For a couple of mid-range tablets that look set to be released unusually quickly after their high-end siblings, the Galaxy Tab S9 FE and Tab S9 FE Plus have sure made a lot of headlines lately, strutting a surprisingly premium design in plain view on Samsung's official website following many interesting revelations from a bunch of reliable tipsters and well-connected insiders.
One such source is back today to fill in most of the remaining blanks as far as the two upcoming giants' spec sheets are concerned, as well as to offer us yet another high-quality look (or two) at the external appearance of the next two inexpensive members of the Galaxy Tab family.
There's both good and bad news to report here
Assuming that everything Roland Quandt has included in his latest comprehensive WinFuture story (translated here from German) is accurate, which is almost always the case, we're delighted to tell you that the Tab S9 FE and Tab S9 FE+ will borrow their IP68 water and dust resistance from the Tab S9 and Tab S9+ and sad, nay, baffled by the smaller model's possible lack of stylus support.
That's right, it appears that the 12.4-inch Galaxy Tab S9 FE Plus will come with a built-in S Pen while the 10.9-inch Tab S9 Fan Edition is expected to not offer that commodity for some reason. That's an especially odd and surprising omission if we remember that the non-Plus Galaxy Tab S7 FE did feature a handy stylus back in 2021.
This is the non-S Pen-supporting Tab S9 FE.
Then again, that was a 12.4-inch giant without a bigger brother, and it seems that the S Pen is one of the ways Samsung plans to make the Tab S9 FE+ stand out from the more compact Tab S9 FE. The biggest difference, of course, will remain the screen size, with the screen resolution and technology making it easy for prospective buyers to distinguish between these Fan Edition variants and their higher-end relatives.
Both the Tab S9 FE and Tab S9 FE+ are firmly tipped to settle for LCD panels instead of super-premium AMOLEDs, with their pixel counts likely to be (slightly) reduced compared to the Tab S9 and Tab S9 Plus, at 2304 x 1440 and 2560 x 1600 respectively.
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That's definitely not bad for two new contenders for the title of best budget tablet in the world right now, especially with 90Hz refresh rate technology also purportedly supported by the Galaxy Tab S9 FE and either 90 or 120Hz presumably enabled on the Tab S9 FE Plus, up from the 60Hz-limited Tab S7 FE.
More positives and negatives
Just in case it wasn't abundantly clear from both the new and old product images leaked by multiple sources and publications, the Galaxy Tab S9 FE and Tab S9 FE Plus will be made from shiny and robust metal exactly like the Tab S9 and Tab S9 Plus. But the Fan Edition models are expected to come in a little heavier, at 524 and 628 grams respectively.
Once again, that's certainly not bad considering the places the two new Android-based giants are likely to occupy on Samsung's totem pole, as well as their undeniably hefty 8,000 and 10,090mAh batteries respectively.
This is the dual rear camera-packing Tab S9 FE Plus.
A Samsung-made Exynos 1380 processor is also virtually guaranteed to reside under that aluminum hood, providing a nice raw power upgrade over the Snapdragon 778 chipset inside the Galaxy Tab S7 FE while obviously paling in comparison with the state-of-the-art Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 on the Tab S9 and Tab S9 Plus.
As previously rumored, the Galaxy Tab S9 FE should start at around €530 in Europe with 6GB RAM and 128GB internal storage space, while the entry-level Tab S9 FE+ configuration is likely to cost €700 on the old continent with two extra gigs of memory and the same local digital hoarding room.
Other variants are of course also coming in a few weeks, offering 8GB RAM and 256GB storage as far as the Tab S9 FE is concerned and up to 12 gigs of memory on the Tab S9 FE Plus. Optional 5G connectivity (at an obvious cost) is in the pipeline as well, while one final difference worth mentioning will apparently see the Plus model house two 8MP cameras on its back instead of just one, with a single 12MP shooter found on the front of both the Tab S9 FE and Tab S9 FE+.
That feels pretty much like everything you need to know about these bad boys ahead of their formal announcement, which is likely to take place very soon alongside the official Galaxy S23 FE and Galaxy Buds FE launches.
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Adrian, a mobile technology enthusiast since the Nokia 3310 era, has been a dynamic presence in the tech journalism field, contributing to Android Authority, Digital Trends, and Pocketnow before joining PhoneArena in 2018. His expertise spans across various platforms, with a particular fondness for the diversity of the Android ecosystem. Despite the challenges of balancing full-time parenthood with his work, Adrian's passion for tech trends, running, and movies keeps him energized. His commitment to mid-range smartphones has led to an eclectic collection of devices, saved from personal bankruptcy by his preference for 'adequate' over 'overpriced'.
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