Home Tablet comparison Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 and Apple iPad Air 10.9" (4th Gen, 2020) - Which is better?

Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 vs Apple iPad Air 10.9" (4th Gen, 2020)

78 out 100
Samsung Galaxy Tab S9
VS
68 out 100
Apple iPad Air 10.9
Samsung Galaxy Tab S9
Apple iPad Air 10.9" (4th Gen, 2020)

Compared 2 smartphones : Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 Manufactured in August, 2023, with display 11 with chipsetQualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, vs Apple iPad Air 10.9" (4th Gen, 2020), Manufactured in October, 2020with chipsetApple A14 Bionic. Below are specs, tests, pros and cons for each device

  1. Differences
  2. Review
  3. Specs
  4. Benchmarks
  5. Battery Life
  6. Cameras
  7. Comments (0)

Key Differences

Device key advantages
Reasons to choose Samsung Galaxy Tab S9
  • Larger display: 11in
  • Higher pixel density: 274ppi
  • Higher refresh rate: 120Hz
  • Higher battery capacity: 8400mAh vs 7606mAh
  • Newer Bluetooth version: 5.3 vs 5
  • Supports newer USB: 3.2 vs 2
  • Supports DisplayPort
Reasons to choose Apple iPad Air 10.9" (4th Gen, 2020)
  • Lighter design: 458g vs 498g
  • Includes charger

Versions

Available versions and configurations
Memory Options - 8/128 GB
- 12/256 GB		 - 4/64 GB
- 4/256 GB

Review

Key Specs Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 and Apple iPad Air 10.9" (4th Gen, 2020)
Display
Color accuracy, sharpness & brightness
Camera
Main & front camera tests
Performance
App & system performance
Battery
Battery life, charging speed & type
Connectivity
Connectivity features
NanoReview Score
Overall score by NanoReview
Adjust each parameter’s importance to find the best match for you.
Customize your score
Function
Importance (Weight)
Display:
Camera:
Performance:
Gaming:
Battery:
Connectivity:
Higher weight means greater impact on NanoReview score.

Tests & specs

Specs & test comparison
Tablets:
Samsung Galaxy Tab S9
vs
iPad Air 10.9" (4th Gen, 2020)

Display

Display quality comparison
Type Dynamic AMOLED IPS LCD
Size 11 in 10.9 in
Resolution 1600x2560 pixels 1640x2360 pixels
Aspect ratio 16:10 3:2
Pixel density 274 ppi 264 ppi
Refresh rate 120 Hz 60 Hz
Adaptive refresh rate Yes (30-120 Hz) No
Max brightness 600 nits 500 nits
HDR support Yes HDR10+ No
Screen-to-body ratio 83.2 % 80.1 %
Features DCI-P3 DCI-P3
Display test
Peak brightness (auto)
Samsung Galaxy Tab S9
576 nits
Apple iPad Air 10.9" (4th Gen, 2020)
484 nits
sRGB gamut98.3 %99.3 %
PWM (Flicker)240 Hzn/a
Response time2 ms36 ms
Contrast∞ Infinite1305:1
Sources: NotebookCheck [Samsung Galaxy Tab S9], [Apple iPad Air 10.9" (4th Gen, 2020)]

Design & Build

Design and ergonomics comparison
Height 254.3 mm (10.01 in) 247.6 mm (9.75 in)
Width 165.8 mm (6.53 in) 178.5 mm (7.03 in)
Thickness 5.9 mm (0.23 in) 6.1 mm (0.24 in)
Weight 498 g (17.57 oz) 458 g (16.16 oz)
Area 422 cm² (65.41 in²) 442 cm² (68.51 in²)
Water resistance IP68 No
Back panel Metal Metal
Frame Metal Metal
Colors - Gray
- Yellow		 - Silver
- Gray
- Blue
- Green
- Rose Gold
Fingerprint sensor Yes In-Display Yes In-Button
Screen-to-body ratio
Samsung Galaxy Tab S9
83.2 %
Apple iPad Air 10.9" (4th Gen, 2020)
80.1 %

Performance

Testing Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 and Apple iPad Air 10.9" (4th Gen, 2020) In benchmarks
Processor
Chipset Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 Apple A14 Bionic
Max Frequency 3360 MHz 3000 MHz
CPU Cores 8 (1 + 2 + 2 + 3) 6 (2 + 4)
Architecture - 3/2 (Cortex-A510)
- 2/2.8 (Cortex-A710)
- 2/2.8 (Cortex-A715)
- 1/3.2 (Cortex-X3)		 - 4/1.8 (Icestorm)
- 2/3.1 (Firestorm)
Process TSMC TSMC
Transistor Size 4 nm 5 nm
Neural Processor Hexagon Apple Neural Engine
Graphics Adreno 740 Apple A14 GPU
GPU Cores 1536 256
GPU Frequency 680 MHz 1278 MHz
FLOPS 2089 GFLOPS 654.3 GFLOPS
GeekBench v6
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
Samsung Galaxy Tab S9
2117
Apple iPad Air 10.9" (4th Gen, 2020)
2161
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
Samsung Galaxy Tab S9
5694
Apple iPad Air 10.9" (4th Gen, 2020)
5121
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)21172161
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)56945121
Geekbench Compute (GPU)9817n/a
Sources: Geekbench v6 [Samsung Galaxy Tab S9], [Apple iPad Air 10.9" (4th Gen, 2020)]
AnTuTu 10
AnTuTu 10
Samsung Galaxy Tab S9
1587640
Apple iPad Air 10.9" (4th Gen, 2020)
1049395
CPU405220314838
GPU623979370516
Memory291683154798
UX266758209243
NanoReview Score15876401049395
3DMark Wild Life
3DMark Wild Life
Samsung Galaxy Tab S9
13828
Apple iPad Air 10.9" (4th Gen, 2020)
8602
Max Surface Temp.n/a37.6 °C
Stabilityn/a94 %
Graphics Testn/a51 fps
Graphics Scoren/a8602
Sources: 3DMark [Samsung Galaxy Tab S9], [Apple iPad Air 10.9" (4th Gen, 2020)]

