yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 series] sunking101:
Yeah... but notetaking.

How much notetaking could you do on an S7?

15 hours? Your screenshot doesn't show your battery percentage...

There is a silence amongst most of the reviewers on battery life. We just get that it's "good" or "will last a couple of days" which is of course useless info. Only a couple of tech sites have actually done tests and both say that the runtime is significantly less than the 11" S8.

That is my beef entirely yet no users seem at all upset that they've lost hours of SOT with this generation of the 11" Tab and I find that baffling. Video streaming and web browsing return HOURS less SOT. I don't game or take notes so I notice this huge loss.
[Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 series] hmmmmm2:
S8 for me last about 6 -8 hrs with active note taking. It's a bit longer on the s9 now. I find standby to be much better than before. Only downside is power consumption when browsing is a bit higher. It seems like it's scheduling issue anyhow which should be fixed later. I remember my tab s8 having terrible batter life at first but also got better over the year after all the updates. Again no complaints on battery life on my end, it last almost 5 -6 hours browsing/watching video easily from 85%-40%.
[Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 series] hmmmmm2:
Just took a screenshot. This is at 43%, status bar didn't show up in the screenshot
[Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 series] iceepyon:
It takes about a week for the OS to learn your usage patterns before you see any improvements in battery life
[Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 series] sunking101:
My Tab S7 even with a 2.5 year old battery slays the battery life of my new S9. I routinely get an extra 2 hours of SOT. Your S8 must have a very worn battery to only be getting 6-8 hours. When new the 11" Tab S8 was capable of 12:52hrs of web browsing. The 11" Tab S9 is only capable of 8:06hrs of web browsing. That is almost a whopping 5 hours less SOT per charge and yet hardly anyone is mentioning this as being a problem?? Imagine when your S9 battery becomes as worn out as your S8 battery!

Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 review: A new standard for Android tablets

This is what a premium Android tablet should be

www.tomsguide.com

Galaxy Tab S9 battery and charging

Here's how the Galaxy Tab S9 series perform in terms of battery life.

www.phonearena.com
[Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 series] hmmmmm2:
Perhaps, accubat shows my S8's estimated battery capacity was around 7810mah before I trade it in. Again I remember tab s8's battery life got much better over time after launch so I wouldn't be too worried about battery getting worse as the OS scheduling gets optimized. The tab has very high idle draw rn so screen on time is pretty much the same no matter what I do.
[Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 series] hmmmmm2:
I think it's the CPU scheduler issue for low power tasks, if not then maybe there is a faulty component design somewhere that is using excessive energy when tablet is on, say the OLED controller.
[Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 series] Village_Idiot:
I just got back from a trip. This was my results from yesterday. I'm pretty sure that 8hr 42min is a pretty good result.
[Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 series] sunking101:
3 hours less SOT than the Tab S8 confirmed again in a different review.

Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 review

A great entry-level Android tablet, now with AMOLED

www.tomsguide.com
[Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 series] sunking101:
...and yet another review citing the poor battery life of the Tab S9 compared to its predecessor.

Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 5G tablet review: Powerful all-rounder with OLED

At 11 inches, the regular Galaxy Tab S9 is the smallest addition to Samsung's top tablet league. We put the manufacturer's latest evolutionary creation to the test.

www.notebookcheck.net
[Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 series] jelbo:
What's your purpose of adding sources that back up your valid assessment of the battery life of this tablet?

Personally I do what I can to improve the battery life, but also... I just enjoy the device. Bring a charger or a power bank if you're on the move and need to.
[Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 series] sunking101:
Newer reviews, out this month. Also if you look back over this thread many dispute that the Tab S7 and S8 had much better battery life.
[Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 series] Village_Idiot:
Considering this is for the Tab S9 5G, which is not the same as the Tab S9 (Wifi only). Which is the version I believe you have.

And the review did not say that The Tab S9 5G had poor battery performance. It said mediocre. Words have meaning. Does the Tab S9 have poor battery performance? No. I have yet to read any review that says the Tab S9, S9+ or S9 Ultra has poor battery performance. Does it have mediocre? Yes. But both are subjective in that different people have different usage.

