GadgetByte Nepal

In this review, I’m gonna be discussing everything you need to know about the new Samsung Galaxy Tab S10 FE. Now, if you look at the tablet market, Samsung was actually the number 1 tablet brand in India in 2024. The reason for that is:

1. Samsung’s brand value.
2. They have the best retail presence, and
3. They are quite aggressive during online sales!

And this year, like the Galaxy Tab S9 FE (review), the Tab S10 FE also looks like a decent tablet for the price! We get a brand new chipset powering it, it is lighter than before, and we get a stylus in the box itself. That being said, there are a couple of things that I desperately wanted Samsung to improve. Which, unfortunately, Samsung hasn’t.

Samsung Galaxy Tab S10 FE review: Specifications

• Design and Build: 254.3 x 165.8 x 6 mm, 497 – 500 gm, IP68 rated
• Display: 10.9-inch IPS panel, 90Hz refresh rate, 800 nits peak brightness (HBM)
• Chipset: Exynos 1580 (4nm mobile platform)
• Memory: 8/12GB RAM, 128/256GB storage (expandable up to 2TB)
• Software and UI: Android 15 with One UI 7 on top
• Cameras: 13MP rear, 12MP front
• Security: Fingerprint sensor (side-mounted)
• Connectivity: WiFi 6, Bluetooth 5.3, USB-C, Optional cellular connectivity
• Sensors: Accelerometer, Geomagnetic, Gyro, Hall, Light
• Battery: 8,000 mAh battery with 45W charging (no power adapter in box)
• Price in Nepal: NPR 74,999 (8/128GB)
• Check the full specifications of Samsung Galaxy S10 FE here

Samsung Galaxy Tab S10 FE review:

Design and build

• 254.3 x 165.8 x 6 mm, 497 – 500 gm
• Glass front, aluminum back/frames
• IP68 dust/water resistant

But before I jump into all that, first let me talk about the positives! And I really like how Samsung has somehow brought down the weight of the Tab S10 FE. That too, without making many changes to the build quality. You still get an all-metal build with metal frames while having the same 8000 mAh battery capacity as last year!

As a result, holding this tablet is not as much of a muscle exercise compared to the Tab S9 FE. In fact, the rounded edges and proportionate weight distribution make it a comfortable tablet to hold.

But what I absolutely love about its build is 3 things actually,

Number 1: You get an official IP68 dust and water rating. Which is something no other tablet provides at this price range. Like you can “accidentally” spill water or tea on it, and the tablet will still be intact. It’s just such a nice quality of life feature to have!

Number 2: You get a fingerprint sensor here, which is more secure than just pins and patterns on most Android tablets. Plus, it’s also more convenient.

And number 3: Samsung includes a stylus in the box itself. It’s not their “Pro” version with Bluetooth; you get the regular version here that does not support Air gestures. But I appreciate that you don’t have to buy it separately or look for a third-party option.

Free stylus rocks!

And this is a perfectly workable Stylus for notetaking, drawing, and stuff. It’s really comfortable to hold, there isn’t much delay, and it sticks magnetically on the side, so you don’t have to worry about storing it separately. Although I do wish that the magnets were a bit stronger.

Battery

• 8,000 mAh battery (45W charging)
• No power adapter in the box

One of the other positives about this tablet is that it has good battery life. I was able to get an easy 8 hours of screen-on time from this thing, which is almost the same as I got with the Xiaomi Pad 7 (review) and the iPad 11th Gen (review).

Software

• Android 15 with One UI 7 on top
• 7 years of updates

Next up is the software! And here, the Tab S10 FE is one of the first Samsung tablets to get the One UI 7, and Samsung’s software experience on a tablet is just fantastic!

They have optimized it for larger screens really well. From being able to just drag and drop apps for splitscreen, to fitting 3 apps simultaneously for multitasking + an extra floating window, to the easy accessibility of the task bar, to S Pen features like scribble to text are really useful.

