What is the best Android tablet one can buy? For years, this has had just one answer, a Samsung Galaxy Tab. The Korean tech giant hopes to underline this for another year with its new Samsung Galaxy Tab S10 Ultra 5G, the tablet equivalent of its smartphone flagship. But is the new Tab S10 Ultra really worth the legacy it carries with it? I used it for a few days, and here is what I thought.
The Samsung Galaxy Tab S10 Ultra 5G is a sleek tablet despite its large 14.6-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X display. The tablet has a size that other companies don’t offer and is clearly aimed at those who need the larger canvas to capitalise on the S-pen’s ability to take your creativity to a whole new level. Buy this is a large tablet and you need to be mindful of that, especially the wide, or long, orientation of the device. Thankfully, this tablet is so thin and light that it compensates for its size.
I am used to carrying my iPad on trips and even the Apple tablet gets a bit hard to manage from an Indigo seat. The Tab S10 Ultra is much bigger and will only struggle more. In contrast, this is a great device to have on your office table or while you are lounging on the sofa at home to scribble down your thoughts or just consume the latest Netflix show on the stunning Samsung screen.
The Samsung Galaxy Tab S10 Ultra 5G showcases multitasking capabilities with a stunning 14.6-inch AMOLED display. (Image: Nandagopal Rajan/The Indian Express)
In fact, I was impressed by the audio and video playback capabilities of the device, making it perfect for binge-watching a new show or just flipping through The Indian Express morning edition PDF. And contrary to what I said about the size, I would still stash this into my carry-on bag to watch a movie on the next flight to Mumbai. The audio playback is as powerful as a small Bluetooth speaker and can fill the room on a quiet day. The anti-reflection screen makes this a device with which you can take your reading to an outside cafe or the balcony of your beach resort.
As always, the best part of getting a Samsung tablet is the S-Pen. I have been saying that Samsung devices are an S-Pen length ahead of the competition. The same is the case with the Samsung Galaxy Tab S10 Ultra where I found the S-Pen to have improved on its pressure sensitivity with a softer tip. The tablet makes more sense with the S-Pen. Take the stylus off its magnetic perch on the back of the tablet and you have a perfect slate to write on, especially when holding the tablet in a vertical orientation. The S-Pen glides on the screen capturing your handwriting perfectly. Here I was annotating PDFs and making notes for new projects with the S-Pen menu helping me make the choice every time I took to the pen. Over the years, Samsung has perfected the use of a stylus on the tablet with both hardware and software.
The ultra-slim design of the Samsung Galaxy Tab S10 Ultra makes it easy to handle despite its large size. (Image: Nandagopal Rajan/The Indian Express)
There is a new aspect that is mindblowing in many ways. The Sketch to Image feature converts any doodle you create into a respectable painting. I finally got to see what all the doodles I have been working on since childhood would really look like if I had some actual artistic skills. This is also a good way to give wings to your ideas and will really interest a lot of users.
With the Samsung Ultra Book Cover (which costs extra) this slate is powerful in more ways than one to become your primary computing device, taking charge of all your creative duties. This is also the first Samsung flagship device powered by a MediaTek processor, the Dimensity 9300+, and it has a bumped-up performance. The processor ensures that the device stays cool whatever you do, be it streaming for hours or playing a new game. Plus, you now have actual AI features rolling out into the device, which means the on-device computing power has to be top-notch at all times.
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Back view of the Galaxy Tab S10 Ultra 5G with the improved S-Pen attached magnetically. (Image: Nandagopal Rajan/The Indian Express)
The camera too has AI features like in the new Samsung phones and you can use it to move around some subject in the frame or erase it completely. The one aspect that did not impress me was the camera performance in low light as the images turned out too noisy.
The battery life is impressive, especially given the thin frame of the device, and can last two full days of moderate use, especially if you are not using the 5G at all times.
At a starting price of Rs 108,999 for the Wi-Fi version, the Samsung Galaxy Tab S10 Ultra is undoubtedly the best Android tablet of 2024. Buy the pricier 5G version (starting at Rs 122,999) if you are always on the move. With the S-Pen and the new AI features, there is little the competition can do to come close to what this tablet offers. However, if you are already a Tab S9 user then wait for the upgrade as expected for the chip as this device is almost similar to yours. New users need to check out the size of this tablet before committing.