Just right for Galaxy fans

Samsung makes a lot of tablets — like, a lot of tablets. It has cheap options in the Galaxy Tab A series and flagships in the Galaxy Tab S series, and having reviewed a whole of bunch these, I’ve had no problems recommending either end of the spectrum to friends and family. The middle ground, though, has always been the toughest place to shine. It’s faced the most competition from Android rivals and the ever-present iPad, and Samsung hasn’t always come out on top.

But now, with the Galaxy Tab S10 FE series, I think Samsung might have just the right mix of performance and value to offer a mid-range tablet that speaks to all levels of Galaxy fans. It’s not too much, yet not too little, and that’s why I think that makes this Galaxy Tab just right.

Everything about the Galaxy Tab S10 FE screams “middle.” Usually, if I read that in a review, I think I would be disappointed. It’s much more exciting to hunt for a device that screams “best” or “value,” and I gravitate towards those ends of the spectrum every time. However, in the case of this mid-range slate, I think the middle is the place to be.

To put it another way, I think the Galaxy Tab S10 FE — and its Plus-sized sibling, which is essentially identical bar some connectivity tweaks (more later) and the larger screen — would slot perfectly into Samsung’s version of Goldilocks and the three bears. At one end of the spectrum, you have the Galaxy Tab A9 Plus — the baby bear of the family. It’s a bit too small, too soft, and too cold with its pairing of plastic and aluminum, as well as the fact that it comes without an S Pen in the box. Yet, at the other end, you have the Galaxy Tab S10 Ultra — the papa bear of the family. It’s large and in charge, offering the best materials, biggest display, and fastest charging, but you’ll pay dearly for all that power.

Then, there’s the Galaxy Tab S10 FE. It’s a hair smaller than the Galaxy Tab A9 Plus, yet it packs a bigger battery. It costs half as much as the Galaxy Tab S10 Ultra but sports a durable, unibody aluminum construction. It even drops to a 90Hz refresh rate, but pairs it with the highest pixel density of the trio. Essentially, the Galaxy Tab S10 FE lands right in the middle of the lineup, pulling strengths from both ends but seemingly skipping the weaknesses.

And, so far in my time with the mid-range tablet, I have to say that I’m pleased with its positioning. Even though the Galaxy Tab S10 Ultra is as tough and durable as can be, it’s also large enough and costs enough that I’m slightly nervous to pack it for a weekend away in Boston or a work trip to New York. The Galaxy Tab A9 Plus is the opposite, providing peace of mind when I need a grab-and-go display but leaving a little bit to be desired from the TFT LCD and the slightly cheaper build. With the Galaxy Tab S10 FE, I have the reassurance of an IP68 rating against water and dust, yet just the right price that wouldn’t devastate my bank account if I had to send it out for repairs.

While Samsung’s spot-on build quality might be the thing that makes me take the Galaxy Tab S10 FE for a weekend away, its display is what keeps me coming back to Galaxy Tabs in general. As usual, this tablet sports Samsung’s wide, streaming-friendly 16:10 aspect ratio, which makes it just right for watching shows on the go. I downloaded the entire second season of Andor (or at least what’s available so far) and have been working my way through it as I have an hour here and there or while I’m running benchmarks on the other devices in my queue.

More specifically, the longer, thinner aspect ratio means I can stream shows with far less letterboxing (big black bars on the top and bottom of my shows) on the Galaxy Tab S10 FE. It leads to far less wasted space along the 10.9-inch, 90Hz LCD than I’d get with the more square OnePlus Pad 2 or the 11th-generation iPad, which fits perfectly into how I usually use tablets. Conversely, if you prefer your tablet as an e-reader alternative, Samsung’s strength might become a weakness. Sure, you’ll fit a ton of words onto your page at one time, but it’s kind of like reading and scrolling on a massive Galaxy phone, which might not be all that comfortable after a while.

Besides, how much time do you want to spend scrolling on a nearly 11-inch tablet when it carries a pair of stereo speakers that draw you right back to its streaming strength? No, two speakers aren’t as good as the four you’ll get on the Galaxy Tab S10 Ultra, but the Galaxy Tab S10 FE’s side-facing units are loud and punchy. They nicely made up for the fact that I wasn’t able to follow the Champions League semifinal between Arsenal and PSG in real time, as I could instead soak in the atmosphere with great audio with a recap video.

