Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 Ultra review: A little too big, a little too expensive

For Samsung, larger is usually higher. The corporate led the way in which in popularizing the big smartphones most of us now use, so it’s no shock that it’s additionally made some shockingly massive tablets lately. On this yr’s Galaxy Tab S9 collection, there are 11- and 12.4-inch fashions that line up effectively with Apple’s two iPad Professionals. After which there’s the $1,200 Galaxy Tab S9 Extremely, a 14.6-inch behemoth that is nonetheless skinny and lightweight for its dimension.

Android tablets have lengthy been a troublesome promote, because of the truth that comparatively few builders trouble to optimize their apps for bigger screens. And tablets this massive usually are not precisely simple to carry, both. These information have been prime of thoughts as I attempted to determine who, if anybody, should purchase the S9 Extremely. Regardless of my skepticism, Samsung’s mammoth of a pill did handle to shock me with its utility in just a few particular instances.

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After I pulled the S9 Extremely out of its field, I used to be instantly struck by its svelte footprint – it’s solely 0.21 inches thick and weighs 1.6 kilos. In regular Samsung vogue, the pill feels impeccably stable and well-made. Positive, it is only a massive slab of glass and steel, however what can Samsung fairly be anticipated to do to innovate right here? The pill kind issue is fairly settled at this level. What’s most vital is that Samsung made the gadget so skinny with out it feeling fragile.

That is backed up by the S9 Extremely’s IP68 water- and dust-resistance certification; Samsung says that is its first Galaxy S pill with that ranking. It was a fairly large deal when firms began making waterproof telephones, but it surely feels so much much less needed right here. That stated, if you wish to watch motion pictures in your bathtub, you may really feel safe that you simply will not instantly destroy your pill if it takes a dip within the water with you.

The S9 Extremely is dominated by its enormous 14.6-inch AMOLED touchscreen. With a 2,960 x 1,848 decision and a 16:10 facet ratio, it’s nice for watching motion pictures however far too tall to comfortably use in portrait mode. That quibble apart, it seems excellent, with extraordinarily vibrant, vibrant colours and a refresh charge of as much as 120Hz. It additionally helps HDR10+, which may make watching motion pictures much more gorgeous. Samsung is well-known for its cell shows, and the one on the S9 Extremely is one other distinctive providing.

Samsung managed to suit wonderful audio system into the S9 Extremely as effectively, making it an ideal general choice for watching motion pictures and exhibits whilst you’re, for instance, sitting in isolation with Covid. I don’t know the way firms are capable of make such stable audio system in super-thin units, however I’m glad it’s changing into commonplace on higher-end tablets like this and the iPad Professional.

There are just a few different minor issues to notice concerning the S9 Extremely. You’ll discover a pair of front-facing cameras on the lengthy fringe of the show: one normal and one ultrawide, each with 12-megapixel sensors. There’s a tiny notch within the display to make room for them – it’s small, and I principally forgot about it, but it surely’s there. On the again are a 13-megapixel normal digicam and an 8-megapixel ultrawide choice. The entrance cameras labored effectively for a handful of Google Meet calls I took on the gadget, and the again ones are serviceable as effectively. However pill pictures is ridiculous, much more so with a tool this huge. As I at all times say, simply use the telephone in your pocket.

Additionally on the again is a magnetic strip that holds and costs the included S Pen stylus. It’s not probably the most intuitive place to retailer the S Pen, and it’s not the best goal to search out whenever you’re retrieving the pen or placing it again. However I acquired used to it fairly shortly and the stylus reliably stayed hooked up to the again of the S9 Extremely.

Pill mode

For the reason that S9 Extremely doesn’t include a keyboard case, I first got down to use the huge gadget as a pure pill. This… was not my favourite expertise. However first, some positives: the S9 Extremely’s display is excellent, as are the audio system, which made an ideal transportable movie show. And the S9 Extremely’s facet ratio meant most content material I watched crammed virtually your complete show.

The S9 Extremely is well-equipped for extra intense duties than watching motion pictures. its Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 processor (paired with 12GB of RAM on the mannequin I examined) is highly effective sufficient for mainly every thing I attempted. Operating Adobe Lightroom was a reasonably nice expertise, as there’s loads of room for the varied instruments on one facet and an enormous, detailed preview of every thing you’re doing on the opposite. Samsung doesn’t supply any battery life estimates, however I acquired effectively over 11 hours of use in pill mode, and the gadget lasted days on standby. Except you’re utilizing it for hours each single day, you received’t must cost it too typically.

