That is not to say the Samsung Galaxy Tab S10 Ultra is without its shortcomings—I’ll get to that in a bit. But flaws or no, the Tab S10 Ultra is greater than the sum of its parts, thanks to that intangible something that makes a gadget just work.
Let me first get my biggest peeves out of the way.
Design
The Samsung Galaxy Tab S10 Ultra is a monster of a device. It’s an ergonomic nightmare to use with just your hands, measuring more than a foot long, just over 20 centimetres wide and weighing a hefty 723 grams (for the 5G variant).
Heavier than most tablets and nearly as heavy as the lightest laptops in the market, which clock in at 999 grams, the Tab S10 Ultra will soon give you wrist fatigue, especially if you’re holding it in portrait orientation. Your only prayer is to buy a folio case, the official Samsung keyboard case—if you want to use it for work—or any origami case that will let you rest the tablet on a surface without the need to hold it.
Holding the tablet while watching content drew my attention to other problems—accidental touches and your palms accidentally covering the speakers, which is a shame because the quad-speaker system is so darned good. They capture the full range of sound, while the system intelligently adapts to the content being played to adjust the sound profile automatically, making for a seamless listening experience. Because of the narrow bezels and the weight, it’s all too easy to accidentally touch the screen while adjusting for the right grip.
That’s all the nits I must pick. Now, onto the good stuff.
Design and Display
I know, I know. We have already been over the design. But only one part of it.
Everything that makes the Tab S10 Ultra’s design awful to hold also, ironically, makes this possibly the best media consumption device on the market—if you can afford the hefty ₹1,08,999 price tag (₹1,22,999 for the 5G variant). But then again, if you’re in the market for such a large, powerful device, you’re likely a pro user whose option is the 13-inch M4 iPad Pro.
The Tab S10 Ultra is absolute perfection in landscape mode—the 14.6-inch AMOLED 2K display supports a 120Hz refresh rate, HDR 10+ and is a visual treat. Every scene from any movie or TV show—even those in standard definition (SD)—absolutely pops, while the simulated surround sound makes it an unforgettable experience.
The 16:10 aspect ratio of the display makes it perfect for watching videos as letterboxing is minimal—regular movies, which play in the 21:9 aspect ratio, take up a good chunk of the screen, unlike on other squarer displays. Any YouTube video with the standard 16:9/16:10 aspect ratio fills up the screen.
The outward design is striking and elegant—it is encased in aluminium, is just 5.4 mm thick, and had a recess on the back in which you can slot the S Pen, which attaches magnetically and charges. The tablet comes in two pretty sober colours—Moonstorm Gray and Platinum Silver.
Little Extras that I Appreciate
The tablet comes with two side-mounted 12-megapixel front cameras, one of which also serves as a face unlock sensor. This, coupled with the under-display optical fingerprint scanner on the right (or bottom), makes it that much easier to unlock. I prefer this to the side-mounted fingerprint scanner on my M2 iPad Air, which is the only option to unlock that device.
Price and Comparison
For this review, Samsung sent me the top-end variant with 12GB of RAM and 512GB of storage with 5G support. This model is priced at ₹1,33,999. A similarly specced M4 iPad Pro will cost ₹1,69,900. While the Tab S10 Ultra comes with the S Pen in the box, you must buy the Apple Pencil USB-C for ₹7,900 or the Apple Pencil Pro for ₹11,900. Add another ₹26,999 for the Samsung keyboard case or ₹33,900 for Apple’s Magic Keyboard case, and you’ll find yourself approaching dangerously close to pro laptop territory. Either way, for this configuration, a fully kitted-out M4 iPad Pro costs between ₹1,91,700 and ₹1,95,700, while the Tab S10 Ultra will put you back ₹1,49,900.
| Samsung Galaxy S10 Ultra vs M4 iPad Pro | |||
| Samsung | |||
| Variant | RAM+Storage | Price | |
| WiFi | |||
| 12+256 | ₹1,08,999 | ||
| 12+512 | ₹1,19,999 | ||
| 5G | |||
| 12+256 | ₹1,22,999 | ||
| 12+512 | ₹1,33,999 | ||
| Apple | Variant | RAM+Storage | Price |
| WiFi | |||
| 8+256 | ₹1,29,900 | ||
| 8+512 | ₹1,49,900 | ||
| 16+1TB | ₹1,89,900 | ||
| 16+2TB | ₹2,29,900 | ||
| 5G | |||
| 8+256 | ₹1,49,900 | ||
| 8+512 | ₹1,69,900 | ||
| 16+1TB | ₹2,09,900 | ||
| 16+2TB | ₹2,49,900 | ||
Note: The iPad Pro also comes with a nano-textured glass option for the 1TB and 2TB variants. This costs ₹10,000 more.
Summing it up, the highest-end variant of the Samsung Galaxy Tab S10 with all the accessories will cost ₹1,49,999, while the M4 iPad Pro will set you back between ₹1,91,700 and ₹1,95,700, based on which Apple Pencil you prefer.
Performance and Software
The Galaxy Tab S10 Ultra runs on the powerful MediaTek Dimensity 9300+ processor. The setup has a Cortex-X4 core at 3.25 GHz and 12 GB of RAM. It handles tasks with ease.
Playing games is enjoyable on the device, especially if you pair a Bluetooth controller. Resource-intensive games like Genshin Impact, et al, run very smoothly.
Multitasking is a breeze too, especially if you’re taking full advantage of the humongous display.
AI Features and Productivity Tools
Samsung introduced the Galaxy AI suite of features with its S24 smartphone lineup and has consistently been adding to it in the months since.
While the artificial intelligence features are fun to use on the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra and the Galaxy Z Fold6, they truly come into their own on the larger Tab S10 Ultra.
Also read: ASUS ROG Zephyrus G16 Review: A powerful, portable and light gaming laptop
In a nutshell, the AI tools help translate and correct texts, Chat Assist checks grammar and changes words, Interpreter mode translates live conversations, Notes Assist changes notes into summaries, and Sketch to Image refines rough drawings into clear, fully realised images. Transcript Assist turns audio into text swiftly, while Browsing Assist shortens long articles.
Camera Capabilities
Tablets often lack good cameras. But this one has a decent setup. The back has a dual-array setup—a 13 MP main lens and an 8 MP ultra-wide camera. The front carries dual 12 MP lenses. Video calls are sharp and framed well during my testing.
Though not better than high-end phones, the cameras are fine. They are good for scanning documents and video calls. It shoots 4K videos at 30fps. This adds flexibility.
Battery Life and Charging
A massive 11,200 mAh battery—bigger than those in most laptops—powers the tablet. It lasts 10-12 hours easily with average use, while intense tasks reduce it to about 7-8 hours of use. With a mixture of light, moderate, and heavy use, I managed to eke out nearly a full day of use.
The battery standby life is outstanding—after five days, it went down from 100% to just 80%.
Charging is fast with 45W support. The Tab S10 Ultra charges fully in about an hour and 48 minutes. Just so you know, the tablet comes only with a USB Type-C-to-Type C cable and, if you bought the 5G variant, a SIM ejector tool.
Conclusion꞉ Is It Worth the Investment?
It all boils down to how much money you want to spend and which ecosystem you’re tied into. If you’re in the Apple ecosystem and need a pro-grade tablet, then any iPad Pro should serve your purpose. If you’re an Android user, however, this is the best tablet money can buy right now.
Also read: ASUS ROG Ally X Review: My favourite portable gaming PC
