Comparison: Samsung Galaxy Tab A 10.1 2019 vs. Amazon Fire HD 10

Should you get the Samsung Galaxy Tab A 10.1 2019 or the Amazon Fire HD 10? Samsung wants you to pay around 230 US Dollars, while the Amazon tablet costs around 150 US Dollars. Both got good results in my reviews. So, which one is the better deal? That’s what we’ll check out in this comparison between the Samsung Galaxy Tab A 10.1 2019 and the Amazon Fire HD 10.

Design: Plastic or Metal

The design of both tables is quite similar at first sight. Both have 10.1-inch screens with black bezels and no physical buttons on the front. However, the black bezels of the Amazon Fire HD 10 are a bit bigger. While we get a plastic case with that one, the Samsung Galaxy Tab A 10.1 features a mostly metal body.

Because of its metal body and slim bezels, the Samsung tablet feels a bit higher end. Yes, the Fire HD 10 is well built but it is not as premium feeling. With 9.8mm it’s much thicker than the 7.5mm from Samsung. At the same time, it weighs 40g more, but you can’t really feel that.

We get power buttons, volume controls, and headphone jacks with both. With that being said, the Galaxy Tab A 10.1 has a USB C 2.0 port. The Fire HD 10, on the other hand, features the older MicroUSB port. You can expand the storage with both using microSD cards.

I’ve noticed clear differences between their speakers. When holding them in landscape view to watch a movie, the Fire HD 10 has a speaker on the left and right side each. While the Galaxy Tab A has two speakers too, they’re located on the same side. So, you won’t get any stereo separation with that one.

Anyways. Samsung is still winning in this regard. Sure, its sound is coming from one side only. But it has much better bass and a much clearer overall sound.

The 5- and 8-megapixel cameras of the Galaxy Tab are very good for a tablet in this price range. And yes, the quality is much better than what we get from Amazon. The Fire HD 10 has a simple 2-megapixel camera on the back and the front-facing one has a VGA resolution only. Regarding this, there’s a huge difference in quality.

Display: Almost identical?

Both tablets have a 10.1-inch screen, and both offer the same full HD resolution with 1920 x 1200 pixels. That means their sharpness is the same. Viewing angles are good on both, colors look nice, and the contrast is good too.

In fact, it’s hard to see a difference. When holding them in front of me, it’s hard to tell which screen is which. Maybe the Galaxy Tab A 10.1 is a bit brighter. But if so, it’s just a minor difference. I’ve used both outside in direct sunlight and couldn’t see a real difference. Both could be a bit brighter for direct sunlight.

And no, you can’t get any of them with an active pen.

Hardware & Performance

While their screens are very similar, that certainly is not the case for their internal hardware and performance. There are huge differences here. With Samsung, we get an Exynos 7904 octa-core processor and Amazon gives us a MediaTek quad-core chipset. They both offer 2GB of RAM and a 32GB internal storage. In some countries, Samsung is offering a 3G RAM option too.

As you can see in my benchmark comparison, the Samsung Galaxy Tab A 10.1 2019 is the clear winner. It gets much better results in Geekbench and in AnTuTu.

Yes, its performance is noticeably better in real life too. Their operating systems and apps like Chrome and YouTube run fine on both. However, there are huge differences when it comes to gaming performance.

To begin with, Amazon’s loading times are much longer. And with the Fire HD 10, you can play PUBG Mobile with balanced settings only. With Samsung, on the other hand, you can set PUBG to HD graphics. You might see smaller stuttering with both. But the Galaxy Tab looks much better.

Software: One UI vs. Fire OS

There are huge differences when you compare operating systems. Samsung is shipping the Galaxy Tab A 10.1 2019 with normal Android 9 Pie and its One UI. That’s how Samsung’s custom UI is called. It supports all the features we know from standard Android and the One UI looks modern. In the past, the Galaxy Tab A series has gotten lots of updates. Well, this is just standard Android.

While the Amazon Fire HD 10 is running Android too, it looks much different. Amazon transformed it into their version of Android – without Google’s apps. In fact, its UI is customized very much, and Amazon deeply integrated all their services. Because of that, you’ve got easy and fast access to services like Kindle eBooks, Prime Video, Audible, and Amazon’s own app store. Oh, and you can use Alexa. All of that can be great if you are a Prime Member and use their offerings anyways. But if you don’t, all these Amazon ads might be annoying.

Read: These Are The Best Android Tablets

In the end, the Fire HD 10 is still running Android. That means if you want, you can install the Google Play Store and other Google apps manually. That’s what I did. You just must know that they’re not pre-installed. And some features like a split screen view are missing. On the positive side, Amazon is releasing smaller updates in-between.

I think the interface from Amazon is alright – especially if you want to save money and are using Prime Video and so on anyways. I would always install the Play Store though. However, overall, I do prefer Android 9. Sure, Samsung customized it a lot with their One UI too. But at least it’s Google’s Android.

By the way, you can watch Netflix in HD with both.

Battery Life

In my standard battery test, Samsung got a runtime of 10.5 hours while the Fire HD 10 lasted 11.3 hours. For this test, I’m always looping an HD video at medium brightness.

To be exact, Amazon’s battery lasted a bit longer. But the difference is below an hour and below 10 percent. So, in real life, you might not notice a real difference.

Samsung Galaxy Tab A 10.1 vs. Amazon Fire HD 10 Comparison: Final Verdict

Well, that’s been my comparison between the Samsung Galaxy Tab A 10.1 2019 and the Amazon Fire HD 10. Regarding some aspects, they’re quite similar. But overall, I think the Galaxy Tab is the much better tablet. It offers more powerful hardware, a metal body, better cameras, and better speakers. Oh, and it’s running Googles Android. I think for most it’ll be worth it to invest a bit more for the Galaxy Tab A 10.1.

At the same time, I also don’t think that it’s worth for you to switch if you already own a Fire HD 10. But I can recommend it as a new buy only if you want to save as much money as possible and don’t care about a better performance or better speakers. As I said, the displays are very similar. If you need a tablet to just read with, you won’t be missing much. But again, for most, I think the Galaxy Tab A 2019 is the better and more future proof choice.

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Samsung Galaxy Tab A 10.1 T510

Read now: Our Samsung Galaxy Tab A 10.1 T510 Review

The Samsung Galaxy Tab A 10.1 2019 is a very good tablet with a great value. Considering how inexpensive it is, you get a good screen, a solid build quality, and a powerful processor. It is running Android 9 Pie and should get updates for at least two years. Sadly, the base model features 2GB of RAM only. However, it's still good enough for most.

Positive

• Solid metal body
• Pretty screen
• Powerful processor
• Android 9.0 Pie
• Good cameras
• Decent speakers

Negative

• Base model with 2GB RAM
• Speakers on just one side
• No fingerprint scanner

Buy on* Amazon

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