Memory

RAM
RAM Size 8 GB 4 GB
Memory Type LPDDR5X LPDDR4X
Memory Frequency 4200 MHz 2133 MHz
Channels 4 2
Storage
Storage Capacity128 GB64 GB
Storage TypeUFS 4.0NVMe
Memory CardMicroSDNo

Software

OS Android 13 (Upgradeable to Android 14) iPadOS 14.1 (Upgradeable to iPadOS 18.3)
OS Size 40 GB n/a
UI Skin One UI 6.1 n/a

Battery

Volume 8400 mAh 7606 mAh
Max Charging Power 45 W 30 W
Battery Type Li-ion Li-ion
Removable No No
Wireless Charging No No
Reverse Charging No No
Fast Charging Yes (50% in 40 min) Yes (50% in 60 min)
Full Charge Time 1:30 h 2:10 h
Battery Life Test
Battery Life
Samsung Galaxy Tab S9
25:40
Apple iPad Air 10.9" (4th Gen, 2020)
27:28
Web Browsing09:30 h09:35 h
Video Playback14:51 h13:46 h
Games06:37 h06:51 h
Standby Mode132 h158 h

Main camera

Matrix 13 MP 12 MP
Photo resolution 4128x3096 pixels 4032x3024 pixels
Flash LED No
Stabilization Digital Digital
8K Recording No No
4K Recording Yes (Up to 30 fps) Yes (Up to 60 fps)
1080p Recording Yes (Up to 60 fps) Yes (Up to 60 fps)
Slow Motion n/a 240 fps (1080p)
Lenses count Standard: 13 MP Standard: 12 MP
Features Bokeh effect
Main lens
Matrix13 MP12 MP
Aperturef/2.0f/1.8
Focal length26 mmn/a
Sensor sizen/a1/3.0"
AutofocusPhase autofocusPhase autofocus (Dual Pixel)
StabilizationDigitalDigital

Front camera

Matrix 12 MP 7 MP
Matrix 4000x3000 pixels 3472x2063 pixels
Aperture f/2.4 f/2.0
Focal length n/a 31 mm
Autofocus No No
Stabilization Digital Digital
Video resolution 2160p (4K) at 30 fps 1080p (Full HD) at 60 fps
TOF 3D sensor No No

Connectivity

Wi-Fi version Wi-Fi 6E (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax) Wi-Fi 6 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax)
Wi-Fi features - Dual Band
- Wi-Fi MiMO
- Wi-Fi Direct
- Wi-Fi Hotspot
- Wi-Fi Display		 - Dual Band
- Wi-Fi MiMO
- Wi-Fi Direct
- Wi-Fi Hotspot
- Wi-Fi Display
Bluetooth version 5.3 5
Bluetooth features LE LE
USB type USB Type-C USB Type-C
USB version 3.2 2
USB features - Charging
- USB Storage Mode
- OTG		 - Charging
- USB Storage Mode
- OTG
DisplayPort Yes No
GPS - GPS
- GLONASS
- Beidou
- Galileo
- QZSS		 - GPS
- GLONASS
NFC* No No
Infrared Port No No
Connectivity
SIM Count*11
SIM TypeNanoNano
eSIM Support *NoNo
Hybrid SlotNoNo
2G BandsGSM850, GSM900, DCS1800, PCS1900GSM/EDGE 850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz
3G BandsUMTS B1(2100), B2(1900), B4(AWS), B5(850), B8(900)UMTS/HSPA/HSPA+/DC-HSDPA (850, 900, 1700/2100, 1900, 2100 MHz
LTE Bands*LTE (B1/B2/B3/B4/B5/B7/B8/B12/B13/B17/B20/B25/B26/B28/B32/B38/B40/B41/B66)LTE (B1/B2/B3/B4/B5/B7/B8/B11/B12/B13/B14/B17/B18/B19/B20/B21/B25/B26/B29/B30/B34/B38/B39/B40/B41/B46/B48/B66/B71)
5G SupportYesNo

Sound

Speakers 4.0 Stereo
3.5 mm Jack No No
FM Radio No No
Dolby Atmos Yes Yes
Speaker Test
Max Volume
Samsung Galaxy Tab S9
89 dB
Apple iPad Air 10.9" (4th Gen, 2020)
86.3 dB

Other

Class Flagship Flagship
Announced July, 2023 yr September, 2020 yr
Release Date August, 2023 yr October, 2020 yr
Launch Price ($) 799 599
Sensors - Hall Sensor
- Proximity Sensor
- Gyroscope
- Accelerometer
- Ambient Light Sensor
- Compass
- Fingerprint sensor		 - Barometer
- Gyroscope
- Accelerometer
- Ambient Light Sensor
- Compass
- Fingerprint sensor
Charger Included No Yes 20 W
* Attention! Config, frequencies, NFC, and other specs may vary by region.

Results

After analyzing the data, we consider Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 the clear winner in this comparison.

Survey

Which tablet would you pick?
3 (75%)
1 (25%)
Total Votes: 4

User comments

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