Galaxy Tab S10 Ultra (Image: SAMSUNG)
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What we love
- Beautiful AMOLED screen
- Solid performance
- Premium design
- S Pen in the box
- Decent battery life
What we don’t do
- Screen is just too big
- Very expensive
- Pointless reversing cameras
Samsung’s new Galaxy Tab S10 Ultra is a truly powerful tablet that packs a feast of epic features. It’s powered by a fast MediaTek Dimensity 9300+ processor, comes with an S Pen stylus in the box (Apple take note), and has an ultra-thin design that’s now made from sturdier, upgraded Armor Aluminum. There are dual-lens cameras on the front and back, long battery life, powerful quad speakers and it’s now smarter thanks to the introduction of smart Galaxy AI.
It’s all solid stuff, but the real showstopper is the Tab S10 Ultra’s ridiculously large 14.6-inch Dynamic AMOLED 120Hz display. This razor-sharp, bright and colorful screen is absolutely huge and should provide the ultimate entertainment experience. So to give the S10 Ultra a thorough test, I decided to use it to entertain myself on a long-haul flight from London Heathrow to Seattle on the west coast of America.
With the Tab S10 Ultra fully charged, full of movies to watch and games to play, it was time to settle into my seat for the tedious 10-hour journey.
So how did it perform and is this now the ultimate iPad Pro killer?
Galaxy Tab S10 Ultra review (Image: SAMSUNG)
I have to start with that screen, because it really is a thing of beauty. Colors look vibrant, blacks are rich and content looks lush when you view things on this premium panel.
The 16:10 aspect ratio also makes it perfect for a Netflix binge and it completely overshadowed the silly low-resolution screen in the back of the plane seat in front of me.
It even has a special coating that reduces glare and annoying reflections – Apple charges a lot extra for that. It’s almost impossible to criticize the Ultra’s screen, but there is a big trade-off in that it’s simply too big for a tablet.
Yes, bigger is normally better, but these devices are portable and perfect for use anywhere you take them.
I actually felt a little embarrassed pulling this huge piece out of my backpack and holding it for long periods of time became really uncomfortable – you can also forget about using it with one hand unless you have an arm like The Hulk’s.
The Galaxy Tab S10 Ultra has an anti-reflective screen (Image: SAMSUNG)
You can of course add a case with a stand or keyboard, but these accessories will drive up the price and add to the total weight which is already over 700 grams without any accessories attached.
There’s no doubt that having a huge screen is great for multitasking – something the Ultra is excellent at, by the way – and doing multiple things at once, but I just feel like the Ultra has taken this concept to the extreme. Once I finished my box set binge it was hard to find a place to store it on my seat and watching a movie while eating my tray of airplane food was a worse experience than the taste of the reheated chicken.
So going supersized isn’t for me, but that doesn’t mean this is a bad tablet. In fact, it’s very, very good.
The battery life is excellent and it lasted my entire trip – things ran out when our wheels hit the ground on the other side of the pond, but it can easily last more than eight hours.
Samsung Galaxy Tab S10 Ultra (Image: SAMSUNG)
The sleek, 5.4mm thin design is stunning, extremely powerful and you get that S Pen without paying anything extra. That means you can scribble, paint and take notes, which is all pretty handy, especially since Galaxy AI makes everything smarter.
My drawing skills are pretty poor, but Samsung’s intelligence instantly transformed a fairly rough sketch of my plane into something more professional.
It also does a good job of transcribing audio recordings and formatting notes to make them easier to read. There’s even the clever ability to write down a sum or equation and see the answer appear before your eyes, and you get the clever Circle to Search which works really well on the big screen, making it easy to search with Google .
It’s all very good, but it should be when you see the price. This device starts from a whopping £1,199
It stays cool under pressure thanks to a larger vapor chamber – which is great for gaming – and it’s waterproof too. Fortunately, my flight was turbulence-free, so no gin and tonics were spilled during my testing.
The dual front cameras are good for making video calls, even if they’re in an annoying notch that cuts into the screen a bit, and if you really feel the need to take photos with the rear camera (expect a number of funny looks), then they’ll make a decent picture.
It’s all very good, but it should be when you see the price. This device starts from a whopping £1,199, which is more expensive than most laptops.
That’s my final gripe, because I just don’t think the Tab S10 Ultra will completely replace your portable PC – it’s the same problem the iPad has when placed against the MacBook.
That means you have a very expensive screen that might end up being used as a fancy way to watch Netflix and not much else.
Samsung Galaxy Tab S10 Ultra (Image: SAMSUNG)
Galaxy Tab S10 Ultra: final verdict
Is the Galaxy Tab S10 Ultra a brilliant tablet? 100% yes! Should I rush and buy one? Probably not.
This gadget is extremely powerful, packed with smart features, looks premium and delivers performance that won’t collapse under pressure.
The AMOLED screen is simply stunning and you even get that S Pen stylus in the box – for which Apple is charging over £100 to add. As good as it is, that 14.6-inch panel is just too big for me, especially when I’m traveling, and that’s important because, like most people, this is when I use my tablet the most.
Of course, some will love the gigantic screen and if you really need a super-large screen then this is a solid, albeit very expensive, option. It ticks all the boxes and you really won’t be disappointed with your purchase.
However, if you just want a tablet that fits your entire life, I’d look for something smaller like the iPad Pro or Galaxy Tab S10+.
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