Samsung Galaxy Tab S10 Ultra - Deservedly Resting on Its Laurels

I didn't have to spend much time with this device to realise this was going to be one of those reviews where I have to pretend I'm not a tech geek who gets sent every cool gadget to try, the moment it's launched (and sometimes a bit before).

There aren't many "normal" people out there who upgrade devices like this every generation.

In fact, there are probably lots of people out there who would benefit greatly from an Android tablet like this but have never even used one before.

So I told myself I was going to come at this one like a newbie.

The truth is, no matter how much Samsung would have you believe otherwise, the Galaxy Tab S10 Ultra is not so different from the Galaxy Tab S9 Ultra... or even the Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra I reviewed back in April 2022.

Even then, this was the king of all Android tablets - with a sublime screen clocking in at a whopping 14.6-inches. The size of the screen hasn't changed but the Dynamic AMOLED 2X display is now even more immersive, with Samsung's latest anti-reflective technology keeping the majority of distracting glares and flares away.

Despite the huge screen, the device itself is just 5.4mm thick, which makes you feel like all you're holding is a screen and nothing else. Thankfully, I was sent Samsung's extremely rugged Outdoor Cover to help keep this NZ$2,449.00 sandwich of glass and metal safe. That's not to say the Tab S10 Ultra isn't reasonably robust on its own - it's one of the few tablets out there to carry an IP68 water and dust resistance rating. I just feel better having it tucked safely into such a nice, sturdy case.

Ironically, the case is last year's - specifically for the Tab S9 Ultra - so obviously there have been no dimensional changes here - at least not on the outside. It's a fantastic cover, by the way. A very firm and stable fold-out stand and a super secure slot for the S-Pen to stay magnetically charging on the back panel.

Inside it's a different story. We have a larger vapour chamber cooling system to keep the Tab 10 Ultra running at peak performance for longer. But the big news is Samsung has swapped out last year's Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chip from Qualcomm and gone with the Mediatek MT6989 instead. Now, you may well be saying, "Who cares?" (other than the people at Snapdragon, obviously) but in real terms what this means is faster, smoother, more reliable performance. And more efficiency too - who doesn't want a bit more battery life?

Without being able to compare the Tab S10 Ultra with the previous device directly, all I can do is assure you everything works faultlessly. It doesn't seem to matter how many apps are open at once, I can be answering an email while pausing a game and everything just keeps going. Well... except for Netflix. I can watch everything else, Disney+ and the like - but although I can log into Netflix and select something from my Continue Watching list, when I hit play, it doesn't. Yes, I've uninstalled and reinstalled. Yes, I've turned everything off and back on again.

Given this giant, portable screen with an amazing speaker system is the perfect option for a bit of bedtime viewing, I hope either Samsung or Netflix can sort this issue out soon. This isn't the first time I've run into issues with Netflix working on some devices and not others. No idea why it is so fussy when every other streaming app always seems to work fine.

That small hiccup aside, the Tab S10 Ultra is a pleasure to use. I've added accessories like a bluetooth keyboard and mouse to turn it into a mobile workstation. In combination with the previously mentioned Outdoor Cover, this quickly becomes as close to a desktop experience as an Android tablet can get - especially when you toggle into DeX Mode. If you haven't seen this variation of Samsung's UI before, it essentially transforms your home screen from a giant version of your phone into a more computer-like environment, including a taskbar with open or frequently used apps across the bottom.

I also paired a Play Station controller for gaming (the graphics performance has been boosted as well) and was even able to play Xbox games via Cloud Gaming on my browser. All of this worked brilliantly, a realisation of the way different platforms and tech brands are finally making themselves more accessible to each other.

But the thing Samsung really wants you to focus on with the Galaxy Tab S10 Ultra is AI. It is 2024 after all and Samsung has been pushing Galaxy AI big-time since it launched its S24-series handsets right at the beginning of the year.

All the Galaxy AI tools and tricks we've seen rolled out across devices like the S24 Ultra and Z Fold6 a just as effective on this tablet too - if not more so.

For example, the ability to review and summarise large documents is a legitimate time-saver. Translating both text and audio is essential for many people. And for students, Galaxy AI must be an absolute godsend; from advanced notetaking to using complex maths formulae, you can now get Galaxy AI to perform many of these tasks for you, even when you're inputting the information using the S-Pen.

Again, we've seen how advanced the S-Pen has become on the flagship handsets this year but it really comes into its own on a big, bright, beautiful screen like this. Actions like Circle-to-Search and Sketch-to-Image now seem like the most natural things in the world. Want to add a birthday hat onto that one stick-in-the-mud family member who refused to join the fun at the party? No problem. The Tab S10 Ultra is the perfect device for photo editing.

In fact, it's the perfect device for a lot of things - gaming, browsing, streaming (other than Netflix) or studying... I challenge you to find a more versatile and powerful device with a display this size, in such a slim, mobile form factor. Have there been dramatic upgrades since 2022? Maybe not. But that doesn't mean this isn't still the undisputed world champion of Android tablets.

    

Click here for more information and pricing on the Samsung Galaxy Tab S10 Ultra.