New year, same tablet experience

• Premium and powerful

  Samsung Galaxy Tab S10 Ultra

  The Samsung Galaxy Tab S10 Ultra is a premier tablet that offers an excellent design, an awesome display, and amazing performance. It’s very expensive, but if the price doesn’t scare you, there isn’t a better Android tablet on the market.

  Pros

  • Large display is stunning
  • Powerful performance
  • Amazing battery life

  Cons

  • Camera notch on a tablet this size
  • Fingerprint reader is hard to reach
  • Very expensive

• 

  Still fantastic

  Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 Ultra

  $900 $1200 Save $300

  The Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 Ultra may be a year old, but it’s still a top tablet in the Android space. With virtually the same specs as its newer sibling, the Tab S9 Ultra is a fantastic option thanks to its great performance, great battery life, and stunning display.

  Pros

  • Great performance
  • Stunning and large display
  • Great all-day battery life

  Cons

  • Fingerprint reader can be hard to reach
  • Very expensive
  • A notch on a tablet this size

Love them or hate them, Samsung knows how to deliver an amazing Android tablet experience. If you find yourself in the market for a large and very capable tablet filled with all the bells and whistles, then you simply can’t do any better than the Samsung Galaxy Tab S10 Ultra or even the Galaxy Tab S9 Ultra.

These two tablets are easily two of the best options on the market, and if you want something with a screen the size of something you would get on a laptop, then you already know that your options are quite limited. As two of the premier tablets available, both come with sky-high prices and are the furthest things that you can find from Samsung’s cheap tablets.

With Samsung’s yearly launches stuck in an iterative rut, does it make sense to get the latest and greatest or save a few dollars and get the still great model from last year? Let’s break it all down to see which tablet deserves to be your next purchase.

Price, availability, and specs

The Samsung Galaxy Tab S10 Ultra hit shelves in October 2024 and can be found in three variants, all of which are Wi-Fi only. The cheapest of the three comes with 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage for $1,200 and bumping the storage to 512GB increases the price to $1,320. Samsung also has a variant with 16GB of RAM and 1TB of storage for an eye-watering $1,620.

Samsung launched the Galaxy Tab S9 Ultra in August 2023, and it comes in two different Wi-Fi-only options. You can get it with either 256GB of storage for $1,200 or 512GB of storage for $1,320, but now that it’s a year old and no longer the newest tablet on the block, you should be able to find it on sale.

As a quick side note, the lack of cellular connectivity applies to the United States as these devices are available with cellular connectivity elsewhere, but it depends on which country you live in. You can find the Tab S10 Ultra in either Moonstone Gray or Platinum Silver, while the Tab S9 Ultra is available in the Graphite and Beige colorways. Both tablets can be purchased directly from Samsung or a retailer like Best Buy.

• 	Samsung Galaxy Tab S10 Ultra	Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 Ultra
  SoC	MediaTek Dimensity 9300+	Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2
  Display type	AMOLED, 120Hz	AMOLED, 120Hz
  Display dimensions	14.6″	14.6″, 16:10
  Display resolution	2960 x 1848	2960 x 1848
  RAM	12GB or 16GB	12GB or 16GB
  Storage	256GB, 512GB, or 1TB (expandable with microSD card)	256GB, 512GB, or 1TB (expandable with microSD card)
  Battery	11,200mAh	11,200mAh
  Charging speed	45W	45W
  Charge options	Wired	Wired
  Ports	USB-C	USB-C
  SIM support	Nano-SIM, eSIM	Nano-SIM, eSIM
  Operating System	Android 14 with One UI	Android 14 with One UI
  Front Camera	12MP main; 12MP ultrawide	12MP, f/2.2 main; 12MP, f/2.2 ultrawide
  Rear Camera	13MP main; 8MP ultrawide	13MP, f/2.0 main; 8MP, f/2.2 ultrawide
  Cellular connectivity	LTE, 5G	LTE, 5G
  Wi-Fi connectivity	Wi-Fi 7	Wi-Fi 6E
  Bluetooth	Bluetooth 5.3	Bluetooth 5.3
  Dimensions	208.6 x 326.4 x 5.4mm	326.4 × 208.6 × 5.5mm
  Weight	718g (Wi-Fi)	732g (Wi-Fi)
  IP rating	IP68	IP68
  Colors	Moonstone Gray, Platinum Silver	Beige, Graphite
  Stylus	S Pen included	S Pen included
  Price	$1,200	$1,200

Design

Premium in every way

Samsung has rested on its laurels for quite some time and no longer pushes the envelope as frequently as it used to. Thanks to their complacency, the Galaxy Tab S10 Ultra and the Galaxy Tab S9 Ultra feature identical designs. I say that a little tongue in cheek as these devices feature high-end designs and build quality. Don’t break what works and Samsung has no reason to innovate the design when it already has such a striking one.

Let’s start with their overall dimensions, and these things are quite massive. The Tab S10 Ultra clocks in at 326.4 x 208.6 x 5.4mm and is quite weighty at 718g. The Tab S9 Ultra has the same overall dimensions except it’s marginally thicker at 5.5mm and weighs a little more at 732g.

Both Galaxy Tab devices have a lot in common when it comes to their look and feel. They both have a large display on the front, a massive display with a notch at the top (when held horizontally), and an aluminum frame and aluminum back. It’s worth mentioning that the Tab S10 Ultra gets Enhanced Armor Aluminum while the Tab S9 Ultra has the regular Armor Aluminum.

They both come with an S Pen out of the box, which magnetically attaches to the back and sits below the two camera lenses. They also have an IP68 rating against water and dust ingress.

When holding the device horizontally, each one has two speakers on the left side, and two speakers on the right edge, along with a USB-C port. The power and volume buttons are located on the top edge near the left side. Samsung has also put an under-display optical fingerprint sensor on both of these devices, which can be a little difficult to get to due to its massive size.

