Samsung Galaxy Tab S10 FE+ review: the big-screen Samsung tablet I’d buy

Introduction

Expanding its Fan Edition device line-up from phones to tablets was a clever move on Samsung’s part. The firm was pretty much front of the pecking order for Android slates, but not everyone wanted a pay top dollar to own one. The Tab FE lowered the barrier for entry – by a huge margin from the flagship Ultra model – without making you feel you were stepping right down into budget territory.

The Galaxy Tab S10 FE+ is back to do it again, and with a bigger screen than last year. The 13.1in device doesn’t stray too far from the familiar formula, with an S Pen in the box, own-brand Exynos internals, and a particularly beefy battery. It still slots into the mid-range, too – though at $649/£649 (or $749/£749 if you want 5G connectivity), it’s a close-run thing.

Is there enough here to sway Android shoppers away from smaller, cheaper alternatives like the OnePlus Pad 2, and could undercutting the latest iPad Air also interest Apple fans?

Design & build: feels like a flagship

Samsung’s tablet line-up hasn’t changed all that much over multiple generations. That’s a good thing for the Galaxy Tab S10 FE+: it means this mid-range slate is easily confused with the top-tier alternative. The only giveaway is the single camera lens at the rear.

The Fan Edition goes without an ultrawide snapper, flying solo with a 13MP sensor. I don’t miss it; tablet cameras are best at scanning documents, and my phone usually isn’t far away if I need better quality or a different lens. The FE’s camera is decent enough, as is the 12MP webcam up front. Video calls are clear and there’s a good amount of dynamic range.

Grey, silver and blue colour options help the FE stand out a little from the full-fat Tab S10 range, and its dimensions are a little thicker, but this is still a slender device at just 6mm thick. The aluminium body feels cool to the touch, and brings IP68 resistance in case you want to take your tablet poolside.

There’s no indent or contrasting colour to make it obvious, but you can still magnetically stash the included S Pen below the rear camera. It’s a basic stylus, with no Bluetooth abilities, but has all the pressure-sensing abilities and drawing accuracy I’ve come to expect. My artistic abilities are pretty dismal, but I can’t place any blame on the tablet there.

You’ve got the option of fingerprint and facial recognition security. I had a good hit rate with face unlocking, but still registered a few of my digits because it’s the only biometrics that play nicely with banking apps.

Screen & sound: size matters

Instead of simply repeating the Galaxy Tab S10+’s 12.4in display, the Fan Edition gets an all-new 13.1in screen. That means this Tab generation has four different size options. If you want choice, you’ll certainly get it here. The extra real estate makes side-by-side multitasking that much more comfortable, and means more canvas to doodle on using the S Pen.

That said, Samsung has gone with an LCD panel here. That keeps the price in check, and probably contributes a little to battery life, but means contrast and black levels are merely OK, rather than class-leading. OLED isn’t a given on mid-range tablets like it is on mid-range phones, though, so the Tab S10 FE+ still holds up well against its chief rivals. Colours have plenty of pop, viewing angles are decent and it gets impressively bright, counteracting any light reflections visible in the glossy screen finish.

The 2880×1800 resolution is particularly sharp, which made this a great tablet choice for drawing and image editing. The aspect ratio means it works best in landscape use, and preferably two-handed; it felt a bit ungainly when I held it vertically. Still, there was enough bezel to grip onto without obscuring what was onscreen.

I would’ve liked to see a 120Hz refresh rate, but the 90Hz panel used here is an alright middle ground. Scrolling does feel that bit smoother than on a 60Hz display.

The Galaxy Tab S10 FE+ gets a thumbs up on the audio front, with ample volume and respectable clarity. Things go south a little when you really crank it, distorting a little at the high-end, but not so much I wanted to use headphones when streaming shows or playing games.

Performance & battery life: stays in its lane

The Tab S10 FE+ marks a first tablet outing for Samsung’s own-brand Exynos 1580 chipset. It’s a step up from the last FE tablet, with greater efficiency, a higher clock speed, and a lot more memory bandwidth. Next to the competition, though? Performance is merely OK. Benchmark apps show the Google Pixel Tablet outperform it by a hair, while an 11th-gen iPad and its A16 chipset comfortably take the lead. An iPad Air with an M3 chip demolishes the lot.

