Samsung Galaxy Tab S10+ Review And Comparison With Tab S9+

The Samsung Galaxy Tab S10+ will be the new premium tablet in the S series and comes with some exciting new features. For the first time with a MediaTek processor, again with a 12.4-inch AMOLED display and a comprehensive range of features, Samsung wants to raise the bar for Android tablets once again. But will it succeed? Despite many highlights, questions remain unanswered: Is it worth switching from the Galaxy Tab S9+?

And how does the tablet perform in practice compared to cheaper alternatives? In our comprehensive practical test, we examine the strengths and weaknesses of the Galaxy Tab S10+ in detail.

Design and Build Quality

The Samsung Galaxy Tab S10+ is very flat, only 5.6 mm thick and weighs 571 grams in the WLAN version. It is also available in the colors Moonstone Gray and Platinum Silver.

The casing has a very high-quality finish, fits well in the hands and also feels very classy. In direct comparison with the Galaxy Tab S9+, there are no noticeable differences in the casing or design. Visually, the two tablets look very similar.

One difference, however, is that Samsung builds the frame of the S10+ with thicker “Armor aluminum”, but this is not visible on the outside. The display edges also remain just as wide as on the predecessor and, of course, the S10+ also offers IP68 water and dust protection certification.

Display

A 12.4-inch AMOLED display with a refresh rate of up to 120 hertz and a resolution of 1752 x 2800 pixels (16:10) is installed. A beautiful display, but almost identical to that of the previous model. It only differs from the Galaxy Tab S9+ in one respect.

It is equipped with an anti-reflective coating, which does a really good job as it significantly reduces reflections. However, the brightness of the display suffers as a result. It only achieves just under 550 nits, whereas its predecessor achieved a value of 580 nits. Especially in bright light or sunlight, the display appears less bright than the Honor MagicPad 2 or the Apple iPad Pro, which is disappointing. However, the colors are still very beautiful and rich in contrast. It still supports the P3 color space.

In our practical comparison, the displays of the S9+ and S10+ looked very similar and, in addition to the reduced reflections, it was noticeable that the display of the S10+ is generally slightly more yellowish and also shows slightly less saturated colors than the S9+. This is probably due to the coating, but not a major drawback.

Speakers

The built-in speakers are just as uninnovative. The Samsung Galaxy S10+ also has four stereo speakers, just like the previous model. As we were unable to detect any noticeable differences in sound in the comparison, these are probably exactly the same components. This is a real shame, as the newer model could easily stand out a little more from the S9+ with slightly improved speakers. However, the speakers are generally very good and comparable to those of the iPad Air (13-inch). However, those of the Honor Magic Pad 2 or the iPad Pro offer even better sound quality.

Hardware and performance

The new Samsung Galaxy Tab S10+ can finally score points, as it is the first device in Samsung’s flagship series to be equipped with a MediaTek chipset. While a Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 was installed in the Galaxy Tab S9+, Samsung is now relying on a MediaTek Dimensity 9300+, which is comparable to the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 in terms of performance. With the new chip, the new S10+ manages to stand out from its predecessor and this is also evident in the benchmark tests, where it delivers significantly improved performance.

However, not too good, as the chipset leaves a lot to be desired in terms of graphics performance and not only performs far below the Apple competition, but also goes head-to-head with the OnePlus Pad 2.

With a selectable storage capacity of 256 GB or 512 GB, which can be expanded to up to 1.5 TB via microSD, and a fixed 12 GB of RAM, there are no new options compared to the predecessor.

As a security option, there is the built-in fingerprint sensor, which works very well. For everyday use, however, we would like the entire screen to recognize the finger or at least have built-in scanners in several places, as you always have to hit the spot relatively precisely with your finger.

We also noticed in the practical test that the device only got a little warm even when playing graphics-heavy games or editing images and remained pleasantly cool most of the time. This demonstrates the very good performance of the new chip.

Gaming Test

As one of Samsung’s premium devices, the Samsung Galaxy Tab S10+ is well suited for an excellent gaming experience. In the test, for example, we played Fortnite on the device on very high graphics settings smoothly and with great enjoyment. Games such as PubG Mobile or CPU-demanding strategy games also run very smoothly on the device.