Display

Great last year, great this year

Much like the design, these tablets have almost identical displays, which I am happy to say are stunning. Both the Galaxy Tab S10 Ultra and the Galaxy Tab S9 Ultra feature large Dynamic AMOLED 14.6-inch panels. Both have a resolution of 2960 x 1848 for very crisp and clear visuals. They also have a 120Hz refresh rate for fluid motion.

The size of the displays are huge and could make traveling or even holding them more difficult than something like the Samsung Galaxy Tab S10+. With colors that practically pop off the screen, a fast and fluid display, along with its crispness make this laptop-sized display simply gorgeous to look at.

There is one relatively big difference between these two displays. Much like the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra, the Galaxy Tab S10 Ultra features an anti-reflective coating which helps eliminate screen reflections. This is especially nice to have if you routinely find yourself using your tablet outdoors. The Tab S9 Ultra lacks this coating, which can make it tougher to use in direct sunlight.

Software

Identical experiences

With Samsung making both of these tablets, it should come as no surprise that they are running identical software. Being slightly newer means the Galaxy Tab S10 Ultra ships with Android 14 and One UI 6.1, while the Tab S9 Ultra initially came with Android 13 but has since been upgraded to the same version as its newer sibling.

The Galaxy Tab S10 Ultra may have been built from the ground up for Galaxy AI, but the Tab S9 Ultra has received all the same Galaxy AI goodness. This suite of tools includes Chat Assist, Note Assist, and an interpreter. There’s also a Drawing Assist feature that can take the rudimentary drawings that you made with the S Pen and turn them into pieces of art.

Both tablets also come equipped with DeX mode, which makes using these tablets in desktop mode with an external display for enhanced productivity a breeze. Even without DeX, these tablets can have three apps open at the same time and one floating window for a massive productivity boost.

Software policies are a big topic nowadays and, for the price, I would have liked to see both of these tablets get the same seven years of updates that some of its best phones get. As it stands, these tablets are guaranteed four years of software and security updates. Since the Tab S10 Ultra is a year younger, it’ll get one additional year of Android updates compared to the Tab S9 Ultra.

Performance

Different processors, same great performance

The Samsung Galaxy Tab S10 Ultra is equipped with a Dimensity 9300+ processor that is coupled with either 12GB or 16GB of RAM. The Galaxy Tab S9 Ultra comes with a Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 processor and 12GB of RAM.

Samsung made quite a few people nervous when it announced that the Galaxy Tab S10 Ultra would be equipped with a Mediatek Dimensity 9300+ processor and not with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 processor. These fears were unfounded as the Dimensity 9300+ is proving itself to be an absolute beast of a chip.

In our review of the S10 Ultra, the 9300+ received a single-core score of 2155, a multicore score of 7125, and a GPU score of 12152; the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 in the S9 Ultra received scores of 2090, 5719, and 9539, respectively. Benchmarks don’t give you all that much information, but you’ll be happy to know that both of these tablets are performance monsters that can easily handle everyday tasks and your favorite Play Store games.

Battery life

Lasts for days and days

Thanks to their massive footprint, Samsung was able to put a large 11,200mAh battery in both of these tablets. This is more than enough to power the tablet all day long, even when pushed hard. It also means under normal circumstances, and depending on your usage pattern, the battery is going to last for days, if not weeks.

Both devices are capable of charging up to 45W via a USB-C cable. There is no wireless or reverse wireless charging on either of these tablets. Using a fast charger, you should be able to take these tablets from dead to fully charged in a little over an hour and forty minutes.

Camera

Usable in a pinch

Both tablets come with a dual camera setup consisting of a 13MP f/2.0 primary camera and an 8MP f/2.2 ultrawide camera. They also have two front-facing cameras with a 12MP f/2.2 lens and a 12MP f/2.24 ultrawide lens. Both the rear and front cameras are capable of recording 4K and 1080p content at 30fps.

Tablet cameras are notoriously not great and aren’t remotely close to being in the same arena as the best smartphone cameras. This continues to be true with the Galaxy Tab S10 Ultra and the Galaxy Tab S9 Ultra.

It’s not that these cameras are poor, they are decidedly average for the category, but their massive size makes taking pictures a chore. These tablets will work for taking occasional quick photos, scanning office documents, or being used for video calls.

Which is right for you?

Tablets may have reached a point where yearly upgrades are merely a way for companies to get fresh eyes on their new product through marketing and website reviews. With such minimal changes coming from Samsung every year, it makes choosing a tablet more difficult than it should be. Before we get to the winner, if you are looking to buy one of these tablets, get whichever device is cheaper when you go to purchase one.

If neither device is on sale, then the default choice should be the Galaxy Tab S10 Ultra. In every way, it matches or exceeds the Tab S9 Ultra, and if they have the same retail price, it should be your go-to option. Compared to the Galaxy Tab S9 Ultra, the Tab S10 Ultra has slightly better performance, the same amazing display that now comes with an anti-reflective coating, a fantastic battery, and a great overall design.

Being a year newer also means that it gets one an additional year of Android updates.

If you already own the Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 Ultra, then you can safely skip the Galaxy Tab S10 Ultra as there is little in the way of upgrades. But, if you’re buying new and find the Tab S9 Ultra on sale, then don’t hesitate to buy it over the Tab S10 Ultra.

In fact, if Samsung had officially dropped the price of the Tab S9 Ultra, it would have been the winner of this battle. You’re getting a top-of-the-line, premium tablet with great performance, an amazing display, and the same fantastic battery life. These tablets are so close in design, features, and specs that it makes me wonder if yearly hardware updates are worth it anymore.