That’s not to say everyday use is a chore, though. I didn’t notice any significant stuttering, apps loaded quickly enough, and multitasking was fairly seamless. It’s not going to replace a laptop for 4K video edits, but keep your expectations in check and most Play Store apps should be smooth sailing. My review unit was the entry-level 128GB model, which has 8GB of RAM; the step-up 256GB version has 12GB of memory, so should fare better still. Props to Samsung for keeping the microSD card slot around for when you eventually run out of room, too.

Exynos chips have rarely been gaming monsters, and despite Samsung making some big under-the-hood changes this generation, that’s still true here. With a considerable number of pixels to push, the Tab S10 FE+ isn’t really up to the task in the most demanding Android games. Diablo Immortal defaulted to lower details, and even the simpler Dredge erred on the side of caution; I could up the refresh rate and render resolution and be perfectly playable, but your mileage may vary depending on the game. A OnePlus Pad 2 simply has more oomph in this department.

The Samsung has it soundly beaten on battery life, though. The 10,090mAh capacity cell is big enough, and the 4nm processor efficient enough that it could comfortably last a day and a half of heavy use while away from the mains. That’s double what a Google Pixel Tablet can manage, and I even put it ahead of an M3-powered iPad Air, albeit one with an 11in screen. Charging at 45W over USB-C is pretty respectable, too.

Software experience: AI appetiser

It might be a whole lot bigger, but the Galaxy Tab S10 FE+ has a lot of software similarities with the Galaxy A56 mid-range smartphone. Not a huge shock, really, given they share the same chipset. That means you miss out on a lot of the Galaxy AI additions found on the firm’s flagship gear, and what’s left are labelled “intelligent features” in the settings menus.

Handwriting-to-text and solving math equations in the notes app and erasing objects from photos in the gallery app are standouts. AI Select, accessed through a floating toolbar at the right of the screen, is a more on-device focused take on Circle to Search; I found it handy for adding events to my calendar, but wasn’t exactly reaching for it on the regular.

That was also true of Samsung’s many pre-loaded apps, but that’s because I’m so used to Google’s web browser, file manager and voice assistant. Galaxy fans will be in their element, though. The creativity-focused software bundle (LumaFusion, Goodnotes, and Clip Studio Paint) is welcome as well, even if some are just free trials. Also keep in mind that Apple still wins for productivity apps.

The OneUI 7 interface isn’t all that removed from what came before, with tweaked app icons, a refreshed quick settings panel, and a new Now bar that puts context-sensitive info on your lock screen. It’s handy for music playback, but feels less useful than on a phone as I never needed it for things like map directions. I do appreciate the extra lock screen customisation though.

Android’s now-familiar bottom bar makes launching apps in side-by-side view easy enough, though I quickly swapped from Samsung’s default on-screen navigation buttons to gesture controls. Even on a screen this big they just feel more natural.

Seven years of security updates promised, but Samsung could make it clearer if it intends to supply new Android versions for that long as well. Still, it’s more committed to long-term ownership than some Android rivals.

Samsung Galaxy Tab S10 FE+ verdict

This Galaxy Tab feels closer to Samsung’s Fan Edition ethos than the previous one. I don’t miss the deleted secondary snapper and creative types will find the screen usefully bigger than before. It still looks every bit the high-end tablet, and can last an impressive length away from the mains.

It’s by no means a powerhouse, so if you don’t need the extra screen space a OnePlus Pad 2 may be a better choice for gaming. The $50/£50 price hike over the outgoing S9 FE+ pushes it further into premium territory, too – although it still undercuts the equivalent Apple iPad Air.

But if you’re sold on Samsung’s ecosystem and want as big a display as your budget allows, the Galaxy Tab S10 FE+ is rather compelling indeed.

Samsung Galaxy Tab S10 FE+ technical specifications