If you are so upset with your Tab S9, sell it and go back to your Tab S7. Complaining about it won't fix it.

Oh, by the way. The review also said that the Tab S9 5G is the best tablet on the market. The only thing they criticized was battery life. Which as they say is, MEDIOCRE.
[Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 series] sunking101:
Lol. The only thing this thread ctiticises is battery life...

In hindsight I wish that I'd never bought it and kept my S7 because the battery on this will be dreadful after 18 months of wear. I keep hoping for an update that will fix it but I think it's a hardware issue.

They were running the tablet on WiFi, not 5G.

I strive for better than 'mediocre'.
[Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 series] Village_Idiot:
You do realize that even though they were running on Wifi, the 5G was still on...right? Even though it is using Wifi to send and receive, the 5G radios stay on. They don't turn off.

Again, you can still dump your Tab S9 and go back to the S7.
[Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 series] aves_jm:
Keep up. I agree with you that battery is simply bad for this type of the device considering Samsung claims 15 hours. How to get these hours? Nobody knows. YouTube channels are misleading too saying this battery lasts 2 days or how fantastic this device is. What does this supposed to mean?....Stupid consumers. Not all anyway...
[Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 series] Village_Idiot:
Where does Samsung say the Tab S9 gets 15 hours of battery life?

https://www.samsung.com/us/tablets/galaxy-tab-s9/

No where in here does it make any such claims.
[Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 series] aves_jm:
Yep. Sorry. I quoted tom's guide review. Officially Samsung haven't claimed. Anyway battery is not good and patches won't fix it. The main reason is OLED display. S8 models with OLED displays had poor screen time too. I am just not happy that almost all youtubers don't talk about that. I would say that they are lying claiming that battery is the same.
[Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 series] Village_Idiot:
Every review says that the Tab S9 series battery is run of the mill. Not great, but not horrible either. Coming from a Tab S7, I didn't see a huge bump or dip in battery performance. I also don't stream YouTube or play games for hours on end (I actually have a life).

OS patches can alleviate some of the issues, but Samsung can only do so much. The problem mostly lies with user habits and poor coding skills of app developers. The two are related. Not only do many users have poor habits (i.e. gaming and streaming for several hours at a time); they also download hundreds of apps, most of which they don't use. Many of those apps are poorly designed and coded and are so riddled with in app advertisements that they drain battery while not being actively used. Many app developers don't have the skill to write apps to take advantage of the OS or the CPU's power management features.
[Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 series] sunking101:
So you didn't see too much of a dip coming from your Tab S7 with a 2 year old battery! A new S9 v new S7 = 3 hours less SOT. That's a proven fact available from numerous online tech sites.
[Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 series] Village_Idiot:
That doesn't prove anything. I just said I did not see a huge bump in either direction. I'm getting the battery life I expected. Nowhere did Samsung promise that it would get better battery life. Those are ASSUMPTIONS that YOU made based on SUBJECTIVE opinion. As I said a few times already. Your SUBJECTIVE opinion does not equal OBJECTIVE facts.
[Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 series] sunking101:
Lol. Samsung promised nothing. However, the.FACT (not subjective) that the 11" Tab S9 has a proven worse battery runtime to the tune of over 3 hours (again not subjective, several tech sites have qualified this) is beyond unacceptable. The battery life should be at least as good as the outgoing model.
[Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 series] Village_Idiot:
That's three hours by YOUR testing; which is subjective. Practically every review said there wasn't that much difference. If it is unacceptable, then just sell your Tab S9 and go back to a Tab S7 or maybe get a Pixel Tablet. Since the only thing you seem to do all day is watch videos. That would be better suited for you anyway. The rest of us with real lives will enjoy our Tab S9s.
[Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 series] ivanox1972:
Little out of topic

