Galaxy Tab S10 lineup: Samsung goes all in with MediaTek

Samsung's flagship tablets have entered a new era today. The Galaxy Tab S10 series now consists of two models, Plus and Ultra, and Samsung has decided to use a brand-new chip.

Instead of walking down the tried and tested Snapdragon or even Exynos paths, Samsung switched lanes with the Galaxy Tab S10+ and Galaxy Tab S10 Ultra and went for a MediaTek solution. Here is everything we know.

Samsung goes global with MediaTek

Older rumors suggested Samsung might be using a MediaTek chip for the Galaxy Tab S10 series in select markets, but that is not the case. No matter where you buy the Galaxy Tab S10+ or Galaxy Tab S10 Ultra, the tablets feature the same MediaTek Dimensity 9300+ chip everywhere.

However, Samsung claims it has worked closely with MediaTek to optimize the Dimensity 9300+ SoC for Galaxy AI. Exactly what this entails is unclear, and there's no information on whether this special iteration of the Dimensity 9300+ chip used by Samsung has slightly modified CPU, GPU, and/or NPU specifications.

The standard Dimensity 9300+ specifications include:

• 1x Cortex-X4 CPU core clocked at up to 3.4GHz.
• 3x Cortex-X4 CPU cores clocked at up to 2.85GHz.
• 4x Cortex-X4 CPU cores clocked at up to 2.0GHz.
• 18MB L3 + SLC cache.
• 12-core Immortalis-G720 GPU with ray-tracing capabilities.
• MediaTek HyperEngine NOS (Network Observation System for power and cellular data savings in supporting mobile games.
• Manufactured by TSMC on a 4nm process.

According to early benchmarks, Samsung's Galaxy Tab S10 series might use a slightly underclocked Dimensity 9300+ chip with a 3.25GHz frequency instead of 3.4GHz on the primary Cortex-X4 core. However, other Android manufacturers do the same, which makes the “up to 3.4GHz” claim from MediaTek somewhat theoretical.

As far as performance goes, Samsung compared the Galaxy Tab S10 Ultra with the Tab S9 Ultra, and the company claims that the MediaTek Dimensity 9300+ chip offers 18% improved CPU, 28% improved GPU, and 14% improved NPU performance. Samsung also says it applied a 1.48x larger vapor chamber for efficient cooling.