Samsung Galaxy S10 Ultra review: Big same

Greatest Costs Right now: Samsung Galaxy Tab S10 Extremely

Samsung’s greatest and strongest pill is again with a 2024 refresh, and though it could look nearly equivalent to its predecessor, there are, in truth, varied adjustments this 12 months.

The Korean tech large has opted for a flagship MediaTek chip this time round, fairly than the same old Qualcomm affair, and there’s loads of new Galaxy AI goodness to sink your enamel into as properly.

The Samsung Galaxy Tab S10 Extremely, because the identify suggests, is designed to be the perfect of the perfect. It’s large, highly effective and loaded with top-of-the-line specs.

The query is, is it actually definitely worth the hefty £1,199/$1,199 asking value? And is any pill, for that matter? I’ve been utilizing it for the previous week in an try to seek out out.

Word that this 12 months, the Tab S10 sequence is simply two fashions as there isn’t any common Tab S10. 

Design & Equipment

• Moonstone Gray and Platinum Silver choices
• 5.4mm thick, 718g
• S-Pen and non-compulsory keyboard covers

The Samsung Galaxy Tab S10 Extremely seems to be nearly equivalent to the Tab S9 Extremely.

Actually, it’s so related that the equipment from the older pill match this one, too. The one outward distinction is that it’s barely slimmer and has new color choices.

Luke Baker

This mannequin is out there in Moonstone Gray or Platinum Silver, primarily a lighter or darker shade of gray. I’ve the Platinum Silver mannequin in for testing and it seems to be good {and professional}, if just a little plain. It’s undoubtedly acquired a slight Apple vibe to it.

Simply as we noticed with its predecessors, the Extremely is completely large, and it has some heft to it, too. In case you’re on the lookout for the most important pill out there, this could possibly be the one for you. Simply bear in mind that holding it for lengthy durations requires some bicep and wrist energy.

The physique is constructed from a large slab of aluminium and it’s Samsung’s new Enhanced Armor Aluminum system. Supposedly, this makes it extra sturdy than its predecessor, however I’ll should take Samsung’s phrase for it.

For what it’s price, my assessment unit remains to be trying spotless, however because it has by no means been dropped and used primarily round the home, you’d count on that to be the case.

Luke Baker

On the rear, there’s a cut-out space for the S Pen, which comes included within the field. It attaches magnetically and fees wirelessly on this location, simply because it did on the Tab S9. I had a behavior of knocking it off unintentionally, however most of Samsung’s instances cowl it as much as preserve it safer.

There’s a wholesome vary of keyboard covers out there for this pill, and for essentially the most half, they’re the identical as those you would get for the S9 Extremely. The important thing distinction with the newer keyboards is that they’ve a devoted AI button. Personally, I’d want to avoid wasting cash and simply seize a keyboard designed for the S9 Extremely.

The Galaxy Tab S10 has vibration motors in-built, which isn’t at all times the case with tablets. Sadly, although, they’re not as spectacular because the motors featured in Samsung’s flagship telephones.

They’re robust sufficient to get your consideration for a notification however suggestions whereas typing is faint and imprecise. Nonetheless, it’s higher than nothing.

Display & Audio system

• 14.6-inch 2.9K 120Hz AMOLED show
• 930 nits peak brightness
• Quad stereo audio system

The defining function of this show is its scale. Measuring 14.6-inch diagonally that is by far the most important pill I’ve ever held. It’s a display screen that might look extra at dwelling on a laptop computer than as a standalone slate.

Luke Baker

The 16:10 facet ratio can be one thing extra generally discovered on a laptop computer, and I believe it’s one in all this pill’s biggest strengths. Tablets have many makes use of, however personally, I have a tendency to make use of them for content material consumption greater than the rest.

This ratio signifies that 16:9 content material fills a lot of the show, with minimal black bars, it seems to be nice. The identical is true for web sites considered in desktop mode, they simply match on this display screen higher than a few of the extra square-shaped competitors.

One other large win is the addition of the superb anti-glare glass coating that we first noticed on the Galaxy S24 Extremely. You may not discover it at first look, however when in comparison with a typical pill show, the reflectivity is dramatically decreased.

This makes the pill infinitely extra usable in vibrant situations or outside, it may not be on fairly the identical degree as Huawei’s PaperMatte coating, however it’s the subsequent smartest thing. Not like Huawei’s resolution, you don’t lose any distinction with this coating, both, so darkish areas look as deep and inky as you’d count on from an OLED panel.

Luke Baker

The brightness doesn’t sound too spectacular on paper, peaking at 930 nits, however in actuality, this can be a very vibrant show. HDR content material is dazzling sufficient to make you squint in a dimly lit room, and the panel had no hassle competing with daylight blaring in by way of my conservatory home windows – I believe we’ve the anti-glare coating to thank for that.

The Galaxy Tab S10 Extremely has a really slender bezel on all sides, round 5mm in width, leading to a really trendy look. Sadly, this additionally signifies that there’s not a lot house so that you can grip when holding the pill, and I typically encountered phantom touches.