I am not delighted at all with battery life of s9 ultra against s8 ultra - totally same usage style, at home, mostly browser, less you tube... I can say, it is even less with display on, stand by is really good. One thing stays, I use it on adapt freq although s8 ultra always I leave on 60hz
[Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 series] Village_Idiot:
*sigh* @Moderator Committee can we close this thread?
[Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 series] sunking101:
Nonsense. In this thread I have posted links to three tech site reviews where they state that the 11" Tab S9 battery life is significantly worse than the S8 and S7. You refuse to accept cold facts for some bizarre reason and now you are calling for the thread to be closed lol. How about just refraining from posting your lame and utterly unjustifiable defence of the tablet's battery life here?
[Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 series] Bingley:
Gosh it's bad. I've had the S7 and S8 which were both brilliant, 12hrs easily. New S9 is dreadful, I'm watching the battery drop with everything I do. Off charge at 9 at 85%, nearly noon and it's down to 45%. Actually thinking of selling it and getting another S8 it's that bad
[Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 series] qhorque:
I replaced my S7 with the S9 via Samsung's recent trade in bonanza so I got a brand new $900 S9 for $500 with the S7 being a $500 trade-in value. Basically upgrading my tablet for free. Seemed like a great deal. Same size tablet - the 11".

Until I received the S9.

My battery life is awful. While the S7 was ramping down over the 2 years I've had it, it still lasted about a week from charging on Sunday until needing to plug it in. That's ONLY using it before I go to bed while reading some PDF magazines, watching about an hour of YouTube videos and using a set of 1More Bluetooth ear buds. I was able to go until Saturday night and either charging it then or Sunday morning.

The S9 in comparison only lasts Sunday night through Thursday, maybe Friday if I'm lucky so it's significantly less time doing the same tasks with a slightly bigger battery needing to plug it in 2 days earlier than the S7

I used Samsung's transfer process to move to the new tablet so I thought that might have brought over some deadwood or incompatible settings so I decided to factory reset it and start from scratch after which I set everything I could to the same as on the S7. No improvement. I've gone through and turned a LOT off too so the tablet is not as "exciting" to use as it might have been. I'm at a loss to figure out what's causing it to run down so quickly. Is it simply the different screen? I'm already using it at about 10-20% brightness so it's pretty low. Just Wi-Fi and Bluetooth earbuds.

Instead of using low power mode I might have to resort to turning it off instead. It's disappointing enough that I find myself regretting the swap.

Oh, I also see it drop as I watch. Updating apps I can see it drop 5% or so over maybe 5 minutes when the S7 dropped about 2%.
[Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 series] sunking101:
Just updated to Android 14 and they've mucked about with the battery data. It's now confusing trying to work out SOT since last charge.
[Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 series] kevin_23:
I have the tab s9 5g and I think the same as you, I don't know what can happen with the battery, in all aspects it is wonderful, power, good screen, fluidity, very very good speakers but in terms of battery something is wrong and I don't know What can be...
[Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 series] sunking101:
The battery stats are useless now. A whole load of data we don't need and none of what we do need. No SOT since the last charge is criminal! Unless it's night & day better (and sadly it doesn't seem to be) how do we work out if the lousy battery life since launch has been improved at all with One UI 6? It might even be worse! Really not impressed Samsung.
[Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 series] qhorque:
I recall some features in long ago Android versions being better than they are now including battery tracking. I swear I was able to get a better sense of what was being used, how long, and was able to see it better visually in past versions. It's gotten "better" or so they say but I'm with you, it's sometimes increasingly more difficult to just see what we need to see without them changing things for the worse. This includes "adaptive battery" control which is supposed to learn your usage patterns and presumably make tweaks in the background to save power but I think that's more snake oil than anything.

My Samsung Galaxy S23+ gets charged on a Qi charger at work in the morning to 100% and it stays at 100% until maybe 2PM when it's maybe 98% and that's from extremely light usage (mostly text messages.) The next morning when I get to work it's around 80% with additional light usage at home (using PC and tablet at home.) So that battery seems to act as I expect. The Tab S9 seems to drain a good bit quicker when not being used and that's with the screen off and the tablet set to power saving mode. Still drops 10% or so between nightly use. So something is running but the battery indicator does not seem to say what that is.

