The Samsung Galaxy Tab S10 Ultra is a super-premium Android tablet with a huge AMOLED display that rivals many laptops.
But with a starting price of ₹1,08,999, you have to wonder who it is really designed for.
design
Samsung has kept the overall look and feel of this device consistent with previous Ultra tablets.
This time it’s slightly slimmer at 5.4mm and impressively smooth. But it still weighs well over 700g, so yeah, it’s quite a unit to hand-hold.
Samsung has also upgraded the build with reinforced armored aluminum, which it claims is 10% stronger and more resistant to scratches.
This platinum silver color on my test device looks very delicate and professional, but I don’t like the white highlights on this device.
Display and utilities
From the front, you’ll notice this display notch, which is the Ultra’s standout feature. Even after three generations, I still can’t fully justify its presence.
Samsung could have easily hidden this notch by making the bezels slightly thicker, so that might have been a better choice. Thin bezels sound appealing on paper, but in practice they make it difficult to hold such a large tablet without your fingers accidentally touching or obstructing the screen.
The S10 Ultra also has IP68 water and dust resistance, which is something you don’t often see on tablets.
The S Pen is back and bundled as always at no extra charge. As always, this is a great tool for taking notes and drawing.
I’m not a professional artist, so I can’t speak to its effectiveness for serious digital art. However, for occasional doodling, pen and paper provides a satisfying feel.
However, I wish there was a better way to store the pens, as when you attach them to the back, they can fall out unless you secure them inside the cover. And yes, a cover is essential for this tablet given its huge footprint.
The biggest feature of the Galaxy Tab S10 Ultra is its display. It’s a 14.6-inch AMOLED panel with a 16:10 aspect ratio, making it perfect for movie buffs.
This screen delivers vibrant colors and has a maximum brightness of 930 nits, so it can handle HDR content very well. The 120Hz LTPO refresh rate can be lowered to 1Hz to save battery, making operation feel smooth and responsive.
It also has an anti-reflective coating just like the S24 Ultra, which reflects only 2% of light and works well in bright environments.
The S10 Ultra’s stereo speakers are very loud with plenty of depth and bass production. It will be fun to watch the content.
For biometric authentication, the tablet has a fast in-display fingerprint scanner, but it can be difficult to use depending on its location.
Performance and software
The Galaxy Tab S10 Ultra is powered by MediaTek’s Dimensity 9300+ chipset, which is quite surprising since most of Samsung’s high-end devices usually use Snapdragon or Exynos chips.
The Dimensity 9300+ is a flagship-grade chip, so it’s no surprise that it completely outperforms benchmarks.
It’s also a great option for mobile gaming if you have a compatible controller. To be honest, using touch controls on such a large display is quite a pain.
I also edited some videos and the experience was very smooth with very little throttling.
12GB of standard RAM will certainly help keep things running smoothly. In India, it is available in 256 GB or 512 GB storage options, but the 1 TB version is not launched here.
Galaxy Tab S10 Ultra also includes the latest Galaxy AI suite. So you get a wide range of smart features, such as photo editing tools and transcription tools. Some of these features may be niche, but most are very useful to have.
Additionally, this larger display and S-Pen make using many of these AI features more intuitive.
The tablet runs on Samsung’s OneUI 6 layered on top of Android 14 and is generally well optimized. However, keep in mind that the app experience on Android tablets still lags behind what iPad OS offers.
Samsung promises seven years of software updates and security patches for the S10 Ultra. This is great to have on your tablet because you don’t have to change it every two years.
More importantly, this tablet supports DeX for a desktop-like interface. This allows you to open apps in resizable windows just like on your PC, making your workflow much easier.
However, a keyboard case is absolutely necessary to take full advantage of this tab’s functionality. Unfortunately, Samsung did not provide one to me for this review.
camera
The Tab S10 Ultra features a 13MP and 8MP setup on the back and dual 12MP cameras on the front, one of which has a wider field of view. The focus here is obviously on video calls rather than photos.
It’s good for documenting photos, but don’t expect the quality to match Samsung’s premium smartphones.
battery and charging
The Tab S10 Ultra comes with an 11,200mAh battery, which Samsung claims can last up to 18 hours on a single charge.
In my use, the tablet easily lasted about three days, which included watching Youtube, playing games, browsing the web, and running some benchmarks. Please note that enabling DeX increases battery consumption.
However, this charging takes time. It only supports wired charging up to 45W and does not include a charger in the box. A full charge took about 2.5 hours using the standard 25W Samsung charger I had.
Galaxy Tab S10 Ultra review
If you’ve read all the way through this review, you already know that this isn’t an upgrade for current Tab S8 Ultra or S9 Ultra users, as the improvements are only incremental.
However, if you’re considering buying this as your first Ultra tablet, remember that it’s a luxury. I don’t need it, I just want it.
After all, you probably already know whether this tablet is right for you. If so, it’s a sophisticated conversation piece and a reliable companion for the next seven years.
