The Tab A series, offering the least expensive and lowest-performing Samsung tablets, comes in a few variants but offers an interface and app management experience similar to its far more expensive relatives.
However, one drawback is that we usually have to wait longer than a year to see an update, which is the case with the Galaxy Tab A8 and Tab A9+. But almost two years later, the A9+ makes significant improvements over the A8 in every way.
The Tab A8 technically lists at $230, $10 more than the A9+, but its age means it’s almost always discounted by around 25% — if you can find it. Samsung only recently stopped selling it directly in the US, but you can still find it at third-party retailers.
International markets saw the Tab A9 and A9+ hit shelves in October 2023. The A9+ made its way stateside in early January 2024 at a $220 MSRP. Only the 4GB/64GB version of the A9+ offers optional 5G connectivity. That one retails for $270, but can also be found at the four major carriers. You can also get trade-in discounts for all variants, as long as you buy them from Samsung or a carrier.
Interestingly, the base model Tab A9 still hasn’t landed in the US, and we’re not sure if it ever will.
To give credit where it’s due, the Tab A8 never felt like the cheapest tablet out there. Samsung did a fine job with its sub-7mm aluminum body and reasonable weight. It didn’t suffer from any of the flex many other cheap slates do, and it felt respectably durable. Samsung continues that trend with the A9+ but levels it up slightly.
Granted, the Plus moniker makes it clear these tablets are in different tiers, but the difference isn’t all that massive. The 0.5-inch increase in display size adds just enough additional screen space to make software more usable and content more enjoyable. And at less than a centimeter wider and taller, the newer model doesn’t by any means feel too bulky for everyday use. Though bigger, it’s 20 to 30 grams lighter, based on your connectivity choice.
The Tab A8’s Silver color makes a return, while the Dark Gray turned into Graphite and the Pink Gold disappeared. In its place, Samsung offers a Navy version of the A9+ that looks quite nice.
As budget-friendly tablets, we don’t expect either of these to have flashy OLED panels or dynamic refresh rates. They both use economical TFT LCD technology, but the A9+ does so much better. The Tab A8’s display wasn’t exactly terrible, but you couldn’t ever shake the idea that it was cheap. Its colors washed out easily due to poor contrast, ran a bog-standard 60Hz refresh rate, and didn’t do well in sunlight.
The A9+ improves significantly in most instances, with a measured brightness of 450 nits and upward. That’s a big upgrade to the Tab A8’s roughly 330-nit measured peak and makes the A9+ a lot more usable in more settings.
The newer model also boasts a 90Hz refresh rate, although you can (and might even want to) lock it at 60Hz if you need longer battery life. It also reproduces colors surprisingly well, due largely to its 1400:1 contrast ratio. In the grand scheme of budget Android tablets, the A9+ is basically in line with its most similarly priced competitors.
Samsung’s 2022 entry-level tablet suited casual users but struggled under anything resembling a heavy load. As such, you could only get so much out of Samsung’s normally highly touted OneUI Android implementation. It couldn’t multitask well and didn’t make use of Samsung’s most helpful features on even a basic level.
That changes notably with the A9+, even though it obviously still won’t compete with the S series juggernauts. The overall experience comes off a ton smoother in every respect, and you’ll have a much better time running a far wider variety of apps. This also marks the first A series tablet with Samsung’s Dex technology support, which essentially lets you plug your tablet into a monitor and peripherals to turn it into a desktop Android PC.
The Tab A8 has begun receiving Android 14, and that will give it a bit of an efficiency and usability boost. But that marks its last Android update. By contrast, Samsung’s already promised to push four years of full updates to the A9+, theoretically ending up with Android 17.
That says a few things. One, Samsung is trusting that current hardware will last effectively for those four years. Two, it means the non-flagship SoC, RAM, and storage inside the A9+ could benefit from future OS optimizations like the tweaks Android 14 applies. And three, it opens the door for this entry-level tablet to potentially benefit from future novel features, as long as they don’t require powerful processing or can run on cloud hardware.
Behind the A9+’s better overall experience lies a midrange Snapdragon 695 system-on-a-chip. While nowhere near new, it runs circles around the Tab A8’s Unisoc T618, outperforming it by anywhere from 10 to 100%, depending on the benchmark. Coupled with the max 8GB of RAM, the A9+ shouldn’t have any problem running basic to moderately complex apps.
It also saw an upgrade from a UFS 2.1 storage controller to UFS 2.2, which enables a feature called WriteBooster that reduces app loading times and significantly improves cache speeds. In real-world usage, this should result in noticeably improved app loading and switching times, in addition to generally smoother operation.
The Tab A8, while OK for basic tasks, doesn’t come close to the long-term versatility the A9+ offers. The vastly improved performance also directly enables the Samsung Dex implementation, something the Tab A8 could never have dreamed of. The Snapdragon 695 SoC also allows for 5G connectivity (compared to the A8’s optional LTE), but that’s only available on the 4GB/64GB version of the A9+.
The Tab A8 boasted relatively great battery life for its day, but increasingly efficient chips made the battery life race heat up somewhat in the last couple of years. The A9+ sports an identical 7,040mAh battery to the A8, and its more efficient SoC means the battery should last at least as long, or longer (despite the much brighter screen).
While that is a win for the newer model, it’s a somewhat meager one, when other great budget Android tablets clock meaningfully better battery life numbers. Again, the A9+ doesn’t exactly stink here, but it could do better. Compounding that fact is the mere 15W charging rate — so take care to avoid getting charge anxiety, because there’s no way to quickly top off this low-cost slate if you unexpectedly get close to empty.
The Tab A8’s selfie camera worked fine, but its 8MP rear camera underwhelmed significantly. It suffered from slow processing due to inadequate hardware, and couldn’t reliably produce crisp images. It tended to oversaturate and barely worked in low-light conditions.
The newer one’s a bit better, with a still-passable selfie camera that’s OK for video calls. The rear camera performance improves somewhat, with a more dependable processing algorithm that delivers a smoother picture-taking experience, more consistently clear results, and more natural colors with better contrast.
But, let’s be real. Nobody buys a tablet for its cameras. Even a bargain-basement cheap Android phone takes pictures on par with an expensive tablet, on top of the worlds-ahead ergonomic experience. Taking photos with a tablet just feels awkward, so their cameras are only really worthwhile for quick reference images, a decently scanned document, or casual video calls.
The Galaxy Tab A9+ wins out over the Tab A8 in almost every way, and the Tab A8’s marginally smaller size barely makes a difference in reality (especially since the A9+ is lighter). Otherwise, the performance, display, software, and overall experience of Samsung’s latest cheap model marks a big step-up in entry-level Android tablets.
If you want the best of the new affordable options, get the A9+. And if anything about your older tablet has started to frustrate you a little, be confident that turning it in for the newer model will leave you satisfied.
If you currently use a Tab A8 and don’t have any complaints, you might not need to upgrade — even though you’d notice it if you did. After all, it runs Android 14, and plenty of people don’t use their tablet for more than basic browsing and watching their favorite shows. If you spend most of your tablet time on social media, the A8 should hold up for a while.
If you’re looking to buy a new one, it’s a different story. Most retailers list the Tab A8 for only $30-$50 less than the A9+, and it’s worth it if you can afford that difference. On the other hand, if you happen across a massive Tab A8 discount and don’t need the new firepower, it is worth considering. Just keep your expectations in check.
Maybe if we start telling people the brain is an app they will start using it!