I just updated the phone to Android 14 and One UI 6 but not the tablet. Want to see how it fares by turning it off at night instead of leaving it on the nightstand in low power mode. I fully expect it to last a week with this action but I'm not sure it will.
[Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 series] sunking101:
I leave my Tab S9 in airplane mode when I'm not using it and to be fair it drains slower than my old Tab S7. However, the S9 drains like crazy when I'm actually using it and a 3 hour+ reduction in SOT over the Tab S7 is totally unacceptable. I don't care if the display is slightly better, in no way is it worth the 3 hour tradeoff in battery life.

I hate to say it because I had been holding out for Samsung to fix this problem but the One UI 6 update has brought with it even worse battery life. Roll on the Tab S10 when I can trade in this turkey.
[Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 series] qhorque:
Preaching to the choir!
[Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 series] sunking101:
Well after a four days and two full charge cycles running One UI 6 I have some good if not great news. I'm seeing an extra 45 mins to an hour of SOT based upon my normal usage patterns.

I don't know whether Samsung have made some changes under the hood or if this is just a benefit of Android 14 but I'm pleased to see a noticeable improvement in battery life. It's still nowhere near matching the runtime of the Tab S7 and Tab S8 but it's not the dead loss it once was.

Battery stats are utterly useless in One UI 6. It doesn't give you the SOT since last charge, merely every 24hr period starting at midnight. There are tons of graphs buf all of it is worthless. To get an accurate SOT per charge I had to resort to writing down when I used the tablet, for how long and what the battery percentage was when I finished. I then totted it all up to give a final reading.
[Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 series] qhorque:
Thanks for the update. I received the update on my S23+ and have noticed no real difference in battery life on that. I wake up, go to work, put it on a charger, get it up to 100% and that's how it is until the next day. When I got the phone it seemed to go no lower than 85% but did drop after I started keeping it on and configuring it more. Now with Android 24 and One UI 6 I'm back to the same routine and it seems to be roughly at 85% every morning. So steady there.

The Tab S9 though, I've changed to turning it off at night instead of leaving it in low power mode to see how many days that will last. I want it to last the 6 or 7 days the S7 was lasting but I don't see it yet. The S7 was usually charged around 20% or so but the S9 seems to go all the way to 0% in the same or less time so I definitely see less use. If I get 7 days before charging by turning it off, I might stick with that since the new tablets seem to boot up quicker than the old ones. But after a week or so of testing that I'll probably grab A14/OUI6 and see how that works under my "normal" use.

And you're right, the new battery info is underwhelming.
[Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 series] sunking101:
I stick my tablet in airplane mode when I'm not using it and lose around 2% per 8-10 hours. I would recommend updating to One UI 6 because I am definitely seeing better battery life.
[Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 series] kevin_23:
I notice that it uses a lot more battery in DEX mode than in normal mode, do you use DEX a lot? How about the battery life in this mode?
[Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 series] sunking101:
I never use Dex so can't comment I'm afraid.
[Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 series] qhorque:
Same here. I just use my tablet in bed before I go to sleep every night. Just generally watch some TV shows and Youtube videos as well as a PDF magazine or two and maybe some quick web browsing for some product reviews of things I've seen on Youtube for about an hour and a half to two hours. So very light usage.

Regularly got a week out of it between charges and leaving it in standby on my nightstand (low power mode with the cover closed so it was just sitting there idle until I picked it up the next night.)
[Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 series] Spld3r:
I've read this entire thread, and I totally agree with @sunking101 and his frustration. I also had the Tab S7 and Tab S8 models, and after purchasing the Tab S9 I was disappointed with the battery life... It is true that they put a better screen, but this should be compensated by the extra 400 mAh, and the processor, theoretically more power efficient. I didn't do as detailed analysis as sunking101, but it's easy to notice that the battery lasts less than the Tab S8, with the same pattern of use. I have had the tablet for 3 weeks, I don't know if future updates will solve anything... The new battery graphics are totally useless, I'm very disappointed for that...I really miss the Android 13 ones... Otherwise, the tablet is wonderful.

