Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 FE vs Galaxy Tab S9 FE: Should you upgrade?

Apart from Google itself, Samsung seems to be the one company pushing the idea of Android tablets as more than just media consumption devices. Even its mid-range FE tablets are sold as potential laptop replacements. Whether or not a tablet is that vital to you, how does the new Galaxy Tab S9 FE stack up vs the Galaxy Tab S7 FE? Is the upgrade worth the significant pricetag?

The most glaring difference here is that strictly speaking, the S9 FE has a much smaller (if still very sharp) 10.9-inch display. This is a little deceptive — in reality, you can still get a 12.4-inch screen, but you have to go with the S9 FE Plus. Nevertheless we’re going to focus on the base S9 FE for our comparison, and all versions have a dynamic 48-90Hz refresh rate, whereas the S7 FE is stuck at 60Hz. That means smoother motion without excessive power consumption.

The fact that the standard S9 FE is scaled down means you additionally get a smaller 8,000mAh battery, but we’ll talk more about that later.

Note that all versions of the S9 FE use Samsung’s Exynos 1380 processor, which is paired with an ARM Mali-G68 MP5 GPU. That translates to about 38% better CPU performance than the S7 FE, and 73% higher GPU performance. Don’t expect to be blown away, especially considering the custom Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 in the regular Galaxy Tab S9, but for most purposes the S9 FE should be amply fast.

Other feature upgrades we need to highlight include more default RAM (varying based on your configuration), a sharper 12-megapixel front camera, and a power button-based fingerprint sensor, whereas the S7 FE has no biometric tech to speak of. Samsung has also upgraded to Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.3, which may matter if you have compatible devices.

As mentioned, the base S9 FE (above) is considerably smaller than the S7 FE, since it shrinks from a 12.4-inch display to 10.9 inches. If you’re not prepared to sacrifice screen space, assume you should be looking at the S9 FE Plus instead.

A smaller size does translate into a lighter and more portable tablet. The S9 FE weighs a sliver under 1.16 pounds, whereas the S7 FE (below) comes in at 1.34. That gap may not sound like much, but starts to matter if you need to hold your tablet for long stretches of reading, video, gaming, or working on the go.

Both tablets are aesthetically pleasing. We should point out though that while the S7 FE has a dedicated magnetic patch on the back for holding its S Pen, this is gone on the S9 FE, which instead relies on edge-based magnets (it returns on the S9 FE Plus). You may find one or the other more convenient and/or visually pleasing, but either way, don’t expect your S Pen to stay attached if your tablet is jostling around in a bag.

Samsung states that the S9 FE’s 8,000mAh battery is capable of 18 hours of non-stop video. We’ll have to complete our review to see how this translates into real-world usage, but it’s a safe bet that for most people, the tablet should last at least two days when handling a diverse range of tasks.

The tablet has substantially smaller capacity than the S7 FE, but with a smaller screen, it’s also consuming less power. In fact the S9 FE Plus matches the S7 FE’s 10,090mAh, so there’s an obvious link between screen and battery size.

A minor item to flag is that while both tablets support 45W USB-C charging, only the S7 FE comes with a charger in the box. That said, it’s a 15W charger, so you’ll need a better brick anyway if you want a full recharge in a reasonable amount of time.

The comparison is a little tricky here for several reasons. Samsung US isn’t selling the 5G version of the S7 FE on its website, for one, and there’s no 64GB tier of the S9 FE. More importantly of course the S7 FE is a bigger 12.4-inch device, its direct successor being the S9 FE Plus.

On top of that, Samsung has been oddly cagey about sharing regional availability for the S9 FE, or US prices. We know that when it ships to the US on October 10, 2023, the tablet will start at $449 for a 128GB Wi-Fi model with 6GB of RAM, but Samsung hasn’t said anything about other configurations. We’re not even sure how much the S9 FE Plus will cost. For some people, its price could decide whether they’ll splurge for a big screen or settle for the standard model.

If you’re still satisfied with your S7 FE, there’s no urgent reason. Yes, you’ll get better performance, an enhanced display, and modern connectivity, but really this is just Samsung trying to stay current with rivals like Apple and Google. We’re talking about incremental updates rather than anything earthshaking.

That might be exactly what you’re after, though, if you’re concerned about the performance of high-demand apps like image editors or 3D games. There’s enough of a jump here that previously sluggish apps might suddenly feel smooth, especially on a 90Hz display.

After crossing that barrier, there’s still the decision of whether you should choose the S9 FE or S9 FE Plus. If you can’t bear to have your display shrink from 12.4 inches to 10.9, you should save up for the Plus, but the truth is that most people don’t need a 12-inch tablet that badly. The 10.9-inch model may even be superior in some situations, such as travel. It’s a lot easier to pack, not to mention take out of your carry-on when you’re going through security or trying to watch Dune on your cross-country flight.