One other use case for the S9 Extremely is as an artist’s canvas. The S Pen is a superb stylus, and Samsung has years of expertise tuning its efficiency. The S Pen is extremely responsive – the corporate says latency has been decreased to 2.8 milliseconds, and I actually felt no lag whereas testing it. I’m no visible artist, so I haven’t been capable of actually push the bounds of what the S Pen and varied Android software program can do, however the combo of a low-lag pen and the S9 Extremely’s large display make it a strong instrument for visible artists, offered yow will discover the suitable software program.

Sadly, the sheer dimension and width of the S9 Extremely means it wasn’t the perfect for different content material consumption. First off, the pill clearly wasn’t designed for use in portrait mode – it’s simply too tall. This can be a drawback I’ve discovered with different Android tablets that use related facet ratios, however most of these had smaller screens which are somewhat extra manageable. That’s not the case right here, and it simply feels downright odd to make use of – parts on the prime are too distant to comfortably work together with.

Issues are marginally higher in panorama mode, however the primary problem with the S9 Extremely is the truth that there nonetheless aren’t quite a lot of Android apps suited to such massive screens. Some apps (like Instagram) would solely open in portrait orientation, whereas others like Slack merely have an excessive amount of wasted white house. Google has performed an ideal job of creating its personal apps look fairly nice on tablets, and a handful of different key apps I exploit like Spotify and Todoist are additionally effectively tailored. However the S9 Extremely simply isn’t designed for issues most individuals use tablets for like shopping, messaging, sending emails, enjoying video games and so forth. If that’s what you’re occupied with, the 11-inch Galaxy Tab S9 will probably be a extra snug gadget to make use of that additionally prices much less. The S9 Extremely is proudly a distinct segment gadget and also you’ll need to know precisely how one can use it earlier than shopping for one.

Dex mode

My expertise with the S9 Extremely modified as soon as I paired it with Samsung’s $200 “E book Cowl Keyboard Slim” and a Bluetooth mouse and began operating the pill in Dex mode. This utterly modifications the interface from the touch-focused Android UI to one thing extra like Home windows or Chrome OS.

Dex mode jogged my memory quite a lot of utilizing a Chromebook. There’s a navigation bar on the backside that exhibits any open app, and you’ll pin issues there to get again to them shortly. As that is an Android pill, all the apps you could have entry to right here come from the Google Play Retailer or Samsung’s personal app retailer. Traditionally, the primary problem with Android tablets is how few Android apps are constructed to benefit from larger screens, and that’s nonetheless the case now.

However, since Dex helps you to resize any app, you can also make issues match correctly in home windows with out losing house. For instance, the Slack app nonetheless doesn’t have a left-hand sidebar on Android, in contrast to on desktop or iPadOS. That’s annoying, however at the least I could make Slack narrower, like a phone-sized app that doesn’t have a ton of wasted white house. And apps that do have multi-column interfaces, like mainly all of Google’s first-party software program, are downright nice to make use of.

My foremost grievance with the S9 Extremely in Dex mode is the truth that Chrome for Android is not fairly as succesful because the desktop model. That allows you to use extensions, has extra options and extra reliably renders websites the way in which you’d anticipate. Most issues render effectively, however you may additionally find yourself getting tossed right into a model of the positioning designed for cell phones, not enormous tablets. However one surprising vibrant spot was discovering that I may run the complete net model of Slack in Chrome, an expertise that is so much higher than utilizing the Android app.

Battery life is a bit worse in Dex mode, which wasn’t an enormous shock given what number of apps I used to be shortly leaping between. The pill lasted for round six hours after I was utilizing it as my full-time work gadget – not horrible, however worse than quite a lot of similarly-priced laptops.

Wrap-up

Regardless of the variety of intriguing use instances I discovered for the S9 Extremely, it’s a distinct segment gadget that received’t make sense for most individuals, largely due to the value. That’s not a foul factor; area of interest units exist for a cause, and a few individuals will probably be well-served by this large pill. However $1,200 for the S9 Extremely (plus $200 for the keyboard case, or $350 if you’d like an built-in trackpad) is a ton of cash to spend except you could have very particular concepts on the way you’ll use this pill. It doesn’t make sense for me, as I choose a smaller pill that I can simply use handheld after which drop right into a keyboard case for getting work performed. Nonetheless, for some, the combo of Dex mode, a keyboard and the S9 Extremely’s massive, stunning display would possibly make sense.

Most individuals could be higher off spending their cash on a distinct gadget, although. As impressed as I’m with Dex, you may simply get a laptop computer that may run way more software program for much less cash. And whereas I believe the iPad is a better option for most individuals searching for a pill, those that choose Android ought to think about Samsung’s personal 11- and 12.4-inch Galaxy Tab S9 and S9+, as they provide mainly the identical specs, high-quality design and wonderful screens for much less money. However should you’re occupied with having an enormous pill with an ideal stylus and stable productiveness chops, the S9 Extremely may be value opening your pockets for.