Make way! There's a new Samsung flagship tablet series on the block. The latest Galaxy Tab S10 series was officially announced today, and even though it might not look like it at a glance, the 2024 lineup introduces massive changes. Some you may have even heard of through leaks and rumors before.
Samsung's flagship tablet lineup hasn't seen many dramatic changes since 2022, with the debut of the first Ultra model. But things are indeed very different in 2024.
The leaks were right. No more base model
Let's get the big news out of the way first. Samsung went away with the base Galaxy Tab S model, and now, the 2024 lineup consists of two variants instead of three.
In recent years, we've had a base, a Plus, and an Ultra Galaxy Tab S. Today, Samsung announced only the Galaxy Tab S10+ and the Galaxy Tab S10 Ultra. And by the looks of it, there won't be a third.
The two new tablets are very similar, save for the fact that the Ultra model has a bigger screen and battery, slightly different connectivity options, and offers an additional memory configuration.
The other elephant in the room
The second massive change introduced by Samsung for the Galaxy Tab S10 series is a new chipset. And we're not talking about an upgraded Snapdragon or Exynos for 2024, but a whole new brand of chipsets.
Instead of an Exynos or Snapdragon chip, the Galaxy Tab S10+ and Tab S10 Ultra use MediaTek Dimensity 9300+ SoC. It's manufactured by MediaTek, and Samsung hasn't used this chip brand for a premium tablet before.
Thanks to this new chip, Samsung says the Galaxy Tab S10 Ultra boasts an 18% increase in CPU performance, a 28% increase in GPU performance, and a 14% improvement in NPU performance compared to the Galaxy Tab S9 Ultra. The latter is powered by the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2.
More so, Samsung says it worked closely with MediaTek to optimize the Dimensity 9300+ chip for Galaxy AI tasks. To top it all off, the company fitted a 1.48x larger vapor chamber on the new Tab S10 Ultra compared to the previous model.
Galaxy Tab S10 AI and firmware support
Galaxy AI appears to be Samsung's golden child in 2024, so it should be no surprise that the Galaxy Tab S10+ and Galaxy Tab S10 Ultra boast the latest AI features.
In short, the new flagship tablets offer the same Galaxy AI tools and improvements that Samsung introduced with the Galaxy Z Fold 6 and Z Flip 6.
The Galaxy Tab S10 series ships with the original Galaxy AI toolset from the beginning of 2024, as well as the latest One UI 6.1.1 and AI tidbits, including:
- Sketch to Image.
- AI portrait creator.
- A new Samsung Keyboard Composer.
- Translate image text on the web.
- Better Note Assist with voice recording transcriptions; PDF translate and summarize options.
- Improved Voice Recorder with automatic language detection.
- Samsung Health with AI-powered personalized insights and sleep analysis.
- Enhanced multi-window experience.
There's a lot more to unpack here. You can check out the full One UI 6.1.1 changelog here for more details about the software and AI experience you can expect from the Galaxy Tab S10 lineup.
In addition, the new keyboard accessories for the Galaxy Tab S10 lineup feature a brand-new key dedicated to summoning AI assistants, i.e., Google Gemini or Samsung Bixby.
As for firmware support, Samsung will provide the Galaxy Tab S10 series with seven major Android OS upgrades (for seven years).
Galaxy Tab S10+ and Tab S10 Ultra design and shared features
At a glance, Samsung's new flagship tablets look more or less the same as their predecessors. However, they come in two new colors, Moonstone Gray and Platinum Silver, which have a dual-tone color scheme around the S Pen magnetic holder and camera rings.
The Galaxy Tab S10+ and Tab S10 Ultra are also marginally thinner than their predecessors, with profiles measuring 5.6mm and 5.4mm, respectively. More importantly, they're lighter. The Plus model weighs 571 grams (Wi-Fi) or 576 grams (5G), whereas the Ultra variant tips the scales at 718 grams (Wi-Fi) and 723 grams (5G).
The tablets are built to last. They're enclosed in an Enhanced Armor Aluminum chassis and take advantage of an IP68 dust and water resistance rating.
As expected, both tablets feature the S Pen, which is also IP-68 rated. They also have quad speakers, in-display fingerprint scanners, anti-reflection display coatings, pSIM + eSIM support, a microSD card slot, and 45W charging capabilities.
Other Galaxy Tab S10+ specifications
The Galaxy Tab S10+ is equipped with a 12.4-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X display with a resolution of 2800 x 1752 and a maximum refresh rate of 120Hz.
At the back, you'll find a 13MP primary camera and an 8MP ultra-wide sensor. There's also a 12MP ultra-wide front-facing camera.
Memory options include 12GB of RAM and 256GB or 512GB of storage. And in terms of connectivity, the Tab S10+ has 5G (Sub-6/mmW), Wi-Fi 6E, Wi-Fi Direct, and Bluetooth 5.3.
The Galaxy Tab S10+ is powered by a 10,090mAh battery.
Other Galaxy Tab S10 Ultra specifications
Samsung's new Tab S10 Ultra tablet sports a large 14.6-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X display with a selfie camera notch, a resolution of 2960 x 1848, and a refresh rate of up to 120Hz.
The Galaxy Tab S10 Ultra shares its camera configuration with the Galaxy Tab S10+, save for the fact that it sports an extra front-facing 12MP wide camera.
Memory and connectivity options are also similar but not quite the same. The Galaxy Tab S10 Ultra offers 12GB of RAM + 256GB or 512GB options, just like the Tab S10+, but will also be sold in a memory configuration with 16GB of RAM and 1TB of storage.
Connectivity features include 5G (Sub-6), Wi-Fi 7, Wi-Fi Direct, and Bluetooth 5.3. The Ultra model is powered by an 11,200mAh battery.