I do wish we could save app pairs on the homescreen like we can on the Xiaomi Pad, since you can only pair it in the multitasking tray here.

But let’s not forget that this tablet will receive a total of 7 years of updates. So we likely might get new features every year.

And they also have their own ecosystem thing going on, like Apple. So, if you have multiple Samsung devices, you can take advantage of them with features like app continuity. For example, there is this feature called “Auto Switch,” which lets you pick up the call you get on your phone right on the tablet.

I am someone who is hooked on the Apple ecosystem, but switching to the Samsung one was actually a seamless experience. So that’s nice too!

Display

• 10.9-inch IPS panel
• 90Hz refresh rate, 800 nits peak brightness

Okay, now let’s talk about the things that I wish Samsung had done better here. The first of which has to be the refresh rate.

I mean, the 90Hz refresh rate on this tablet isn’t as bad as 60Hz on the iPad 11th Gen, but upgrading to at least 120Hz would have made the experience so much smoother. Especially on a bigger screen.

But considering the price, the LCD screen on the Tab S10 FE is quite nice and bright. It’s very responsive, too, although an AMOLED screen would have given Samsung a competitive edge. And also, the viewing angles, contrast, and black levels would have been better.

Likewise, I was also expecting some sort of display protection this time to at least protect the screen on the S10 FE from scratches and oleophobic coating to prevent smudges (like the iPad), but that’s not the case either.

At least the speakers are quite nice

The Tab S10 FE has a nice set of stereo speakers, though. They sound balanced enough for a good multimedia experience. But then again, if I have to compare, Xiaomi Pad 7’s quad speakers sound fuller and a bit louder.

Performance

• Exynos 1580 (4nm)
• 8/12GB RAM, 128/256GB storage (expandable)

Anyway, I think the biggest complaint I have with the Tab S10 FE is its performance. It is powered by the Exynos 1580 chip — yes, the same one we get on the Galaxy A56 (review) — and while this chipset performs relatively better on the A56, it feels much, much slower on this tablet.

As a result, app opening takes half a second, there’s a slight lag when you reach for the multitasking tray time and often. Especially if you have multiple apps open in split screen at the same time, and you try to write something with the S Pen. There is a noticeable delay there.

And of course, this chipset is not something that can handle gaming very well. First of all, Samsung is yet to optimize the Exynos 1580 for 60 fps gaming on PUBG; right now, the max you can get is 30 fps. And second, even at 30 fps, the gameplay feels jittery.

Now, don’t get me wrong, I am not saying that this tablet is painfully slow and unusable. ‘Cause for normal tasks like browsing the internet, watching videos, or taking video calls, it is good enough. Even light games like Clash of Clans, Subway Surfers, and all feel smooth here.

It’s just that when you compare the Tab S10 FE with something like the iPad 11th Gen with the A16 chip or the Xiaomi Pad 7 with the Snapdragon 7+ Gen 3 side by side, Samsung’s tablet feels slower and weaker. Whether it’s benchmarks, gaming, or anything heavy-duty!

Samsung Galaxy Tab S10 FE review: Conclusion

So, to wrap up this review of the Galaxy Tab S10 FE, I feel like the biggest strength Samsung has is in terms of the software experience! One UI 7 is clean, easy to use, and it also has some useful AI features like “Circle to Search” and “Object eraser”. There are also some fun tricks in their notes app that students can take advantage of, by the way.

Then there are all those ecosystem benefits I talked about before.

However, performance still remains the biggest hurdle for me to recommend this tablet to a power user.  So, if you are an absolute casual user who does nothing more than watching YouTube videos, taking video calls, taking notes, and browsing the internet, and you use a Samsung phone and want a Samsung tablet, it makes sense to get this.

Otherwise, if you are looking for better value and better specs — for me — the Xiaomi Pad 7 or the iPad 11th gen are better and cheaper options.

• Watch our video review of Samsung Galaxy Tab S10 FE

Samsung Galaxy Tab S10 FE review: Pros and cons