Battle for the best tablet

Mario Bautista October 4, 2024

Editor’s choice

Samsung Galaxy Tab S10 series

The new Samsung Galaxy Tab S10+ and Tab S10 Ultra are top-tier tablets that are essentially iPad Pros for the Android crowd. They both pack large, lovely OLED displays, powerful hardware, and solid camera setups. Storage options are limited, but you can expand that easily via microSD. The S Pen stylus is also included.
Pros

Larger screen, trimmer bezels

More base RAM

MicroSD card support

S Pen included
Cons

Inferior chipset to Apple M4

More limited onboard storage options
Still the best iPad

iPad Pro (M4, 2024)

As nice as the new Galaxy tablets may be, the iPad Pro is still the best tablet for Apple fans. Although it doesn’t have as much base RAM as the Galaxy Tab S10 series, the 2024 iPad Pro boasts Apple’s more powerful M4 silicon chip. The iPad Pro also sports a sleek design and gorgeous OLED display. If you simply can’t deal with an Android device, you can’t really go wrong with an iPad Pro.
Pros

M4 SoC is a powerhouse

Sleek and compact design

More storage options

The iPad may still be the king of tablets, but Android tablets have come a long way in recent years, largely due to the Samsung Galaxy Tab lineup. Apple launched the new M4-powered iPad Pro earlier this year, and now, Samsung is releasing the Galaxy Tab S10+ and S10 Ultra as the successors to the Tab S9 series. With this release, Samsung is clearly gunning for the best tablet crown, but does the Galaxy Tab S10 series have what it takes to unseat the iPad Pro from the throne?

Price, specs, and availability

The iPad Pro M4 hit the market in May 2024, and Samsung has just pulled back the curtains on the new Galaxy Tab S10 series. Both releases include two models: the 2024 iPad Pro is available with an 11-inch or 13-inch display, but aside from the screen size, these models are otherwise much the same. The Galaxy Tab S10 series also features two distinct models: the Galaxy S10+ and Galaxy S10 Ultra. Like the iPad Pro, the Galaxy Tab S10 models differ mostly in size, with the Tab S10+ sporting a 12.4-inch display and the Tab S10 Ultra equipped with a laptop-sized 14.6-inch screen.

Pricing for the iPad Pro M4 and Galaxy Tab S10 series are in the same ballpark, and they’re not cheap. The 11-inch iPad Pro and the Galaxy Tab S10+ both start at $1,000. If you want to upgrade to one of the larger models, the 13-inch iPad Pro retails for $1,299, while the Galaxy Tab S10 Ultra MSRP starts at $1,200. On the bright side, both Galaxy tablets come bundled with an S Pen stylus, which might help with the sticker shock at least a little bit.

	Samsung Galaxy Tab S10+	Samsung Galaxy Tab S10 Ultra	iPad Pro (M4, 2024)
Storage	256GB, 512GB	256GB, 512GB, 1TB	256GB, 512GB, 1TB, or 2TB
Memory	12GB	12GB, 16GB	8GB or 16GB LPDDR5
Operating System	Android 14	Android 14	iPadOS 17.5
Battery	10,090mAh	11,200mAh	11-inch: 31.29Wh, 13-inch: 38.99Wh
Ports	USB-C 3.2 (DP), microSD	USB-C 3.2 (DP), microSD	Thunderbolt/USB4
Connectivity	5G, Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 5.3	5G, Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 5.3	Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.3, optional 5G Cellular
Colors	Moonstone Gray, Platinum Silver	Moonstone Gray, Platinum Silver	Space Black, silver
Weight	Up to 576g (1.27lb)	Up to 723g (1.58lb)	11-inch: Up to 446g (0.98lb), 13-inch: Up to 582g (1.28lbs)
Camera (Rear, Front)	Rear: 13MP AF, 8MP UW – Front: 12MP UW	Rear: 13MP AF, 8MP UW – Front: 12MP FF, 12MP UW	Front: 12MP ultra-wide, Face ID; Rear: 12MP wide, AF, LiDAR
Display type	12.4-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X, 16:10 aspect ratio, 2800 x 1752 (WQXGA+) resolution, 266 ppi, 120Hz variable refresh rate	14.6-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X, 16:10 aspect ratio, 2960 x 1848 (WQXGA+) resolution, 239 ppi, 120Hz variable refresh rate	11-inch: Tandem OLED, 10-120Hz ProMotion, 10.9 inches, 16:11 aspect ratio, 2420 x 1668 resolution, 264 PPI, optional nanotexture, 13-inch: Tandem OLED, 10-120Hz ProMotion, 12.9 inches, 4:3 aspect ratio, 2752 x 2064 resolution at 264 PPI, optional nanotexture
Price	Starting at $1,000	Starting at $1,200	11-inch: $999, 13-inch: $1299
SoC	MediaTek Dimensity 9300+ (MT6989)	MediaTek Dimensity 9300+ (MT6989)	Apple M4
Dimensions	11.24×7.3×0.22 inches (185.4×285.4×5.6mm)	12.85×8.21×0.21 inches (208.6×326.4×5.4mm)	11-inch: 249.7 x 177.5 x 5.3mm, 13-inch: 281.6 x 215.5 x 5.1mm

Design and display

Both are suitable laptop stand-ins

The Samsung Galaxy Tab S10 series and iPad Pro are all premium tablets, which usually means “plus-sized.” That’s certainly the case here, as the smallest iPad Pro has an 11-inch screen, making it larger than the other iPad models, with a 13-inch option also available. The Galaxy Tab S10+ features a sizeable 12.4-inch display, but if you want to go even bigger, the 14.6-inch panel on the Galaxy Tab S10 Ultra places it pretty squarely in laptop-sized territory. If you’re looking for a tablet that you can press into service as a 2-in-1 laptop with a good keyboard case, the iPad Pro and Galaxy Tab S10 series are promising candidates.

