The One UI 7 update for Samsung’s 8-inch tablet, the Galaxy Tab A9(SM-X115), has finally arrived! I saw through communities that the rollout began in late May, but it seems my Galaxy Tab A9, which I purchased directly from overseas, is a Middle Eastern model, so it arrived a bit later.
Let’s see how One UI 7 performs on a budget tablet like the Galaxy Tab A9 8.7-inch.
One UI 7 Update
Here’s the One UI 7 update screen
The update size is 2565.73MB and includes the April security patch.
The image above shows the contents included in One UI 7 for the Galaxy Tab A9. You can click to view it larger, or if you prefer to see the text, you can check it out here.
Since the Galaxy Tab A9 8.7 doesn’t have strong performance, it doesn’t include any of the One UI 7 AI features. After checking the details, sure enough, there are no AI features like Galaxy AI or Awesome AI.
The One UI 7 update installation was surprisingly fast. I thought it would take a fair amount of time, but it applied quite quickly.
After the One UI 7 Update
After the One UI 7 update, the device rebooted and displayed the One UI 7 guide screen, but I couldn’t capture it there, so I’ll have to skip that part. It showed information about the changed UI.
The home screen changed after One UI 7 was installed. It looks nicer, but the size seems to have shrunk considerably. I also noticed some icon changes.
The smaller battery percentage display also caught my eye.
The quick settings panel, accessed by swiping down from the top, has changed as shown above. Notifications are now separated. Swiping down from the right corner of the screen brings up quick settings, while swiping down from elsewhere brings up notifications.
I’m particularly happy with the large volume control; it’s much better.
When the quick settings panel is expanded, it looks like this.
I also checked to see if the Now bar on Tap (or similar navigation bar) feature was included, and it’s visible in the settings. I probably won’t use it much on a tablet, but this feature would be quite useful on a smartphone.
Galaxy Tab A9 One UI 7 Update Review
Overall, it feels like an upgrade from Android 14 to Android 15, and the UI has changed a bit. Other than that, there aren’t many new features that I can noticeably feel.
However, after the update, it doesn’t feel any slower. I was worried since One UI tends to be on the heavier side, but it seems I’ll be able to use it without any issues.
The Galaxy Tab A9 was released in 2023 with Android 13.
Even though it’s a budget tablet, it has already received two OS upgrades and is expected to support up to Android 16.
With news of One UI 8 already circulating, which will be distributed with Android 16, it seems unlikely there will be a minor update like One UI 7.1; I expect to receive the One UI 8 update directly.
For 150,000 won($ 110), Samsung’s 8-inch tablet, the Galaxy Tab A9, even supports LTE. With this level of OS software support, it’s hard to find fault with it.