Samsung Galaxy Tab A9+ is a surprisingly capable budget tablet

If you haven’t tried Samsung DeX before, it’s worth checking out.

Samsung DeX turns certain Samsung phones and tablets into a desktop-style experience, giving you a more computer-like way to use your device with a keyboard, mouse, and larger screen. It’s one of those features that many people don’t realise can be genuinely useful until they try it.

Samsung DeX gives your phone or tablet a desktop-like interface, with app windows, a taskbar, and a layout that feels much closer to using a computer.

For example, I plugged my Galaxy S23 Ultra directly into a USB-C monitor, and it launched Samsung DeX automatically. If your monitor only supports HDMI, you can usually use a USB-C to HDMI cable to get the same result.

Once you connect a Bluetooth keyboard and mouse, you can start using apps on a big screen in a much more comfortable way.

It’s a really nice setup if you want to do light work, browse the web, reply to messages, or just use your phone in a more desktop-like format.

Samsung DeX is useful, but it does have limitations.

The big one I pointed out is that apps still behave like mobile apps in many cases. For example, Chrome is still just one app window in Samsung DeX. You can open multiple tabs, but you can’t open multiple separate Chrome windows the way you would on a full desktop computer.

So DeX is best thought of as a computer-like experience, not a full replacement for a traditional PC.

That said, for many everyday tasks, it’s still surprisingly capable.

This is where things get interesting.

On higher-end Samsung devices, the DeX experience is better. My Galaxy S23 Ultra can run DeX on an external monitor, and my Galaxy Tab S7 FE can do that too.

But on the Galaxy Tab A9+, Samsung has included a lighter version of DeX.

You still get the desktop-style interface on the tablet itself, which is great. You can move between windows more easily, use the bottom taskbar, check notifications, and change quick settings in a much cleaner way.

That might sound minor, but it actually makes a difference. Without DeX, doing simple things like pulling down the notification shade with a mouse can feel awkward and clunky. The DeX layout makes the tablet much nicer to use.

My guess is that Samsung has limited this because the processor in the Tab A9+ is not as powerful as the one in higher-end S series tablets. Even so, I still think it’s good to see Samsung bringing a lighter version of DeX to a more affordable tablet.

What impressed me most about the Galaxy Tab A9+ is that it still includes several features people often associate with Samsung’s higher-end tablets.

For example:

If you use the same Samsung account across your phone and tablet, you can enable Call and text on other devices in the settings. That means your tablet can handle phone calls and texts in a way that feels much more connected to your Samsung ecosystem.

If you’re using Samsung Galaxy Buds, they can switch between your phone and tablet more seamlessly. Again, this is one of those ecosystem features that makes the whole setup feel more premium.

These are the kinds of conveniences that make a mid-range device feel more high-end in daily use.

I think the Galaxy Tab A9+ is a very solid choice if you’re looking for an affordable Android tablet.

It gives you more of the Samsung experience than you might expect at this price point. You still get useful ecosystem features, a nice design, a good screen, and even a lighter version of Samsung DeX.

For a budget-friendly tablet, it does a lot right.

If you want an affordable Samsung tablet that feels more premium than you’d expect, this one is definitely worth a look.