s 10th-gen iPad commands a higher price yet provides the faster A14 chip and a 500-nit laminated display. However, it still begins with 64 GB storage and charges via Lightning unless you pay more for the USB-C model. For users locked into Android or requiring expandable storage, the Galaxy remains the smarter spend.
Budget shoppers might eye Amazon’s Fire Max 11 at an enticing sticker price, but Fire OS limitations and weaker 4 GB RAM hold it back for true multitasking. Paying slightly more for the A9+ secures Google Play and longer security updates, making it better value in the long run.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Does the Tab A9+ support 5G?
- The UK variant sold here is Wi-Fi-only
- Can I use an S-Pen with this tablet?
- It lacks the dedicated digitiser layer, so Bluetooth styli work but pressure-sensitive Samsung Pens do not.
- How long will it receive software updates?
- Samsung promises at least four years of security patches and two Android version upgrades – similar to its mid-range phones.
- Can it replace a laptop for students?
- For note-taking, cloud docs and video calls, yes – pair a Bluetooth keyboard and DeX mode handles basics, but heavy coding or Adobe projects will still need a proper laptop.
Conclusion
If you’re after an affordable, big-screen Android slate that doesn’t slow to a crawl when three apps are open, the Galaxy Tab A9+ stands out. Its 90 Hz panel, ample RAM and DeX flexibility deliver a laptop-lite experience for a mid-range price, while expandable storage and quad speakers sweeten the deal.
You should skip it if you demand outdoor-friendly brightness, pro-level sketch capabilities or rapid charging – the Tab S9 FE or an iPad will suit you better. But families, commuters and students on a £250-£300 budget will find it a trustworthy companion. Keep an eye on seasonal discounts: when the price dips, it’s arguably the best value 11-inch Android tablet around.
