If you look at the landscape of flagship Android tablets, Samsung has remained at the top for quite a long time. With the release of the Galaxy Tab S10 series, we expect this to remain true. That's even with a couple of differences that came as a surprise when the official announcement was made.
It's very obvious that Samsung is primarily focused on competing against Apple's iPad Pro with the Galaxy Tab S10 Plus and Tab S10 Ultra. In addition to trimming the lineup a bit, Samsung is packing a punch with the variety of features being offered, many of which are available on day one, as opposed to needing to wait.
Samsung Galaxy Tab S10: Price and availability
Samsung announced the Galaxy Tab S10 lineup at an event in New York on September 27, alongside the Galaxy S24 FE and Galaxy Watch FE LTE. Both tablets were subsequently released on October 3, making them available at a wide variety of retailers including Amazon, Best Buy, Samsung directly, and more.
Although there's no "standard" Galaxy Tab S10 to speak of, Samsung did not increase the retail price of either the Tab S10 Plus or the Ultra. This means that pricing starts at $999 for the Plus and $1,199 for the Ultra.
Samsung Galaxy Tab S10: Specs and a surprising change
There are two major changes when it comes to the 2024 refresh of Samsung's Galaxy Tab lineup. The first of which is that the company is only offering two models, the Galaxy Tab S10 Plus and the Tab S10 Ultra. Gone is the 11-inch model from the lineup, leaving potential buyers to look to consider either the Galaxy Tab S9 or the Tab S9 FE if you're not a fan of the larger screens.
The other major change could have big implications for future Samsung device releases. Instead of relying on Qualcomm's current flagship chip, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, the Galaxy Tab S10 series is reliant on the MediaTek Dimensity 9300+.
Rumors suggest that Qualcomm's increased pricing could have something to do with this decision. However, one can't help but wonder whether that's really the case, seeing as the OnePlus Pad 2 and RedMagic Nova Gaming Tablet are both less expensive, but utilize the 8 Gen 3.
Nevertheless, Samsung claims that the Dimensity 9300+ in the Tab S10 Ultra "includes a more than 18% increase in CPU, 28% increase in GPU, and 14% increase in NPU compared to Galaxy Tab S9 Ultra." Provided that these performance gains are realized in the "real world," it's an impressive upgrade over the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2. We'll have to reserve any judgments here until we've had more time with Samsung's 2024 flagship tablets.
Those increases should also pay major dividends for more reasons than just continuing to be the best Android tablet. As expected, Samsung brought its impressive suite of AI tools from the Galaxy Z Fold 6 and S24 Ultra to the Tab S10 series. This includes the likes of Circle to Search, Sketch to Image, Note Assist, and many more.
There's also a new duo of Book Cover Keyboards available, both of which feature a dedicated Galaxy AI Key. Plus, the S Pen's Air Command feature has been supercharged with AI, without needing to jump through a bunch of menus or find the right app.
Samsung Galaxy Tab S10 vs. Tab S9
If you put the Galaxy Tab S10 Plus or Ultra alongside last year's models, it would be difficult to tell one from the other. The more obvious giveaway would be in the different colors for each model, but that's about it. Practically everything else is identical, which is not a detriment to the 2024 series of tablets.
Dimensity vs. Snapdragon 8 Gen 2
As mentioned in the previous section, Samsung made the transition away from Qualcomm in favor of MediaTek for the Galaxy Tab S10 Plus and Ultra. This marks the first time that Samsung has released a new flagship tablet without a Snapdragon chip at the helm.
Traditionally, we've seen a Qualcomm Snapdragon chip made available in certain regions, while others relied on either a Samsung Exynos SoC or something different. It's a rather surprising change, especially when considering this move is paired with the removal of an 11-inch model from the lineup.
Even still, Samsung hopes that the Dimensity 9300+ provides better performance than what the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 could have offered.
AI features
Another reason why this move came as a surprise is due to the plethora of AI features that are now available with the Galaxy Tab S10+ and Ultra. Samsung and Google have already brought a variety of AI features to its various devices, and now the Galaxy Tab is getting its time in the sun.
Included are obvious features such as Circle to Search and transcriptions. However, thanks to the power of the S Pen, we can enjoy AI in different ways such as Note Assist, Handwriting Help, Sketch to Image, and more. Samsung also revamped the Air Command menu to make it even easier to access AI features without leaving the app (or apps) that you're using.
A word about accessories
The fun doesn't stop there, as Samsung is also releasing two new Book Cover Keyboards — one with a trackpad, and one without. However, these aren't exactly the same as the ones that arrived alongside the Galaxy Tab S9. Much like we've seen with Windows laptops in 2024, there's a new dedicated AI key.
Pressing the key will activate either Samsung Bixby or Google Gemini, right from the keyboard. It's also nice seeing that you can pick which AI assistant you want to use, instead of being limited to one or needing to find workarounds.
One of our biggest complaints about the Galaxy Tab S9 was how Samsung made subtle design choices, rendering many Tab S8 cases and keyboards incompatible. Thankfully, if you want to upgrade to the latest model, that's no longer a problem. The dimensions are identical between the Galaxy Tab S10 Plus and Ultra and the Tab S9 Plus and Ultra, making it so that your cases and other accessories are interchangeable.
Samsung Galaxy Tab S10: Which should you buy?
After being able to spend some time with the Galaxy Tab S10 Ultra shortly after the announcement, I came away feeling more impressed than I thought. Unfortunately, we weren't able to check out the Tab S10 Plus, so I can't speak to that.
However, if you need some help deciding between the two, the decision really comes down to RAM, screen size, battery life, and whether you need LTE/5G connectivity. The Galaxy Tab S10 Plus and its 12.4-inch display make for a proper iPad Pro contender, offering a more traditional tablet experience.
Meanwhile, the Galaxy Tab S10 Ultra is for those who want the biggest screen possible, and it offers a larger battery. There's no difference in the features that are found between the two tablets, but the Ultra does have an ace up its sleeve.
If you opt for the 1TB model, this also provides a RAM upgrade, bumping up to 16GB from the 12GB paired with the 256GB and 512GB variants. The increased RAM is something that could pay dividends with future releases of AI features, while simply offering a bit of "future-proofing."
On the flip side, the Galaxy Tab S10 Plus has something that the Ultra doesn't, as there's a variant available with cellular connectivity. Google and Samsung have been making great strides to improve the interoperability between your phone and tablet. However, being able to get work done from practically anywhere, even if there are no available Wi-Fi networks, is extremely convenient.
We're currently working on our Galaxy Tab S10 Ultra review, so we'll be sure to update this with any pertinent information. In the meantime, you really can't go wrong with either of these, as it mostly comes down to personal preference.