It achieves very good results in our benchmark tests and definitely stands out from its predecessor. However, even graphics-intensive games can be played smoothly on very high graphics settings on the S9+.

Incidentally, the anti-reflective coating is very useful for gaming or watching movies on the go, as direct light is shielded very well and you can still see everything clearly even with reduced brightness. Some of the games that we installed for testing indicated that the respective game was not compatible with the device’s hardware or had not yet been tested, which could lead to a drop in performance or game crashes. However, the latter in particular was never the case in the practical test.

Software

The device runs Android 14 with OneUI 6.1 and Samsung is offering a new update promise with the new S10 series. While the Samsung Galaxy Tab S9+ received 4 years of Android version updates followed by 5 years of security updates, Samsung promises a full 7 years of version updates and a further 7 years of security updates for the S10+, which is a very welcome innovation. It also sets the tablet apart from many of its competitors, such as the OnePlusPad 2, and keeps pace with Apple’s update promises.

The S10+ is also equipped with the full range of Galaxy AI functions.

The AI features for the notes app, summarizing PDFs and interpreting or speech to text proved to be particularly practical in the test.

Even if the summaries are currently still very short and superficial and do not match the quality that we are used to from ChatGPT, for example, you can use them to quickly get an overview of PDFs.

Ultimately, however, you quickly realize that the AI functions are currently still under construction, and Samsung will probably update the software continuously with future updates and present more functions and improvements.

Battery performance

In our battery test, the tablet lasted a full 11 hours when playing an HD YouTube video at maximum brightness. However, its predecessor, the S9+, also achieved exactly the same time. Charging is possible with a maximum of 45 watts.

It is also a shame that a power adapter is no longer included in the scope of delivery.

S-Pen and Keyboard

As with its predecessor, the S Pen is included and works perfectly. It is waterproof and can be attached magnetically to the back of the S10+, as was the case with its predecessor. Writing down notes in the great Samsung Notes app or drawing works very easily and extremely smoothly. In terms of the stylus and its performance, Samsung continues to lead the way alongside Apple.

The Samsung keyboard is well suited for writing emails or longer texts and is a good complement to the stylus. If you’re used to working on a laptop and also want to write emails on a tablet, it takes a bit of adjustment, but once you’ve warmed up to Samsung’s desktop mode (DeX), you’ll get faster and faster with it. You can also connect an external screen via the USB-C interface using an adapter.

Cameras

There is a 12 megapixel selfie camera on the long side, which is also well suited for video conferences, and a dual camera with 13 megapixels (wide angle) and 8 megapixels (ultra wide angle) on the back, which offers a nice image quality.

In a direct comparison with its predecessor, the images of the S10+ appear somewhat more colorful and softer, which is probably due to software adjustments, as the camera equipment is otherwise identical.

We also noticed a cracking noise when switching the lens of the rear camera when testing the S10+. However, according to Samsung, this is not a cause for concern and should stop on its own after prolonged use.

Conclusion

The Samsung Galaxy Tab S10+ certainly keeps up with the level of the S series and comes with a new, better processor and an update promise of a whole 7 years of version updates. Unfortunately, this is where the big innovations stop and the S10+ is very similar to its predecessor in many respects.

The devices look deceptively similar, especially from the outside, and apart from different processors and a nice display coating, they mainly offer the same components. It almost seems as if Samsung only wants to motivate people to buy them with software and advanced AI functions. At a current price of 1000 dollars for the 256 GB version, Samsung’s price remains stable and, unlike Apple, the good S-Pen stylus is included at no extra charge.

Compared to other models on the market, the price for an OLED tablet with top performance is also perfectly acceptable. However, we do not recommend switching from the S9+, as the new model is simply too similar and offers too few innovations.

However, if you are looking for a premium Android tablet that will continue to receive updates for a long time and is ideal for everyday work, studying or gaming, the S10+ should be a very good choice.

If you want an even larger display, you should definitely take a look at the Galaxy Tab S10 Ultra, which is even better suited for desktop applications at 14.6 inches.