By admin 
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The sharp flagship
Samsung Galaxy Tab S10+
The Galaxy Tab S10+ is Samsung’s latest and greatest tablet, with a beautiful 12.4-inch AMOLED display, excellent speakers and a stronger focus on AI. The usual Snapdragon chip has been replaced by a Dimensity 9300+, so time will tell how long-term performance will be.
Positives
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Smoother 120 Hz screen
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Faster processor
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AMOLED
Disadvantages
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Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 FE+, with front screen and back with two cameras
The budget king
Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 FE+
The Galaxy Tab S9 FE+, aside from having an awkwardly long name, aims to hit the sweet spot between affordability and premium features. The display is 90Hz and LCD, but it’s still sharp and reasonably bright.
Positives
Disadvantages
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Some performance issues
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LCD screen
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90Hz
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Samsung’s Galaxy Tab S range has been a hit especially in recent years, but it’s also a range of devices that can cause confusion. There are two models called S6 Lite, one from 2022 and one from, for example, 2024.
Samsung currently makes two 12.4-inch tablets Galaxy Tab S10+and the Galaxy Tab S9 FE+ and choosing between them is not as easy as you might think. The Tab S10+ has a sharper, smoother AMOLED display and more horsepower under the hood, but does that justify the cost?
The Tab S9 FE+, meanwhile, has a less powerful chip, a screen that is only 90 Hz and LCD instead of OLED. It’s also half the price, making this comparison closer than you might expect. The Tab S9 FE+ does one of our favorite tabletsso the question we need to answer is whether the price of the Tab S10+ is justified for the upgrades it offers.
Price, availability and specifications
The Tab S10+ has a MediaTek Dimensity 9300+ with 12GB of RAM and 256GB or 512GB of storage, while the S9 FE+ has a Samsung-made Exynos 1380 with 8GB or 12GB of RAM paired with 128GB or 256GB of storage. Both devices have a MicroSD slot to expand their storage, and 12.4-inch displays. However, the screen on the Tab S10+ is much better as it is a 120Hz AMOLED panel versus the 90Hz LCD screen used on the S9 FE+.
Both tablets are available from Samsung and major retailers worldwide, with the Tab S10+ starting at $1,000 for 256 GB, and the Tab S9 FE+ costing $600, with frequent discounts up to $500, for 128 GB.
Design
Almost identical
The Galaxy Tab S10+’s camera is bumpy, along with the power and volume buttons.
The design of these two tablets is so similar that you’d have trouble telling them apart unless you knew to look for the area where the S Pen sticks on the S10+. Both devices come with an S Pen, but they are not the same; the S9 FE+ comes with a regular S Pen that sticks to the back for storage, while the Tab S10+ has a Bluetooth S Pen that needs to be charged, which happens automatically when magnetized to the back. Both are also IP68 rated, so they can survive a splash easily enough.
Apart from that, both tablets look good, with minimal bezels, flat sides and rounded corners making them comfortable to hold for long periods of time. They share the same width and height, although the S10+ is slightly thinner at 5.6mm compared to 6.5mm for the S9 FE+. The difference in design you’ll probably notice the most is the weight; the Tab S9 FE+ is 627 grams, 56 grams heavier than the S10+, which weighs 571 grams.
One seemingly small design difference is much more noticeable in practice. The Galaxy Tab S10+ uses an under-display fingerprint scanner, but not the one you’d expect since, despite costing $1,000, it uses an optical scanner. It’s slower than it should be at this price and will never be as reliable as you’d expect. The Tab S9 FE+, on the other hand, has a capacitive scanner in the power button, just like the Z Flip and Z Fold series.
Display
AMOLED for the win
Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 FE+ on a wooden desk with plants and a globe in the background.
The displays are the same size and honestly both tablets have good screens for their price, but in a head-to-head comparison the S10+ wins easily.