A little off topic:

What cover do you use for this tablet? I liked the ones from Tab S4, Tab S5e, TabS7/S8, but I don't like the official one for Tab S9. It is heavy and a fingerprint magnet, plus it is made up of 2 pieces. Do you know of any case models similar to the one from the Tab S7/S8, from other manufacturers? Magnetic, simple and plain book cover? Or if not magnetic, some lightweight anyways, I don't like to add very much extra weight to the tablet.

Thanks!
[Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 series] sunking101:
Agreed. I bought the official 2-piece Samsung folio case and it weighs a ton. I now use the tablet naked and put it into a Cushcase (available on their website for the Tab S7) when I'm done. I'm fed up with cheap & nasty or heavy cases.
[Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 series] xbt-:
Is it rootable? Root and disable bloatware. That extends battery life up to 2-3x especially if you freeze google play services, although it's needed for a couple things. I occasionally toggle it to be frozen when I am not using it for something like the play store or gps (gpa works without it but you won't be able to access your saved locations).

An apples-to-apples exact same install between this device and another like S8 would help to diagnose if the issue is the processor or other hardware, or just software/bloatware.
[Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 series] qhorque:
I haven't had the need to root anything since I had a Motorola Droid and Droid X back in the day! Generally I can turn off, disable or remove most of the bloat that Samsung installs and I ignore the rest. Not sure if it's Android or One UI that puts unused apps to deep sleep but that definitely seems to help. Also I have decided to forego root on a device under warranty so this likely won't help me anyway.

2-3x over stock seems kind of high an estimate though. I use my tablet about 1-2 hours per night using a PDF reader, Youtube and another video service like Hulu, Netflix and VLC for my own transfers from my Tivo. I usually get enough power to do this Sunday night through Saturday and still have something like 15-20% left when I plug it in Sunday morning. Now I'm lucky if I make it to Thursday! 2-3x would put me into several weeks so 3x is out of the question and 2x seems out of reach for me at least. But if you can squeeze out that much after rooting and de-bloating, that's fantastic! Good job.

Regarding a cover, I've been using Fintie cases which are inexpensive but heavy as well and don't really have good propping up capabilities when you fold over the cover. Good for protection but makes the tablet significantly heavier. I probably need to try one of their other models that folds differently with different grooves to rest the tablet edge into. But check them out as you might find one that works better though will still be heavy.

Rats, I forgot to mention I got 10 days of use by turning the tablet off instead of letting it go into low power mode. It's a bit more inconvenient and it did last a few days more but still went to 0% and I was hoping for maybe a couple days more.
[Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 series] Village_Idiot:
Short answer: That depends.

Long answer: It depends on which model. The WiFi only models and (I think) the non-US 5G versions are rootable. To my knowledge, the US 5G models are unrootable for the same reason the US versions of the S22 and S23 phones are unrootable; the bootloader can't be unlocked.
[Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 series] Spld3r:
On my old Tab S5e, which is 3 years old and still has an amoled screen, during the night with Wi-Fi activated, the battery drops by 1, maximum 2%, and the Tab S9, also the Wi-Fi version, drops by about 4-5%, having about the same settings and same pattern of use. This is no longer a question of the screen, which is turned off at night. I also performed a factory reset after the Android 14 update, and all apps installed manually, but I didn't notice any changes. I wonder at night why it drops so much... But that's it, it seems that I'll have to get used to this facts... It seems that the desire I've had for 2-3 years - an amoled screen on a the 11-inch tablet, was fulfilled, but at a rather high cost - battery life.
[Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 series] sunking101:
I always liked the display on my old Tab S7. Even when going from my phone which have all been AMOLED for 7+ years now to my tablet I never noticed a drop in quality. I would happily have that same LCD display on my Tab S9 if it meant gaining an extra 3 hours of SOT. The trade up to AMOLED absolutely wasn't worth it for me. Like you say though I feel there is more at play here than just the display. Something else is power hungry too.