Samsung S9 Tablet
King of the Android Tablets
There is an idea I have been kicking around for some time. It is the hypothesis that a robust tablet is good enough to meet all your computer needs. That's right, a cell phone and a tablet, that's all of it. Well almost.
The tablet would need some accessories. The fun in this approach is its flexibility. You can add accessories to dress the tablet as a laptop and you can add accessories to dress the tablet as a desktop. One is not dependent on the other and they don't have to be the same solution. And if you are budget constrained, it can be built over time.
I believe Samsung and Apple are giving this idea some serious consideration.
To make this work, the tablet has to have enough processing power to run desktop apps. And to be able to dissipate heat to prevent CPU throttling. It's incredibly frustrating to see your system's performance plummet as the processor overheats.
The Samsung S9 Tablet is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 processor, which has been overclocked by Qualcomm for more power. This is the same processor that Samsung uses in its new smartphones, including the new Galaxy Z Fold 5 and Galaxy Z Flip 5. Samsung notes in the announcement that the tablet's design is intended to keep the processor cool, which will help to prevent throttling. Although we could debate specific performance parameters, it is capable of running desktop apps in addition to playing games.
A quick sidebar about gaming. The world of gaming is changing with services like Steam, Microsoft xBox Live, and NVIDIA geForce Now. These services perform the heavy lifting online which means all that is really required is a solid internet connection and a display which scales up to 120 hz. The S9 tablets are capable of this.
The S9 Ultra has the most muscle of the three products. The 14.6 inch screen may be large by tablet standards, but fits right in as a laptop. The device can be purchased with up to 16 GB of RAM and 1 TB of storage. This easily completes in the desktop category.
Add the book cover keyboard accessory which includes a trackpad and you now have two devices, a tablet and a laptop. Add the new 5K ViewFinity S9 Display and a high speed USB C hub to get three devices: tablet, laptop, and desktop.
Secrets in The Code
Source: GM
Having a Corvette with an empty fuel tank will get you nowhere fast and the same is true for the S9. Samsung has created an Android extension called DeX to make sure desktop apps perform as desired. And yes, DeX also works on Samsung smart phones. Ok then, why do I need a tablet? The phone solution works to satisfy the desktop scenario, but fails when you are on the go and need a larger screen. Devil's advocate - what if your phone is the Galaxy Z Fold 5? Save your money and buy the tablet.
Conclusion
Source: Samsung
This is not Instantgram and it's time to turn the filters off. As good as DeX is, applications will still need to be tested to ensure they work in this environment. Ideally Google developers will update their apps so they present well on a tablet. To reassure potential customers on its capabilities, the Unpacked announcement shows the S9 running resource hungry apps like the LumaFusion and ArcSite. But, will the S9 run DaVinci Resolve and AutoCAD?
There is an argument to be made that a tablet with the required accessories is too expensive. The truth is the tablet laptop alternative may be more expensive than a similarly equipped laptop, but it’s less than purchasing the tablet and the laptop. The same is true for the desktop scenario.
The writing appears to be on the wall as manufacturers continue to evolve tablets. It is rumored Apple will release new iPads with the latest high performance M3 processor early next year.
Initial impressions suggest the Samsung S9 is a worthy successor to the popular S8 tablet and worth taking a closer look at. And if you want more or different, add an accessory or two.