The display on the Tab S9 FE+ is a 12.4-inch, 1600 x 2560 LCD with a 90Hz refresh rate and reaches a maximum brightness of 600 nits. While we prefer an AMOLED screen, this is still a good screen that supports HDR 10+. The LCD panel does a fine job most of the time, but if you watch a lot of movies, especially those with a lot of dark scenes, on your tablet, it will detract from the experience. An LCD simply cannot achieve the contrast levels that an OLED can.
The S10+ has a much better screen, although it’s still disappointing compared to other rivals. Like the S9 FE+, this screen is 12.4 inches with an aspect ratio of 16:10, but that is where most similarities end. This screen is a Super AMOLED 2X, is slightly sharper at 1752 x 2800 and has a refresh rate of 120 Hz. For media consumption, this screen will blow the S9 FE+ into the last century, thanks to the unbeatable dynamic range that an OLED can offer.
However, the display on the Tab S10+ is far from perfect. It only achieves a maximum brightness of 650 nits, only 50 nits more than the device that costs half as much.
Looking outside the Samsung ecosystem, things are even worse. The 2024 11-inch iPad Pro costs the same $1,000 as the Tab S10+, but it uses a beautiful tandem OLED that reaches 1,600 nits in XDR content and 1,000 nits in SDR. Samsung has long provided the best displays in its products, but that is no longer the case.
Software
Do you want AI?
A doodle of Pikachu as shown on the Galaxy Tab S10+
Thanks to updates rolled out to the Tab S9 FE+, both tablets run One UI 6.1.1 over Android 14. There are some big differences though, but whether they matter depends on how much you care about AI. The Galaxy Tab S10+ comes with Galaxy AIcomplete with features like sketch to image, instant slow-mo and more. I have these features on two of my devices and honestly they shouldn’t be a factor in deciding which tablet to buy.
Another difference is Samsung DeX. Both tablets have it, but the Tab S9 FE+ only supports it on-device, while the S10+ can be connected to an external display.
The Tab S9 FE+ is promised four Android updates with a fifth year of security patches. It launched last year with Android 13, so the last Android version it will receive is Android 17. The Tab S10+ launched with Android 14 and is promised seven years of both Android and security updates, bringing it up to Android 21 .
Performance and battery life
A clear winner
Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 FE+ USB C port on a wooden table
The battery is the same in both tablets and they charge at the same 45W via USB-C. Battery life is somewhere between the two, and they can handle anything you throw at them.
The difference you will notice is the performance. The Exynos 1380 is mediocre even for a $600 tablet, so when you compare it to the Dimensity 9300+ it doesn’t come close. To be clear, the Tab S9 FE+ is not a slow tablet, as it’s fine for browsing the interface, watching movies, and scrolling through social media.
The problems arise when you try to play more demanding games or run too many apps on the screen at the same time. The Tab S10+ has more raw horsepower and can handle more demanding tasks. Frankly, it won’t make much difference to most people, and the only concern I have about the S9 FE+ is how it will run in a few years when it gets its final Android update.
Which one suits you?
The answer to that question will vary depending on what your needs are, but my recommendation would be the Tab S9 FE+.
Yes, the Tab S10+ is faster, has Galaxy AI and a nicer screen, but is that enough to make it worth $1,000? If you use a tablet for work then that may be true, but most of us use our tablets to scroll through Twitter, shop on Amazon and watch YouTube or Netflix, and the Tab S9 FE+ is good enough for the things I would like to do. buy it and pocket the $400-500 difference.
Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 FE+, with front screen and back with two cameras
The value option
Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 FE+
The Galaxy Tab S9 FE+ lacks the raw power of the Tab S10+ and has a smaller display, but that’s not enough for most people to justify paying for the S10+. This is a solid tablet for scrolling social media and watching movies.
If you’re a power user who wants an AMOLED screen, the latest AI features, and a smoother 120Hz experience, the Tab S10+ is a good tablet. That said, if you’re not already connected to the Galaxy ecosystem, Apple’s competition is fiercer than ever.
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Good, but difficult to recommend
Samsung Galaxy Tab S10+
The Galaxy Tab S10+ is a fantastic tablet, but it’s hard to recommend to most people who will never use the more powerful hardware.