One other slight niggle is that the glass coating appears to choose up fingerprint smudges extra simply than different units. I at all times saved a comfortable fabric close by to maintain the show trying its finest, as with out it, you get a reasonably smudgy-looking display screen after 10 minutes of swiping.

Luke Baker

The pill has quad stereo audio system positioned on the highest and backside (when held in portrait orientation) they usually can kick out some critical sound.

There’s an honest quantity of bass, extra quantity than most would wish and plenty of readability. The width of the pill creates a pleasant stereo impact, too, they’re excellent for watching Netflix round the home.

Specs & Efficiency

• MediaTek Dimensity 9300+
• 12GB / 16GB RAM
• 256GB / 512GB / 1TB storage (microSD expandable)

The Tab S10 Extremely is powered by MediaTek’s Dimensity 9300+ chipset, and it’s the primary Samsung Extremely pill to make use of one thing aside from a Qualcomm flagship chip.

Luke Baker

Whereas that may trigger some preliminary issues, it shouldn’t, because the Dimensity 9300 sequence chips are severely highly effective.

To make issues even higher, it’s paired with a beneficiant 12- or 16GB of RAM, relying on the mannequin you select, and as much as 1TB of storage. I’ve the bottom mannequin in for testing, with 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage.

It’s greater than sufficient for most individuals, plus it has microSD help, so you may add as much as 2TB of extra storage in case you want it.

Luke Baker

The Dimensity chip might fall behind Qualcomm’s finest in artificial GPU benchmarks, however in use, you’d have a tough time telling the distinction. The pill had no hassle working demanding video games like Zenless Zone Zero and Genshin Influence on the very best graphics settings at 60fps.

I’ve seen that earlier Dimensity-wielding flagships are likely to get fairly scorching whereas gaming, however that’s not the case with Galaxy Tab S10 Extremely. This can be a big pill, with loads of room for a super-sized vapor chamber, and it really works wonders.

The most important situation for avid gamers is the sheer measurement of the show, it will get fairly onerous to achieve a few of the contact controls. I’d undoubtedly suggest investing in an excellent Bluetooth controller if you wish to recreation on this correctly.

Luke Baker

Outdoors of gaming efficiency, the pill continues to impress. I had a easy expertise all through the testing interval, and by no means seen any stutters or slowdowns, even below heavy multitasking with three or extra apps on the display screen directly.

Samsung Galaxy Tab S10 Extremely benchmarks

Cameras

• 13Mp f/2.0 foremost – 4K 30fps video
• 8Mp f/2.2 ultrawide
• 12Mp commonplace selfie, 12Mp ultrawide selfie

Utilizing a pill as a digital camera isn’t essentially the most sensible choice, and that’s all of the extra true when your pill is the scale of a small tv.

Fortunately, although, Samsung has put extra effort into its front-facing cameras than most pill producers and this can be a good transfer, as they’re prone to get much more use than the rear snappers.

The Tab S10 Extremely has two selfie cameras, one has a reasonably typical discipline of view, whereas the opposite provides you an ultrawide perspective. It might turn out to be useful in case you’re attempting to carry a Zoom name with a bigger group of individuals, or in case you simply need to exhibit your environment whereas conserving your self within the body.

On the again, you get an honest 13Mp foremost shooter and an unimpressive 8Mp ultrawide. They’re serviceable for the occasional pic, however they’re nowhere close to pretty much as good because the cameras you discover on a Samsung smartphone they usually definitely wrestle in dimmer situations.

You may report video at as much as 4K/30fps on the entrance and rear cameras, which I used to be joyful to see. Many tablets solely provide 1080p video on their selfie cameras, however they’re doubtless for use for video conferencing greater than the rest, so that you really need the perfect specs across the entrance.

9 occasions out of ten, it makes extra sense to make use of your cellphone cameras fairly than those constructed into your pill, however these cameras get the job finished in case you want them.

The entrance cameras simply beat your typical laptop computer webcam setup, and Samsung’s portrait mode results impress as ordinary, which could possibly be crucial in case you’re deciding between a pill and a laptop computer.

Battery Life & Charging

• 11,200mAh battery
• 45W quick charging
• No charger within the field

The Galaxy Tab S10 has a big 11,200mAh battery inside, however with an OLED panel this measurement, all these milliamps could be fairly crucial.

In use, I discovered the battery life to be good, however not as distinctive because the battery capability might lead you to count on. The pill can nearly final for a full workday, and I sometimes skilled round 7-8 hours of screen-on-time earlier than reaching for the charger.

In fact, your mileage might range, and prolonged gaming periods will drain the cell faster than that.

Luke Baker

As is the case with all new Samsung merchandise, the charger doesn’t come included, you only get a USB-C to USB-C cable. So you may need to factor in the cost of a 45W-capable wall adapter to take advantage of the full speed.

With the right charger, you can expect to go from 0% to around 40% in half an hour. Meanwhile, a full charge takes well over an hour. It’s not the fastest, but given the size of this battery pack, that’s perfectly understandable.

