As Samsung has recently announced the latest tablet in its Tab S10 series, we’re intrigued to see how it measures up to the premium model.
While we’re yet to review the Tab S10 Lite, we have reviewed the Galaxy Tab S10 Ultra and awarded the premium tablet a four-star rating. To help you decide, we’ve compared the specs of both below.
Keep reading to learn what the differences are between the Galaxy Tab S10 Lite and Tab S10 Ultra, and see whether the former has a chance at making it into our best Android tablet list.
Price and Availability
At the time of writing, Samsung hasn’t revealed how much the Galaxy Tab S10 Lite will be. All we know is that it will be available from September 5th, so we’ll update this once we find out more.
With a starting RRP of a whooping £1199/$119, the Tab S10 Ultra is certainly not a cheap tablet. Having said that, as the tablet is nearly one year old, it is possible to see a price drop for the device, with the lowest price starting from £899.
Exynos 1380 vs Dimensity 9300 Plus
Powering the Tab S10 Lite is Samsung’s own Exynos 1380 chip, the same found in the budget-friendly Tab S9 FE. Although we haven’t reviewed the Tab S10 Lite yet, we have reviewed the Tab S9 FE and found the Exynos processor offered enough power for most jobs.
Where the chip struggles is with gaming. While we found it delivered enough to support a game like Fortnite, it failed to reach a consistent fps. With this in mind, we’d expect the same performance within the Tab S10 Lite.
The S10 Ultra, on the other hand, runs on MediaTek’s Dimensity 9300 Plus processor. The chip is powerful and offers lightning fast performance across all tasks, including high-end gaming. However, it’s worth noting that its benchmarking scores don’t quite measure up to the similarly priced iPad Pro.
Essentially, if you’re keen for an Android tablet, then the Tab S10 Ultra is a great option. On the other hand, considering just how powerful the iPad Pro is for a similar price, it’s a much easier recommendation.
Tab S10 Ultra has a larger display
At 14.6-inches, the Tab S10 Ultra has a much larger display compared to the Tab S10 Lite’s 10.9-inch alternative. We hailed its display as being “the reason to go for the Galaxy Tab S10 Ultra”, as its Dynamic AMOLED 2x tech, 16:10 aspect ratio and mighty screen size offers vibrant colours and makes the tablet well-suited for streaming content.
Not only that, but with an LTPO-enabled 120Hz refresh rate, scrolling through apps feels smooth and lag-free.
The Tab S10 Lite’s 10.9-inch display is easily a more appealing option if you want a more portable tablet. Although it lacks the Dynamic AMOLED 2x of the S10 Ultra, it instead sports a WUXGA Plus screen alongside other premium technologies such as Vision Booster and low blue-light.
Tab S10 Ultra has higher resolution cameras
It’s unlikely you’ll ever buy a tablet purely for its photography prowess. However, a decent camera setup on a tablet is a useful addition if you ever find yourself without your smartphone to hand. Plus, a solid front camera is especially useful if you take frequent video calls or Zoom meetings.
The Tab S10 Lite is made up of an 8MP rear and 5MP front lens, which is actually a downgrade on the S9 FE which boasted a 12MP selfie lens. We’ll have to wait until we review the S10 Lite to see how well the cameras suffice in everyday use.
The Tab S10 Ultra is made up of a 13MP main and 8MP ultrawide rear set-up, alongside dual 12MP main and ultrawide snappers at the front of the device. Sure, we weren’t blown away by its snapping abilities, but we did find both the front and rear lenses to be perfectly passable if and when you use them.
Tab S10 Ultra has a larger battery
At 11200mAh, the Tab S10 Ultra has a larger battery compared to the Tab S10 Lite’s 8000mAh cell. Samsung promises the tablet should last for up to 18 hours on a single charge and, although we couldn’t verify this exact claim, we used it sporadically for scrolling, gaming and streaming for a two week period and only needed to recharge the tablet once.
While the S10 Ultra’s large battery does allow for more time in-between charges, topping it up does take quite a bit of time. In fact, we found despite its promise of 45W fast charging, the S10 Ultra took just shy of two hours to completely top up. Compared to the likes of the OnePlus Pad 2 which took just 55 minutes to reach 100%, the S10 Ultra is still a pretty slow charging tablet.
Samsung promises the S10 Lite’s battery should last up to 16 hours, although of course that will depend on your own usage. Although Samsung claims the tablet boasts Super Fast Charging, it doesn’t provide exact timings, just that its speeds are up to 25W. We’ll have to wait until we test the device ourselves to see how it performs.
Tab S10 Ultra has an IP68 rating
The Tab S10 Ultra is fitted with an IP68 rating, which means the device is dust-tight and protected against the effects of continuous immersion in water.
The Tab S10 Lite, on the other hand, lets itself down here. Instead, it’s fitted with a pretty low IP42 rating. This is quite an uncommon rating and means the S10 Lite is protected against larger solids of 1.mm Ø and greater, and only against vertically falling water drops when the enclosure is tiled up to 15°.
Essentially, unlike the S10 Ultra, the S10 Lite is a more delicate device that shouldn’t be exposed to the elements.
Early Verdict
As we’re yet to review the S10 Lite, nor learn how much the tablet will set you back, it’s difficult to recommend the tablet. However, if you want a portable Android tablet for everyday use, includes the Galaxy AI toolkit and promises somewhat speedy charging, then the Tab S10 Lite seems like a promising choice.
On the other hand, if you want a larger tablet with a powerful processor, better quality cameras and an IP68 rating, then the Tab S10 Ultra is an easy tablet to recommend. However, it’s worth remembering that it’s not a cheap option.
We’ll update this versus once we review the Galaxy Tab S10 Lite. In the meantime, make sure you visit our best tablet and best Android tablet guides to find other options.
