iPad Air vs Galaxy Tab S9: screen size and viewport
The iPad Air lays web pages out at 820 × 1180 CSS px with a pixel ratio of 2; the Galaxy Tab S9 at 800 × 1280 with 2. The iPad Air is 20 px wider, and the Galaxy Tab S9 is 100 px taller.
The two screens side by side
Specs compared
| Spec | iPad Air | Galaxy Tab S9 | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Viewport, portrait (CSS px) | 820 × 1180 | 800 × 1280 | +20 px wide, −100 px tall |
| Device pixel ratio | 2 | 2 | same |
| Physical resolution | 1640 × 2360 | 1600 × 2560 | Galaxy Tab S9: 6% more pixels |
| Aspect ratio | 10:7 | 16:10 | Galaxy Tab S9 is taller |
| Visible height, portrait, with browser bars | ~1106 px | ~1152 px | −46 px for the iPad Air |
| Landscape width (CSS px) | 1180 px | 1280 px | −100 px for the iPad Air |
| Visible height, landscape | ~746 px | ~720 px | +26 px for the iPad Air |
| First released | 2020 | 2020 | same year |
| Engine in MobileCheck | WebKit (Safari) | Chromium (Chrome) | different engines |
CSS px are the units media queries see. Visible heights subtract the status bar and the Safari on iPadOS and Chrome on Android bars as set in our device profiles; real bar heights vary with settings and scrolling. The release year is that of the first model with each screen.
What this means for your layout
How the width difference affects your layout
The iPad Air is 20 CSS px wider (820 vs 800, 3% more). No common breakpoint falls between 800 and 820 px, so with typical media queries both get the same layout and the extra 20 pixels only stretch fluid columns, text lines and images.
In a 3-column card grid with 16 px page padding and 16 px gaps, each card is 252 px wide on the iPad Air and 245 px on the Galaxy Tab S9. Check that buttons, prices and long words still fit in the narrower one.
Pixel density and image sizes
Both draw each CSS pixel with 2 × 2 device pixels, so text and icons are equally sharp. A full-width image (sizes="100vw") needs about 1640 px on the iPad Air and 1600 px on the Galaxy Tab S9 to look sharp.
With a srcset such as 640w, 828w, 1080w, 1290w, 1440w, 1640w, 2048w, the browser would normally pick the 1640w file on the iPad Air and the same one on the Galaxy Tab S9.
How much fits above the fold
On first load about 1152 px of the page is visible on the Galaxy Tab S9 and 1106 px on the iPad Air: 46 px less (4%) on the iPad Air, roughly 1 line of 16 px body text at a 1.5 line height.
If your main button sits just above the fold on the Galaxy Tab S9, it can end up below it on the iPad Air. Keep the headline and the main action within the first 1106 px, and size full-screen sections with 100svh rather than 100vh — see the 100vh problem on mobile.
Relative to its width, the Galaxy Tab S9 has the taller screen (10:7 vs 16:10), so the same content is laid out narrower but more of its length fits at once.
In landscape
Turned sideways, the iPad Air is 1180 px wide and the Galaxy Tab S9 1280 px; (min-width: 1200px), (min-width: 1280px) match only the Galaxy Tab S9 in landscape. The visible height drops to about 746 and 720 px, so a 64 px sticky header covers 9% and 9% of the screen — under the 25% at which MobileCheck flags fixed bars covering the page.
Different browser engines
The iPad Air renders with WebKit (Safari's engine) and the Galaxy Tab S9 with Chromium (Chrome's), so fonts, form controls and some CSS can differ on top of the size difference. Chrome DevTools draws every emulated device with Chromium, which hides WebKit-only problems — see how to test on an iPhone and on Android.
More about these devices
- iPad Air viewport size — one screen for the iPad 10 / A16, iPad Air 10.9" / 11"
- Galaxy Tab S9 viewport size — one screen for the Galaxy Tab S7 / S8 / S9
Or open the free check with the iPad Air and the Galaxy Tab S9 preselected: full-page screenshots in WebKit and Chromium, with problems such as small text and crowded buttons highlighted.
Related comparisons
- iPad 9 vs iPad 10 — 810 vs 820 px wide, 2× vs 2×
- iPad Air vs iPad Pro 11-inch (2022) — 820 vs 834 px wide, 2× vs 2×
- iPad mini vs iPad 10 — 744 vs 820 px wide, 2× vs 2×
- Galaxy Tab S9 vs Galaxy Tab A9+ — both 800 px wide, 1280 vs 1280 px tall
Compare other devices → · All mobile viewport sizes →
Frequently asked questions
Is the iPad Air screen bigger than the Galaxy Tab S9?
In CSS pixels, which decide how much of a page fits, the Galaxy Tab S9 is larger: 800 × 1280 against 820 × 1180. The Galaxy Tab S9 has more physical pixels (1600 × 2560), which makes it sharper rather than roomier.
Do I need different CSS for the iPad Air and the Galaxy Tab S9?
Usually not. No common breakpoint falls between their widths (800 and 820 px), so a fluid layout gets the same rules on both and only stretches by 20 px.
How much of a web page is visible on the iPad Air vs the Galaxy Tab S9?
About 820 × 1106 CSS px on the iPad Air and 800 × 1152 on the Galaxy Tab S9 when a page first opens in portrait, after the status bar and the browser's bars. Bar heights are our device profiles' estimates.