After a shot of espresso lands in your cup, give it a swirl to blend the flavours through the coffee. In a way Samsung has followed the same philosophy with the Galaxy Tab S10 Ultra, the biggest and most powerful Android tablet you can buy at the moment. A good tablet can replace the laptop, which is exactly what this device tries to do. Be it the display or the chipset, Samsung has gone all in with this one, keeping in mind all the AI demands that users may have.

In case you are an artist, we may catch you with this tablet, drawing at your desk at home or while lying on the couch. All of that extra screen space is luxurious. If you are not drawing on this device, it’s still a great tablet for doing everything else. Further, unlike the iPad, Samsung bundles the excellent S-Pen in the box.

Slim, light and gorgeous

In terms of looks, the tablet is identical to last year’s S9 Ultra though the cameras do look a little bit different, besides the tablet appears to be slightly thinner. You also get a micro SD slot, which means a lot to a large number of users.

The choice you need to make is between Galaxy Tab S10+ and Galaxy Tab S10 Ultra. The latter has all the bells and whistles. For our review, the Ultra model is in the house with a 14.6 Dynamic AMOLED 2X display. It looks phenomenal with the colours appearing vibrant. Samsung has added an anti-reflective coating, which makes it easier to work in all kinds of environments, shaded or bright; reflections are down to a minimum. Even the viewing angles deserve a mention.

The S-Pen comes in the box unlike with iPads.

Though Samsung has been placing the camera in the centre of the right bezel for some time, here’s another shoutout for doing so because most of us will work on this tablet in horizontal mode. There is a small notch, which doesn’t get in the way of drawing or working with any app because this screen is so big that most Android drawing apps expand to fill the size.

Further the bezels on the tablet are extremely thin, which makes the device look good but I have to ensure my thumb doesn’t encroach the screen, making the tablet unresponsive.

Holding the tablet with both hands is recommended for better stability, making it easier to navigate the interface. The same thing goes for the onscreen keyboard, especially in landscape mode. You have to type with both hands to reach all the alphabets. Typing gets easier when you hold the tablet in portrait mode.

Tab S10 Ultra is very slim and light but it needs to be used with both hands.

There is the option to attach a keyboard, which can help if you like to use the tablet to type long documents or work on presentations.

Perfect for artists

The S-Pen attaches to the back of the tablet where it also charges. But you don’t need to charge the pen to draw. So why charge the S-Pen? There are some Bluetooth features, like the ability to take photos remotely and some apps take advantage of the S-Pen’s features. Also, the S-Pen now has haptic feedback but it all depends on the app.

The S-Pen makes a slight noise to mimic an actual pen or pencil.

Most artists will enjoy Samsung’s preinstalled PenUp app, which is pretty good if you are looking for a free canvas. There is some haptic feedback and also audio cues, like pencil sound effects.

The stylus that you usually get with other Android tablets offers a lot of wobble and wave to lines. Not here. It’s a stable stylus. The lines are smooth, accurate and there is a nice release of pressure, minus the waves to the lines. The S-Pen has a rubbery tip to ensure stability while drawing on a glass screen. Instead of texturing the screen, the rubber tip gives some resistance while drawing on glass. It feels natural.

It’s good to see more and more drawing apps being released on Google’s Play store, which was not the case a few years ago. It’s helping the tablet compete better with the iPad.

Good call on the processor

Last year’s S9 used a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 but this year, they are using MediaTek Dimensity 9300+. Disappointed? Not at all. MediaTek processors have improved quite a bit and it will help Samsung to offer the AI features it wants.

The processor offers an 18 per cent increase in CPU, a 28 per cent increase in GPU, and a 14 per cent boost in NPU compared to the previous Galaxy Tab S9 Ultra, ensuring advanced AI capabilities, including real-time transcription and drawing enhancements. It also helps to make the battery go longer without interruption.

The device can easily handle three-app multitasking with zero complaints.

Another good thing about the tablet is the presence of a micro SD card, so you can pick up the base storage option of 256GB and then store all the heavy files on the card. You can also buy the 512GB option, both of which offer 12GB RAM.

The big feature every hardware manufacturer is pushing is AI. It’s the same here. Samsung is doing things like Circle to Search or web page summary. Galaxy AI features that you can use on the tablet include Call Assist, Chat Assist, Interpreter, Note Assist, Transcript Assist, Browsing Assist, Photo Assist, Drawing Assist and Health Assist. All these are helpful features that more and more people are turning to, cutting down on the amount of time required to complete many tasks.

Make the call

Since I use a lot of tablets, something that I really like
about Galaxy tablets is how good the speakers sound; you can even hear the ambient noises. The overall sound profile is shockingly good when you consider how slim this tablet is. This is a department, cheaper Android tablets compromise on.

Those who use Android tablets know that Samsung makes the best devices in this category. The company has retained whatever was good about the previous generation and then perfected the device. The tablet still has an IP68 rating for protection from water and dust; it’s helpful for people like me who topple one glass every 29 hours.

You have to consider whether a bigger device is always better. Not necessarily and that is why Samsung is offering sizes in the form of Tab S10+ and Tab S10 Ultra. For me, the larger size helps because it makes multi-tasking easier. Even some foldable phones are giving you the luxury of a biggish screen but working on multiple apps on such a big screen is a joy.

Downside? It’s bigger! Your bag needs to accommodate it. Also, gaming is not the easiest of tasks on a big tablet screen without a controller. But the tablet can certainly handle all the heavy lifting games have to offer.

Battery life: You get a big 11,200mAH battery that easily offers 16 hours of video playback.

As you use more Galaxy products, you will notice how effective the Samsung ecosystem can be. Wireless file sharing is easy and there are different continuity features.

And there is DeX which can reboot the Samsung tablet and make it a desktop. DeX works best with a keyboard case. In simple words, Samsung Galaxy Tab S10 Ultra does more than everything and is miles ahead of Android competitors.

At a glance

Device: Samsung Galaxy Tab S10 Ultra

Price: Upwards of ₹108,999 (MOR)

High notes

• Outstanding display
• Nimble processor
• Excellent stylus comes in the box
• Battery lasts a long time
• Front camera is powerful

Muffled note

• Very slim and needs to be used with both hands