That said, I’ll stop short of calling the Galaxy Tab S10 FE’s display perfect. Although I think it’s a nice meet-in-the-middle size and has a nice refresh rate, I would have certainly preferred an AMOLED panel over an LCD. I’ve noticed a scene or two while catching up on The Last of Us where I would have appreciated deeper blacks from the display, though I haven’t had a problem with brighter content like Andor or Severance (yes, I know I’m several months behind).

Other bits of the Galaxy Tab S10 FE’s setup lean more towards the flagship Galaxy Tab S10 lineup than the budget-friendly Tab A series, like the S Pen that comes in the box. It attaches magnetically to the back of the tablet, as usual, and offers a much easier way to navigate the Samsung Notes app and tap into Circle to Search — one of a few Galaxy AI features to hit the big screen.

The Galaxy Tab S10 FE also has a 13MP rear-facing camera similar to the primary sensor on the Galaxy Tab S10 Ultra, and a 12MP front-facing ultrawide camera for all of your Zoom calling needs. Of the two, the front-facing camera is probably more helpful for its video calling coverage, as I can’t imagine trying to get close to a subject with an 11-inch tablet in my hands or reach for a single sensor over the two (or three) that are on my phone.

I’ve also rolled through my time with the Galaxy Tab S10 FE largely without accessories, but if you’re eyeing the mid-range tablet as a productivity partner, its Book Cover Keyboard Slim might be worth picking up, though it’ll stretch your budget by another $139. It’s both a keyboard and a folio-style case, and comes with a rear cover to keep your S Pen in place. Samsung has also added a new AI Key to the standard QWERTY layout, which lets you quiz Gemini or Bixby, depending on your needs. There’s also a fancier Book Keyboard Cover with a solid stand, but that’s pushing $199.

Of course, if you are eyeing the Galaxy Tab S10 FE for productivity, I would say that it’s more the type of device for a student to carry to class or for someone to carry to a meeting than a true laptop replacement. I don’t say this for a perceived lack of power so much as the fact that the tall aspect ratio and S Pen reliance simply make it an excellent note-taking device, as do some of the AI features. But, before we get to those, we should probably start with what the tablet has under the hood.

At the risk of oversimplifying things, the Galaxy Tab S10 FE is built like a Galaxy A56 5G that underwent a growth spurt. It packs the same Exynos 1580 chipset, carries 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage in its base configuration, and even offers the same 45W wired charging. Perhaps the most significant difference between the two is that Samsung’s mid-range tablet has space for an 8,000mAh battery instead of the Galaxy A56 5G’s 5,000mAh cell.

Oh, and their connectivity options match almost perfectly, too — at least if you get the smaller Galaxy Tab S10 FE with optional 5G. Yes, there’s a larger Galaxy Tab S10 FE Plus, which jumps to a 13.1-inch display and has a slightly larger battery, but in the US, it only supports Wi-Fi 6, unlike the smaller Tab S10 FE’s Wi-Fi 6E, and it doesn’t have 5G support. The Galaxy Tab S10 FE also supports Bluetooth 5.3 for your preferred accessories, and the lack of a headphone jack means you’ll definitely want a pair of Galaxy Buds or other headphones as part of your setup.

As for actual day-to-day performance, the Galaxy Tab S10 FE has worked brilliantly as my backup device. I’ve yet to ask for the same workload as my MacBook Air, and I don’t reach for it to doomscroll social media as readily as my Pixel 9 Pro, but it’s perfectly happy to meet in the middle. It doesn’t stutter or stumble through games like Warhammer 40,000 Tacticus, and I’ve never come close to running out of storage as I add more episodes of Andor and The Last of Us to the mix. I’ve started using my Galaxy Tab S10 FE as a cooking companion for recipes in Mealime since larger instructions are easier to read from across the kitchen, but that’s hardly a heavy load.

And, with less of a battery workload to worry about, I’m finding that the Galaxy Tab S10 FE is a tank between charges. I reach for a charger about once a week, which is more than a fair trade for the hours of streaming, light gaming, and cooking assistance I’m getting out of the tablet. Of course, you’ll probably see slightly worse battery returns if you opt for the 5G model, but you might ultimately decide the connectivity is worth it.

