Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 vs Apple iPad Air 13-inch (M3, 2025) Specs Comparison

Availability

Officially announced
Jul 26, 2023	Mar 04, 2025
Prices (MSRP)
8GB/128GB - $800	8GB/128GB - €950

Design

Dimensions
10.01 x 6.53 x 0.23 inches 254.3 x 165.8 x 5.9 mm	11.05 x 8.46 x 0.24 inches 280.6 x 214.9 x 6.1 mm
Weight
17.57 oz / 498.0 g	21.76 oz / 617.0 g
Materials
Back: Aluminum Frame: Aluminum	Back: Aluminum Frame: Aluminum
Resistance
Yes; IP68
Biometrics
Fingerprint (touch)	Fingerprint (touch)
Colors
Beige, Graphite	Space Gray, Starlight, Purple, Blue

Display

Size
11.0-inch, 83.20% screen-to-body	13.0-inch, 86.76% screen-to-body
Type
Dynamic AMOLED, 120Hz, HDR	IPS LCD, 60Hz, 600 nits
Resolution
2560x1600px, 16:10 ratio, 274 PPI	2732x2048px, 4:3 ratio, 263 PPI
Protection
Corning Gorilla Glass 5
Features
HDR support, Scratch-resistant glass, Ambient light sensor

PhoneArena Display Test

Bright Max (20% APL)
Untested	Untested
Bright Min
1.6 (Good)	Untested

Learn more on our PhoneArena Display Test Results page.

Hardware

System chip
Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 SM8550-AC (4 nm)	Apple M3
Processor
Octa-core 1x3.36GHz Cortex-X3 2x2.8GH​z Cortex-A715 2x2.8​GHz Cortex-A710 3x2.0​GHz Cortex-A510	Octa-core
GPU
Adreno 740	Apple GPU 9-core
Memory
8GB/128GB (UFS) 12GB/256GB	8GB/128GB 8GB/256GB 8GB/512GB 8GB/1024GB
Storage expansion
microSDXC up to 1024 GB	not expandable
OS
Android (14, 13)	iPadOS (18.x)

PhoneArena Performance Test

GeekBench 6 Single
2128	Untested
GeekBench 6 Multi
5657	Untested
3D Mark High
3853	Untested
3D Mark Low
3033	Untested

Learn more on our PhoneArena Performance Test Results page.

Battery

Type
8400 mAh, Li - Polymer	9705 mAh
Charge speed
Wired: 45.0W

PhoneArena Battery Tests

Battery Life Estimate

Untested

Browsing

8h 6min

Video

6h 25min

Gaming

Untested

Battery Life Estimate

Untested

Browsing

Untested

Video

Untested

Gaming

Untested

Learn more on our PhoneArena Battery Test Results page

Camera

Rear
Single camera	Single camera
Main camera
13 MP (Autofocus) Aperture size: F2.0 Focal length: 26 mm Sensor size: 1/3.4" Pixel size: 1.0 μm	12 MP Aperture size: F1.8 Sensor size: 1/3" Pixel size: 1.22 μm
Flash
LED
Video recording
4K UHD (30 fps), 1080p (30 fps)	4K UHD (60 fps)
Front
12 MP Video capture: 4K UHD (30 fps)	12 MP Video capture: 1080p

Connectivity & Features

Bluetooth
5.3	5.3
WLAN
a,b,g,n,ac,Wi-Fi 6,Wi-Fi 6E Wi-Fi Direct 802.11 a, b, g, n, ac, ax	a,b,g,n,ac,Wi-Fi 6,Wi-Fi 6E Wi-Fi Direct 802.11 a, b, g, n, ac, ax
USB
Type-C	Type-C, USB 3.1
Sensors
Accelerometer, Ambient light sensor	Accelerometer, Gyroscope, Compass, Barometer, Ambient light sensor
Location
GPS, Glonass, Galileo, BeiDou	GPS, A-GPS, Glonass
Other
Tethering, Computer sync, OTA sync	Tethering, Computer sync, OTA sync

Multimedia

Headphones
No 3.5mm jack	No 3.5mm jack
Speakers
Multiple speakers	Multiple speakers
Features
Dolby Atmos, Album art cover, Background playback	Album art cover, Background playback

Cellular

5G Bands
n1, n3, n5, n7, n8, n20, n28, n38, n40, n41, n66, n77, n78	5G Ready
4G (FDD) Bands
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 12, 13, 17, 20, 25, 26, 28, 32, 66
4G (TDD) Bands
38, 40, 41
3G Bands
1, 2, 5, 8
Data Speed
LTE-A, HSDPA+ (4G) 42.2 Mbit/s	LTE-A, HSDPA+ (4G) 42.2 Mbit/s
SIM type
Nano SIM, eSIM	eSIM

Alternative variants

With 12GB RAM and 256GB internal storage

Memory	12GB/256GB

Wi-Fi Only

With 256GB internal storage

Memory	256GB
Prices (MSRP)	€1080

With 512GB internal storage

Memory	512GB
Prices (MSRP)	€1329

With 1TB internal storage

Memory	1024GB
Prices (MSRP)	€1579

Discover more

Full Specs Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 Specs PA Review Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 Review

Full Specs Apple iPad Air 13-inch (M3, 2025) Specs PA Review Apple iPad Air 13-inch (M3, 2025) Review