Samsung gave some meaningful upgrades to the Galaxy Tab S9 series. But an Android tablet is only as good as the software it serves, yet One UI seems ignorant.
This story is part of our Samsung Galaxy Unpacked 2023 coverage “Android tablets are a lost cause.” I come across this recurring theme more often than I would like, but there’s some truth to it. As someone who pushes Android tablets as a daily workhorse, I’ve defended on numerous occasions how the ecosystem has matured over the past few years after Android 12L and foldable arrived on the scene.
Related The Galaxy Tab S9 series makes a leap On the surface, the Galaxy Tab S9 series looks like a modest upgrade, but even at that, the changes run deeper than a typical generation-over-generation upgrade for an iPad. Even the cheapest model now features an AMOLED display with a dynamic 120Hz refresh rate. For comparison, the 11-inch iPad Pro still has an LCD screen for $799.
The battery size has also gone up, which is always a welcome change. Overall, it looks like Samsung spared no expense under the hood while designing the Galaxy Tab S9 series. In fact, if one were to do a side-by-side hardware comparison, the Galaxy Tab S9 just might look like the better deal for $799 compared to Apple’s current iPad Pro. But I’m pretty skeptical about the whole situation here.
And yet, Samsung appeared worryingly distant from discussing its One UI 5.1 software. That’s because there don’t seem to be any new noteworthy additions. Even Samsung’s experience guide handed out to media personnel propped up features that are already available on the Galaxy Tab S8 series, such as multi-window and pop-up view for running multiple apps, DeX mode, multi-control, quick share, and secondary screen support.
For another year, the onus is on Samsung to redeem Android tablets as a standalone category of large-screen productivity machines, and the Galaxy Tab S9 is the test bed. A healthy bunch of my colleagues balks at the idea of One UI being a part of their daily smartphone routine, and for valid reasons. I, for one, have remained a One UI enthusiast for the tablet experience.
Hope ahead, but history speaks for itself Android 14’s biggest focus seems to be on apps scaling nicely across the large screens on tablets and foldables. Once again, I am skeptically hopeful. But even if it happens, that experience will only arrive on Android tablets by the end of this year or the next. Crucially, this would still mean Google is still playing a game of catch-up with iPadOS and not leading ahead.
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