I also thoroughly appreciate that Samsung bumped its charging to 45W on the Galaxy Tab S10 FE, as the 15W limit on the Galaxy Tab A9 Plus meant the cheaper slate took more than two and a half hours to fill its 7,040mAh battery. By comparison, the Galaxy Tab S10 FE ran from empty to full in just under an hour and 45 minutes despite having an extra 1,000mAh to worry about. Just keep in mind that you’ll need a USB PD PPS-enabled charger to hit those peak speeds, so be ready to accessorize.

Moving on, it’s time to talk about the slow, steady expansion of AI features. The Galaxy Tab S10 FE isn’t Samsung’s first tablet to pick up access to Galaxy AI, but it feels like a good example of recognizing what features belong on which devices. Instead of packing the mid-range tablet with full options like Drawing Assist and Photo Assist, Samsung stuck to productivity-minded, S Pen-centric picks like Handwriting Assist and Math Solver.

Thankfully, Samsung’s naming conventions leave almost nothing to the imagination, meaning Handwriting Assist is exactly what it sounds like. Basically, you can take your S Pen and make all the notes you want in the Samsung Notes app, and Galaxy AI will do its best to turn your chicken scratch into something a little bit nicer. At least, that’s how it’s worked for me — my handwriting still isn’t beautiful, but it kind of makes up for the fact that I haven’t written very much by hand in the last few years. I would imagine the results would be even better if the Exynos 1580 could easily figure out the finer points of your handwriting, but I’d probably mostly stick to typed notes just in case.

Math Solver is another straightforward name, as you might have guessed. It’s also limited to Samsung Notes, but it works like a Handwriting Assist for math problems. Essentially, it allows you to scratch out equations, from basic math up to logarithms and trigonometry, and then the Galaxy Tab S10 FE will work out the solution you’re looking for. Unfortunately, I’m a little rusty, having not taken a math course in more than half a decade, but I was able to work through a few simple formulas to see how my trusty tablet would fare. I’m no longer good enough at math to prove my Galaxy Tab S10 FE wrong, but I could see Math Solver being helpful for students. Apple’s version of Math Solver allows it to generate graphs, though — something that Samsung’s implementation is currently missing.

Then, there’s Circle to Search — a feature that hardly needs introduction. It’s right up there with the AI wallpaper generator as one of the first wrinkles to make its way to a new device, if only so that Samsung can say there’s Galaxy AI onboard. This time, though, it’s much easier to use the S Pen to pick out images and text on the 10.9-inch display than using my fingertip on something like the Galaxy S24 FE.

And, as if there was any doubt as to this tablet’s positioning as a productivity option, it comes ready for creativity mainstays like LumaFusion, GoodNotes, Sketchbook, and Noteshelf, though I’ve only used one or two of them. Again, since I haven’t been a student for a while, they’re tougher to work into my daily life, but it’s nice to see Samsung offer a wide range of creative options.

I went into my time with the Galaxy Tab S10 FE not entirely sure what to expect. I’ve historically loved the top and bottom ends of Samsung’s lineups, but I never quite knew what to do with the mid-range options. They either cost too much, didn’t offer enough, or launched too close to a better device to earn a recommendation as the best tablet around. Not this time. Much like the Galaxy S24 FE, the Galaxy Tab S10 FE finds just enough balance between power and price to become a tablet I can recommend to almost anyone.

In its favor, the Galaxy Tab S10 FE is just large enough for a student to take to class, yet small enough for me to slip into a backpack for traveling. It’s powerful enough to keep up with just enough gaming, drawing, and streaming, yet skips the flagship-grade chipset that might push the price out of people’s reach. It even gives you enough of a taste of Galaxy AI that you can make it worthwhile, but it doesn’t feel like Samsung is forcing features upon you. Mix in conveniences like 45W wired charging for Samsung’s sizable battery, a unibody construction, and an IP68 rating, and it feels like the $500 price tag is spot on.

