tldr; Cheapest new iPad often under $250. 'Still runs smooth since 2020.' Best budget option for movies and basics.
Check pricesScores based on sentiment analysis of topic-related comments
Best praise vs top criticism for Apple iPad (9th generation)
“Hey! Both apple and Samsung have these profiles you can make for certain situations. So if you'd want to disable f.e. YouTube, social media, messaging services, etc. you could do that in a specific 'focus' profile. This way only certain apps that you allow will be accessible while you're busy with school work, so no distractions! I've personally used and/or tried out the Samsung Galaxy tab S6 Lite, the Galaxy Tab S7 FE, and the iPad 9. The advantage i think the samsung tablets have is that you get the S-Pen included with the tablet for free. Whereas with apple it's another, at least, 89 euro charge for the apple pencil. For the s6 lite and S7 FE, the samsung base pencil doesn't have to be charged so you can use it indefinitely, whereas every generation apple pencil does need to be charged. Apple does offer some really good note taking apps that Samsung doesn't have (yet). However the Samsung Notes app is really good in my opinion. The apple pencil is a lot harder at the tip so it feels a lot more like writing on paper, especially of you add one of those paper like screenprotectors over it. If you really like the paper feel then that's a good option. The S-Pen is softer which makes the writing feels super smooth and almost soft. It's personal preference really.”
“As of a few weeks ago, I actually own both, though 128gb and 64gb versions respectively. The 9th gen iPad I got was about half the price of the S9 FE (especially since I already owned an Apple Pencil); if I take price in consideration, my feelings would be more mixed. But at roughly equal prices? The S9 FE wins easily for me. For the 'watching show' part, one thing that struck about the iPad 9th I never see mentioned is the aspect ratio. The screen is a lot more 'square' than other tablets I've used. This means that if you watch something like Youtube on it, the black bars are huge. So while the display screen is 10.2 inches, you 'lose' a ton of that area due to the aspect ratio. Putting the S9 FE side by side with the iPad playing a video, the S9 FE is noticeably bigger. Both speakers are also on the same side, unlike the FE. So if it's vertical on you for example, all sounds will be very muffled. Usually not a factor obviously, but it's never one for the FE. You can also expand storage with the FE and install most applications on it. Screen quality is also better on the S9 FE. For the updates, the S9 FE has been confirmed to get four main Android releases, so roughly four years of updates. It's completely unknown for the 9th gen iPad; I'm pretty sure it'll get at least a few more years though, since older iPad got this year's update and the 9th gen is still being produced and is the top seller. I haven't played an heavy game like Genshin on either though, so I can't really talk about 3d game performance. ​ I'm not a power user by any means and I tend to be very not-picky about tech stuff, but I feel like both tablets are super responsive and work very well. The iPad 9th gen is perfectly fine in my opinion; I got it because it was super cheap at the time and the damaged iPad Pro 2017 I had inherited finally stopped working and that there were a few iPad-only apps I liked. But in the vast majority of situations, I find myself using the S9 FE over the iPad 9th gen. It's not that the 9th gen is bad tablet and what eco-system you prefer is the top priority. For the prices I paid (iPad 9th gen being 50% of the S9 FE), I'd struggle to say which one was more worth it. But for the same price? S9 FE feels superior in basically every way (except ecosystem depending on your tastes).”
138 Reddit opinions analyzed • Last updated 2/24/2026