The displays on all of these devices are crisp, bright, QHD+ OLED panels with 120Hz variable refresh rates. These specs, combined with their size, make the iPad Pro and Tab S10 series great for entertainment and creative work. All models also have a USB-C port (with Apple finally ditching their proprietary Lightning interface) for charging and connecting to supported peripherals. The Galaxy Tab S10 series tablets come bundled with the S Pen stylus. On the other hand, if you want to get hands-on with the Apple Pencil for your iPad Pro, you’ll have to shell out some extra cash for that.

In terms of design, we’ll give the nod to the Galaxy Tab S10 series due to the included S Pen and larger displays alone. Nonetheless, the iPad Pro is still a gorgeous and premium-feeling tablet with a great design, its slightly chunkier bezels notwithstanding.

Winner: Galaxy Tab S10 series

Performance and software

Apple silicon is the name to beat

ipad-pro-m4-xda-2024 2024-05-12 at 3.55.00 PM 2

The new Galaxy Tab S10 series tablets come with the MediaTek Dimensity 9300 Plus, a mobile system-on-chip with eight cores, a max clock speed of 3.25 GHz, and a 4nm architecture. That SoC is backed up by 12GB of base memory, which you can upgrade to 16GB. The beating heart of the 2024 iPad Pro is Apple silicon, more specifically, the new M4 processor. This eight-core SoC delivers a 4.4 GHz max clock speed and is built on an even more energy-efficient 3nm process; however, the iPad Pro comes standard with 8GB of base RAM (upgradable to 16GB at an extra cost).

Although the M4 beats the Dimensity 9300 Plus in raw benchmark tests, we’d like to see more base memory on a tablet that retails north of a grand. That said, you’re not likely to notice much of a difference between these tablets during the rigors of everyday use. Any iPad Pro or Tab S10 series model will easily handle productivity and entertainment apps, mobile gaming, streaming, and whatever else you need a tablet to do. Hardware differences aside, the main decision point between these tablets will likely come down to which software environment you prefer: Android or iPadOS.

There’s a good chance you already have a preferred tablet OS, and that’s very likely influenced by what smartphone you use. However, if you’re not fussy about your phone and tablet sharing the same app ecosystem, the choice might not be so easy. The iPad Pro and Galaxy Tab S10 series deliver smooth performance and an intuitive software interface. Samsung is leaning hard into the AI trend, too, with the Tab S10 series running the full suite of fun and useful Galaxy AI tools that we’ve had a great time with on the latest Galaxy phones. We’re not sure if this is enough to tip the scales in Samsung’s favor, though, since Apple Intelligence (AI) exists now. All in all, these tablets are pretty even.

Winner: Tie

Cameras and battery life

Standard tablet fare

New iPad Pro camera module (top) an d older iPad Pro camera module (bottom)6

The iPad Pro and Galaxy Tab S10 series pack standard photography equipment for tablets, with simple rear modules and a front-facing camera for selfies and video chat. One notable difference, however, is the absence of a rear ultrawide sensor on the new iPad Pro — an omission from previous models, but not a huge deal. If you’re considering shelling out a grand or more for a tablet, it’s probably not for the camera. Your phone camera is both better and more handy for on-the-go photography. Nevertheless, the ultrawide shooter is still there on the Tab S10+ and Tab S10 Ultra, so that’s a (small) point for Samsung.

We’ll need to put the Galaxy Tab S10 devices through their paces to know for sure how long they’ll last between charges, but we’re expecting pretty good longevity thanks to their impressively larger battery capacities (10,090 mAh on the Tab S10+ and 11,200 mAh for the S10 Ultra) and efficient 4nm SoCs. We already know that the iPad Pro M4 delivers all-day longevity for non-intensive tasks and around 4-5 hours of heavy gaming before needing a juice-up. That’s owed to the M4 chipset’s judicious power usage. Time will tell if the Galaxy tablets’ larger batteries can make up the difference.

Winner: Tie

Galaxy Tab S10 series vs. iPad Pro: Which tablet should you buy?

It largely boils down to Android vs. iPadOS

The Samsung Galaxy Tab S10 series and iPad Pro M4 are top-tier tablets, and anybody in the market for such a device won’t be disappointed with either. However, stacked side-by-side, the Galaxy Tab S10+ and Tab S10 Ultra are better buys. Their larger displays make them arguably more suitable for 2-in-1 laptop use for those so inclined, and we love that they include the S Pen stylus right out of the box (Apple, take note). It’s very close, but the Samsung tablets offer superior value overall.

Editor’s choice

Samsung Galaxy Tab S10+

The Galaxy Tab S10+’s 12.4-inch display features cutting-edge Dynamic AMOLED 2X technology and offers a vibrant yet natural viewing experience, even outdoors. Every detail remains clear from any angle and in any environment with advanced anti-reflective technology, minimizing distracting glare and reducing the reflection rate.

Upgrade pick

Samsung Galaxy Tab S10 Ultra

The Galaxy Tab S10 Ultra includes a more than 18% increase in CPU, 28% increase in GPU, and 14% increase in NPU compared to the Galaxy Tab S9 Ultra. Coupled with long-lasting battery life and Super-Fast Charging, the Galaxy Tab S10 series allows the device to be used for long periods of time without needing a charge.

All that said, the difference between these tablets isn’t large enough to justify the Galaxy devices if you’re already an iPad lover. The 2024 iPad Pro is a fantastic machine, and its M4 processor is the best SoC you’ll likely find in any tablet. The Liquid Retina XDR displays are also stunning. There are still some kinks to be worked out with iPadOS when using these tablets like a laptop, but if you want the best iPad, the 2024 M4 iPad Pro is the one.