Are there things I’d like Samsung to do a little better? Sure, but I don’t know if I’d call them dealbreakers. An AMOLED panel or a 120Hz refresh rate would be nice for specific situations, yet the 90Hz LCD covers most of my needs without issue. I’d also love a slightly more regular commitment to security updates, as the Galaxy Tab S10 FE is only set for quarterly patches rather than monthly ones. That said, seven years of updates is still seven years of updates, and the tablet has already snagged its Android 15 update with One UI 7, so at least we’re not starting behind the eight ball there.

With all of that out of the way, the toughest remaining hurdle for the Galaxy Tab S10 FE to overcome is, unsurprisingly, the competition. Although the mid-range tablet offers a lot of value for the money, it’s surrounded by excellent alternatives from Android and iPadOS, and perhaps none is better than the OnePlus Pad 2 ($549.99 at Amazon).

OnePlus’ slate looks and feels like an Android-flavored iPad in almost every way, from the square-ish aspect ratio to the size and build quality, but it’s packed with OnePlus power all the way down. You’ll have to splash an extra $50, but you get more RAM and storage (12GB and 256GB, respectively), faster 67W wired charging, and a more powerful Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset. The OnePlus Pad 2 also offers our favorite approach to multitasking with Open Canvas, which lets you treat your display like it has an invisible external monitor off to the side. You’ll have to pay a little extra for a stylus, too, but OnePlus tends to offer gifts with purchase, and that usually means you can get the Stylo 2 or a folio cover for free.

The S10 FE’s bigger brother is the other obvious comparison point, and for the most part, you can take almost everything I’ve said about the regular S10 FE tablet and apply it here, too. The larger Galaxy Tab S10 FE Plus ($649.99 at Amazon) is essentially the same tablet aside from the larger screen, and missing cellular support in the US. If you don’t care about those things, then $649 is a pretty nice price for essentially a size boost, even if it’s not as good value as the vanilla model when you factor in the $150 difference.

If you decide to stick with Samsung but figure that the Galaxy Tab S10 FE series isn’t for you, you’re probably looking for a tablet at one of the extremes. On the cheap end, the Galaxy Tab A9 Plus ($219.99 at Amazon) is your best bet at half the price of the Tab S10 FE. It has a similar 11-inch LCD and stereo speakers, but drops to a plastic and aluminum body to keep its price in check. On the bright side, Samsung’s cheapest slate is one of the few that still offer a headphone jack, so you can save a few more bucks by not having to pick up new Galaxy Buds. That said, you’ll have to weigh out whether you can live with just 15W wired charging that takes more than two hours to juice your tablet back up.

On the other end of the spectrum, Samsung’s Galaxy Tab S10 Plus ($999.99 at Samsung) is probably the best Android tablet you can buy right now. It’s not as large as the Galaxy Tab S10 Ultra, nor does it have quite as many cameras — who needs four cameras on a tablet — but it has an excellent anti-reflective coating on its display which makes it easier to use outdoors and the Dimensity 9300 Plus chipset offers more punch than the in-house Exynos 1580 can match. The Galaxy Tab S10 Plus also offers an even bigger battery than the Galaxy Tab S10 FE at 10,090mAh, so its 45W wired charging is a must-have if you ever want to get your tablet off the charger again.

And then, there’s the iPad. As with any tablet chat, the elephant in the room is that iPadOS has far superior app support than any Android tablet, but if you thought finding space for the Galaxy Tab S10 FE in Samsung’s lineup was tough, it falls right between the updated iPad Mini ($459 at Amazon) and the M3-powered iPad Air ($499 at Amazon). Essentially, you only have to decide what size tablet you want, along with how much power. Otherwise, the three have almost identical designs with flat sides and single rear cameras, and they’ve all united behind the USB-C port. The iPad Air is the most powerful (and expensive) of the bunch with its MacBook-grade M3 chip, while the iPad Mini is the easiest to travel with thanks to its 8.3-inch display that’s not much bigger than a book-style foldable.

Also, while it might feel a bit like the forgotten member of Apple’s family, the original iPad ($299 at Amazon) is a pretty good value. It has a weaker A16 chipset and doesn’t support Apple Intelligence, but it only costs $349 for the base configuration and now supports the USB-C Apple Pencil. I still prefer Samsung’s Galaxy Tab S10 FE as a streaming partner, though, and think that the extra cost is worth it.