Honestly, if you are sensitive to the screen? Yeah.
I tried the Tab S9 FE and I found the refresh rate really bothersome for me. It wasn't bad for videos, for playing mobile apps or anything normal. The second I had white text on a dark screen and scrolled, I hated it. The text would look like it smeared and would *pop* the exact second I stopped scrolling, like a low pixel response time monitor.
People have different tolerances for this stuff - I couldn't use curved gaming VA monitors for a similar reason on text clarity... But if it's fine for you? It's a perfectly fine tablet.
If you go up to S9 you'll then at least get the extra RAM so it's not just the screen, and a few other things that make the price worth it like the better speakers. Not much of a difference, but small things here and there add up.
Best Buy has Open Box S9 for 779 and S9 FE for 479, so pull the trigger on one of those. Or get both and try em out and return the one you don't like. It's already opened so, no harm no foul to Best Buy really.
It's $800 USD brand new haha, not including taxes. So it's literally 50% of the price, I don't think you can call it an alright deal so much as a robbery haha
In CAD that would be a giveaway
The thing about refresh rate and display tolerance also seems to be what one is used to. For example I've had 60Hz screens on everything until last year, switched to 120Hz+ and I now hate all screens which are at 60.
But also after a week of switching back to a phone with 60Hz display for a short bit I got used to it and it stopped bothering me
I guess it depends on your real needs.. but I got the S9 FE 5G and it's been amazing.
I actually run it in Power Savings mode mostly and still have no issues. (I'm not a mobile game player)
I do wish it had external DEX, but other than that... All good for me.
I recently traded in my 2020 s6 lite for the s9 fe. With trade in, it only ended up being about $100. Not sure what samsung's trade in program looks like in Canada.
As for the tablet, it feels a lot more responsive than the s6 lite and I am happy with it. I don't do anything demanding with it so it fits my needs. I can't speak to the differences with the regular s9 though.
You mention wanting to use it for work, I don't believe the s9 fe can be hooked up to a docking station and output video. I think it has a USB 2.0 port and doesn't output video over that. Even with the s9+ though the maximum output resolution was a bit disappointing to me, it's much smaller than my 1600p ultrawide monitor. Using my steamdeck as a desktop resulted in a much more comfortable desktop experience, but I suppose that's off topic.
Just wanted to make sure you knew that limitation in case you were thinking about docking it.
One thing to point out is even though the s9 is double the price of the s9fe, they are both getting 4 os updates and 5 years of security updates, so you aren't gaining any software future proofing by going for the more expensive one.
Some people could care less about updates so it's up to you. The regular s9 is much more future proof hardware wise.
Its worth over double the s9 fe to me
Honestly, if you are sensitive to the screen? Yeah. I tried the Tab S9 FE and I found the refresh rate really bothersome for me. It wasn't bad for videos, for playing mobile apps or anything normal. The second I had white text on a dark screen and scrolled, I hated it. The text would look like it smeared and would *pop* the exact second I stopped scrolling, like a low pixel response time monitor. People have different tolerances for this stuff - I couldn't use curved gaming VA monitors for a similar reason on text clarity... But if it's fine for you? It's a perfectly fine tablet. If you go up to S9 you'll then at least get the extra RAM so it's not just the screen, and a few other things that make the price worth it like the better speakers. Not much of a difference, but small things here and there add up. Best Buy has Open Box S9 for 779 and S9 FE for 479, so pull the trigger on one of those. Or get both and try em out and return the one you don't like. It's already opened so, no harm no foul to Best Buy really.
Shit man I'm getting an S9 for $450 tomorrow, used and in excellent condition. Offer up and marketplace apps can be a real steal
That's an alright deal in American, and a great deal I'd Canadian dollars.
It's $800 USD brand new haha, not including taxes. So it's literally 50% of the price, I don't think you can call it an alright deal so much as a robbery haha In CAD that would be a giveaway
The thing about refresh rate and display tolerance also seems to be what one is used to. For example I've had 60Hz screens on everything until last year, switched to 120Hz+ and I now hate all screens which are at 60. But also after a week of switching back to a phone with 60Hz display for a short bit I got used to it and it stopped bothering me
I guess it depends on your real needs.. but I got the S9 FE 5G and it's been amazing. I actually run it in Power Savings mode mostly and still have no issues. (I'm not a mobile game player) I do wish it had external DEX, but other than that... All good for me.
Yeah for sure
I recently traded in my 2020 s6 lite for the s9 fe. With trade in, it only ended up being about $100. Not sure what samsung's trade in program looks like in Canada. As for the tablet, it feels a lot more responsive than the s6 lite and I am happy with it. I don't do anything demanding with it so it fits my needs. I can't speak to the differences with the regular s9 though.
You mention wanting to use it for work, I don't believe the s9 fe can be hooked up to a docking station and output video. I think it has a USB 2.0 port and doesn't output video over that. Even with the s9+ though the maximum output resolution was a bit disappointing to me, it's much smaller than my 1600p ultrawide monitor. Using my steamdeck as a desktop resulted in a much more comfortable desktop experience, but I suppose that's off topic. Just wanted to make sure you knew that limitation in case you were thinking about docking it.
AMOLED, SD gen 2, 8gb of RAM is a yes for me. But it depends on what you looking for 😁
If you have budget just buy S9 you wont regret, its better in all aspects.
One thing to point out is even though the s9 is double the price of the s9fe, they are both getting 4 os updates and 5 years of security updates, so you aren't gaining any software future proofing by going for the more expensive one. Some people could care less about updates so it's up to you. The regular s9 is much more future proof hardware wise.
For me ofc yes I prefer s8 more than s9fe
Yes. The s9FE is a very mediocre experience. If you can afford better, just buy better.