Shortly after the launch of the Galaxy Tab S9 series flagship tablets, Samsung is preparing to unveil a couple of FE (Fan Edition) models under the same lineup. The Galaxy Tab S9 FE and Galaxy Tab S9 FE+ will arrive soon with fewer premium features than the flagship trio. While upcoming models will be more affordable, don’t expect a massive price cut. Leaked prices of the two FE tablets suggest Samsung would price them quite high.
Both Galaxy Tab S9 FE and Galaxy Tab S9 FE+ were recently spotted in a retailer listing in Europe. The listing says the 11-inch standard model with 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage will cost €549.99 (approx. $595) in the region. The Plus model, which features a bigger 12.4-inch display, will cost €749.99 (approx. $810) for the 8GB of RAM and 128GB storage variant. It’s unclear which European country these alleged prices are from. Local taxes may affect the prices in other countries.
Nonetheless, based on this pricing structure, the Galaxy Tab S9 FE and Galaxy Tab S9 FE+ won’t be budget tablets. We previously learned the alleged prices of the duo for India, and it was a similar story. A couple of sources said that Samsung would price them upwards of ₹63,000 in the country, which is well over $700 at the current exchange rate. For a quick recap, the flagship Galaxy Tab S9 series starts at $799/€899/₹73,000. The Galaxy Tab S7 FE, which was the last FE tablet from Samsung, started at $529.
The Galaxy Tab S9 FE series will be powered by a mid-range Exynos chipset
The pricing structure of the Galaxy Tab S9 FE is of massive interest because these tablets aren’t flagship offerings from Samsung. Both models will use the company’s in-house Exynos 1380 chipset, the same 5nm chip found inside the Galaxy A54 5G. It’s nowhere near as powerful as the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 “for Galaxy” found inside the flagship lineup.
The processor isn’t the only downgrade, unfortunately. Samsung will reportedly equip the FE models with LCD screens instead of Dynamic AMOLED 2X displays. This means no under-display fingerprint scanner either. The Korean firm is using a side-mounted scanner. You can read our Galaxy Tab S9 FE Preview for everything we know about the tablets so far.
As far as the launch is concerned, some rumors said Samsung will unveil the new FE tablets in September. However, that doesn’t seem to be happening if the latest rumor is accurate. The Korean firm reportedly plans to launch its 2023 FE lineup, which also includes the Galaxy S23 FE, in Q4, i.e. between October and December. We should have a confirmation soon.
2023-09-05 15:08:16