Software & Apps

• One UI 6.1, based on Android 14
• Galaxy AI features
• LumaFusion and Clip Studio Paint pre-loaded

The Samsung Galaxy Tab S10 Ultra runs One UI 6.1, just like its smaller Galaxy S24-series siblings. It comes loaded with all of the same Galaxy AI features as those handsets, too.

Luke Baker

I like the way Samsung optimises its OS for larger displays. For instance, pulling down the quick-settings shade gives you a sensibly sized menu, rather than supersizing everything like some other tablets, do.

Multitasking options are plentiful and easy to navigate, too. They’re not big changes, but they’re thoughtful, and make for a more polished-feeling overall experience.

Just as I found with this year’s Samsung Galaxy phones, the AI features are impressive and work reasonably well, but a lot of the time they feel more like party tricks than things you’d actually use on a daily basis. 

The only one I find myself gravitating towards is Circle to Search. It’s a really quick and handy way to get more information about something, and doing it with the S Pen feels extremely natural.

This feature is no longer exclusive to Samsung, we’ve just seen it appear on the latest Xiaomi handsets and Motorola is adding it too. However, the Galaxy Tabs are some of the first tablets to support this feature, outside of Google’s own Pixel Tablet.

A lot of Samsung’s marketing centres around this tablet being a creative powerhouse, and if we’re just talking about hardware, there’s truth to that. The problem is that iPads just have a better selection of creative apps, like Procreate and Final Cut Pro, for instance – neither of which work on Android.

The Android offerings are getting better, Clip Studio Paint is a solid digital illustration app, and it comes preinstalled along with Samsung’s own PenUP, and LumaFusion for video editing.

However, it’s worth noting that LumaFusion and Clip Studio Paint both require an additional purchase to use.

The S Pen is one of the lowest-latency styluses to come with an Android tablet, outside of Huawei’s NearLink offerings, it has great pressure sensitivity and line accuracy, too.

It’s just a shame that it feels like you have to compromise slightly on the applications – and that’s not what you want when you’re investing so much money in a creative tool. Of course, this only applies if you’re trying to use this tablet as a professional illustrator, the options here are great for most hobbyists.

Luke Baker

Price & Availability

The Samsung Galaxy Tab S10 Ultra is available to purchase now globally. You can grab it directly from Samsung or through a third-party retailer like Amazon, John Lewis, Currys and Argos within the UK.

Within the US, discover it at Samsung in addition to Amazon and BestBuy.

It begins at £1,199/$1,199 for the Wi-Fi mannequin with 256GB storage or £1,349 if you wish to add 5G connectivity. In case you up the storage to the utmost of 1TB, you may count on to pay £1549 for the Wi-Fi mannequin or £1699 for 5G.

Curiously, within the US it doesn’t include 5G as an choice so aside from the entry degree mannequin you may have the selection of 512GB or 1TB storage for $1,319 and $1,619 respectively.

It’s price remembering that the Tab S10 Extremely nonetheless helps microSD card storage, so in case you want a bit further, and may sacrifice just a little pace, you would save quite a bit by selecting up among the best microSD playing cards.

Take a look at our record of the perfect tablets for extra choices.

Must you purchase the Samsung Galaxy Tab S10 Extremely?

The Samsung Galaxy Tab S10 Extremely leaves me with blended emotions. On one hand, it’s an undeniably spectacular little bit of package and a delight to make use of, however on the opposite, it’s so just like the earlier mannequin that there’s barely any cause to improve.

To summarise the adjustments, this mannequin will get an anti-glare coating on the show, a slimmer and more durable aluminium shell, a brand new Dimensity chipset and a few totally different color finishes. The anti-glare coating does make a distinction, however it’s unlikely to sway present Tab S9 Extremely homeowners, and the Dimensity 9300+ doesn’t make a large enough distinction to warrant an improve both. 

That leaves us with Galaxy AI options, most of that are already out there on the Tab S9 Extremely. The one unique options are the Portrait Studio and Sketch to Picture, owing to the newer NPU within the S10 Extremely. They’re fairly neat, however definitely not the form of factor you’d purchase a brand new pill for.

So, the place does that depart us? Effectively, the Tab S10 Extremely is Samsung’s finest large-screen pill to date, and in order for you the very best super-sized slate, it’s most likely the one to get. Personally, although, I’d save myself some cash and simply get the Tab S9 Extremely as an alternative.

It’s nearly the very same expertise, and now that it has been changed, it may be had for a significantly better value.

Specs

• MediaTek Dimensity 9300+
• 12GB / 16GB RAM
• 256GB / 512GB / 1TB (microSD expandable)
• 14.6-inch AMOLED show
• 2960×1848 decision, 930 nits peak brightness
• 120Hz dynamic refresh fee
• 11200mAh battery
• 45W quick charging (no charger included)
• Twin front-facing 12Mp digital camera
• Rear 13Mp foremost digital camera + 8Mp ultrawide
• Quad audio system
• 326.4 x 208.6 x 5.4 mm
• 718g (pill solely)