The Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 is one of the best tablets you can buy today, so we’re excited to see renders of its rumored successor surface. Dubbed the Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 Plus, at least going by this rumor, this tablet could come with notable camera upgrades over its predecessor.
Before we detail what’s changed with the rumored Tab S9 Plus, let’s get the obvious out of the way. Yes, the Tab S9 Plus does look a whole lot like the Tab S8 Plus. If the leaked CAD-based renders shared by OnLeaks (via WolfofTablet) are authentic, the Tab S9 Plus will be similarly sized to the Tab S8 Plus.
As you can see from the renders, the same svelte design of the Tab S8 Plus is retained, with relatively slim bezels and somewhat matte aluminum chassis.
There's no sign of the magnetic strip the Tab 8 had in these renders. So either it's been removed by Samsung or simply missed out in this case.
But going by these renders expect the 12.4-inch OLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate to still feature. And the dimensions of 285 x 185 x 5.7 mm 11.2 x 7.2 x 0.2 inches could be kept as well. Given we liked the Galaxy Tab 8 series, this is no bad thing.
However, the most interesting bit is how the groove for the S Pen on the back of the Tab 9 Plus looks to be further apart from the cameras, which drops the pill-shaped module of the Tab S8 Plus in favour of two separate cameras.
Given these cameras look very similar to those found on the Galaxy S23 and Galaxy S23 Ultra, we could posit that the Tab S9 Plus will come with the upgraded cameras seen on two of the best Android phones.
Now we don't advocate taking photos with tablets, but for augmented reality apps and other creative tools, improved cameras could be a boon. The Galaxy S23 cameras comprise a 50MP augmented by a 12MP ultrawide shooter and a 10MP telephoto lens.
While we don't expect the Tab S9 Plus to have the telephoto camera, if it got the other two snappers it would have a big upgrade on the 13MP main and 6MP ultra-wide cameras of the Tab S8 Plus. For people working on AR apps or working on digital art that combines real-world images, then such a camera upgrade is intriguing; but do bear in mind we're speculating here.
Other potential Galaxy Tab S9 Plus upgrades
When it comes to under the hood improvements, the Tab S9 Plus will likely feature the same Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chip as seen in the Galaxy S23. That chipset offers impressive flagship-grade performance and we'd expect the same for the Tab S9 Plus, only with potential for better heat dispersion meaning higher performance for longer.
Another potential key upgrade is better dust and water protection. The Tab S9 Plus is said to boast a respectable IP67 waterproof rating, which will make it considerably more durable than its predecessor, which had no such rating.
While we’ll have to wait for official confirmation from Samsung on all of the above, we expect the Tab S9 Plus will launch alongside the Galaxy Z Flip 5 and Galaxy Z Fold 5 later this year.
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