Galaxy Tab S10 Ultra vs Galaxy S9 Ultra: The upgrade you didn't know you didn't need

Samsung's new Galaxy Tab S10 Ultra comes a year and a couple of months after the Galaxy Tab S9 Ultra, but you'd probably need a field guide to differentiate the two devices.

Yep, this one is among the most minimal intergenerational upgrade recently, with the differences between the new and old generations countable on one hand's fingers. 

This essentially means that you shouldn't feel pressured to upgrade if you're using the Galaxy Tab S9 Ultra, quite the contrary: we'd advise against that. 

Let’s see how these two devices compare. 

The Galaxy Tab S10 Ultra and the Galaxy Tab S9 Ultra are mostly identical, and it feels as if the idiom "two peas in a pod" was written specifically for these two devices. 

The new device comes with what Samsung calls Enhanced Armor Aluminum, whereas the older one has standard Armor Aluminum. There's an ever-so-slight difference in the size: the Galaxy Tab S10 Ultra is 0.1mm thinner and a few grams lighter, but in the grand scheme of things, these differences are mostly unnoticeable in real-life scenarios.

Both tablets are gargantuan slates with enormous 14.6-inch screens that definitely push the frontiers when it comes to sheer size. Neither of these is particularly ergonomic to use; in fact, using such a large tablet feels like a strictly "at home" activity, so don't even think about hauling it on flights to watch movies or read e-books.

Both tablets come with S Pen styluses in the box, which is great, as they are perfect for sketching, drawing, and writing––the large displays are perfect for that. Sure, we'd have loved if neither had a display notch that houses the dual front-facing cameras, but the thin bezels don't really allow the sensors to fit there. 

Speaking of displays, there are no changes. As mentioned, 14.6 inches of unwieldy glory, lovely Dynamic AMOLED 2X QHD+ screens with 120Hz refresh rate. Quality-wise, they look great in person, but there are some differences in our in-house tests. 

For example, the new tablet achieves a slightly lower peak brightness and is much warmer than before. Gamma and color reproduction are mostly identical, which is good to see, but so are the rest of the display properties.

Display Measurements:

One major difference that's worth mentioning is the anti-reflective coating on the Galaxy Tab S10 Ultra. Coming straight from the Galaxy S24 Ultra, this one mostly eliminates screen reflections, which comes in particularly handy when using the device in bright lighting conditions. 

Overall, we love the large and spacious screens of both the Galaxy Tab S10 Ultra and Galaxy Tab S9 Ultra, but we have to admit that they are not the most ergonomic ones to hulk around. Their destiny seems to be mostly home bound.

The Galaxy Tab S10 lineup brings some significant upgrades in the performance department. Unlike previous models that used Qualcomm chipsets, the new generation switches things up with a MediaTek Dimensity 9300+ chip, likely to keep costs down.

This new 4nm chip offers a noticeable boost over the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 found in the Galaxy Tab S9 Ultra. Samsung claims an 18% increase in CPU power and a 36% improvement in graphics performance, which should provide a solid upgrade in everyday use. Is that so?

Well, in the CPU-heavy Geekbench 6, the two tablets are mostly in the single-core test, but the new one shines in the multi-core one. While this hints at better performance, there's no palpable difference in regular, everyday tasks. 

However, one area in which the Galaxy Tab S10 Ultra totally demolishes its predecessor is the graphics performance in our 3DMark Extreme test, thanks to the Arm Immortalis-G720 MC12 GPU inside the MediaTek chip. This means that the new tablet will achieve higher peak frame rates and deliver more consistent performance once throttled. Great news for gamers!

Performance Benchmarks:

Beyond the new chip, there are some small but important changes in the memory and storage configurations. There are 256GB, 512GB, and 1TB storage variants on both, but the RAM isn't the same.

Both models retain the microSD card slots on deck, which is definitely a rarity these days, but we do appreciate its inclusion. 

One UI 7, based on Android 15, is set to roll out to these tablets in early 2025. The Galaxy S25 series will get the update first, but Samsung’s latest flagship tablets shouldn’t be waiting for long.

AI capabilities are also a big focus in this generation. In addition to familiar Galaxy AI features like summarizing content, Circle to Search, Chat Assist, translation, and generative image editing, the new tablets introduce a couple of fresh tricks. 

Sketch to Image allows you to draw a rough sketch and let Galaxy AI create an artistic interpretation, while Samsung Notes gains the ability to perform calculations, similar to what iOS 18 offers on iPhones and iPads.

Both tablets feature 11,200mAh batteries inside, which is normal considering their similar size and shape. We doubt that with this trend of slimming its tablets, Samsung will actually increase the maximum battery capacities of its upcoming jumbo tablets above that 11,200mAh figure. 

Is it sufficient? Either tablet will easily last you a full day. 

However, as per our tests, the new Galaxy Tab S10 Ultra actually delivers worse battery life than the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 in the web browsing and video streaming tests. The Galaxy Tab S9 Ultra achieves nearly 10 hours in the first and roughly 7 hours and a half in these respective tests, whereas the Galaxy Tab S10 Ultra lasts an hour or so less in both tests. 

PhoneArena Battery and Charging Test Results:

Both tablets feature 45W charging. It takes either one two hours and twenty minutes to fully charge. 

Check out a summarized Galaxy Tab S10 Ultra vs Galaxy Tab S9 Ultra specs comparison here. 

Aside from the iPad Pro, the Galaxy Tab S10 Ultra and the Galaxy Tab S9 Ultra are among the largest and most capable tablets you can get. 

Then again, we still can't determine the raison d’être, the purpose for existence of the Galaxy Tab S10 Ultra. Sure, there is a faster new chip and an anti-reflective coating over the display, but at the end of the day, we can't really recommend upgrading if you're already using the Galaxy Tab S9 Ultra. 

Should you, however, jump to the new Galaxy Tab S10 Ultra if you're using an older Samsung tablet and plan on staying into the ecosystem? Well, if the size isn't an issue, sure! With this jumbo-sized slate, you will be getting the best possible experience, but make sure to consider the slightly smaller yet much more manageable Galaxy Tab S10 Plus as well: it strikes the perfect balance between overall dimensions and manageability.