Apple iPad A16 vs Galaxy Tab S10 FE: Battle for the vanilla tablet

Apple quietly released its next iPad lineup, and the vanilla model shapes out to be the most popular one once again. Some might think that tablets are a dying breed, but iPad sales have been pretty robust in the past couple of years.

The 11-inch (10.9 if we want to be absolutely precise) model comes with improved performance, a familiar design, and double the base storage while maintaining an attractive price tag. For most people, the iPad A16 is the perfect tablet. Enter the Galaxy Tab S10 FE!

This slate is Samsung's attempt to streamline and trim down its high-end tablet lineup, giving it the "Fan Edition" treatment. The Tab S10 FE sports many similarities to the iPad A16, starting with the screen size and technology, memory configuration, longevity, camera performance, and most importantly—price.

So, it's only natural to pit these two against each other in the battle for the best vanilla tablet out there. Bear in mind that the Galaxy Tab S10 FE is not official and the info is based on leaks and rumors.

Apple iPad A16 vs Samsung Galaxy Tab S10 FE specs differences:

*rumored specs

We often lament how phones look the same but tablets are victims of the same screen-driven uniformity. Both the upcoming Galaxy Tab S10 FE and the iPad A16 feature the same screen and this, to a certain extent, dictates most of the design.

In terms of size these two are closely matched, the iPad A16 is shorter but wider, while the Galaxy Tab S10 FE is longer but more narrow and also a tad thinner. The weight also comes close but the iPad is around 40 grams lighter.

The materials used on both devices are your usual aluminum and glass - both tablets feature an aluminum unibody with flat back and sides, and they both have a premium look, as well as a premium feel in the hand.

Moving to the displays, both of these tables feature IPS LCD panels, but there's a slight difference in refresh rate and resolution. The iPad A16 comes with a 60Hz refresh rate and 2360 x 1640-pixel resolution (around 264 PPI), while the Galaxy Tab S10 FE is expected to have 2304 by 1440 resolution, as well as a 90Hz refresh rate.

The iPad A16 already went through our thorough display tests, but we have to wait for the Galaxy Tab S10 FE to visit our lab in order to compare some hard numbers here. For what it's worth, the iPad managed around 500 nits of brightness and some good color accuracy figures.

As far as biometrics go, the iPad relies on the good old FaceID, which works well (no need to fix it if it's not broken), while the Galaxy Tab S10 FE is expected with an under-display optical fingerprint scanner.

Tablets vastly benefit from accessories such as keyboards and styluses, and a good pair of these can transform a normal slate into a productivity machine. The iPad A16 is compatible with the Magic Keyboard Folio, an accessory that first debuted with the previous generation of iPads. 

This keyboard comes in two separate segments: one is a back cover with an integrated kickstand, and the other is a full-size keyboard. Both of these attach with magnets to the iPad A16. The keyboard also includes a trackpad, which is not only functional but also one of the best in such a type of accessory.

You can also use the first-generation Apple Pencil with the new iPad A16, as well as the USB model, but the slate won't work with the second gen and hence the Hover feature is not available. Of course, the Magic Keyboard Folio will set you back $249.99, and the first-gen Magic Pencil costs $99.99.

The Galaxy Tab S10 FE, on the other hand, is expected to support a new keyboard case called Book Cover Keyboard, and the retail price for it is rumored to be around $200. The Samsung tablet also comes with its own stylus inside the retail box, so there's no extra cost to buy one.

Performance & Benchmarks

Apple's A-game still on top

The iPad A16 comes with the A16 chipset onboard (as the name suggests), which is very similar to the A16 Bionic we have in iPhone 14 Pro models and iPhone 15 non-Pro devices as well. The only difference is that the GPU and CPU have been trimmed and lost one of their cores. 

The iPad A16 features five CPU cores and four GPU cores, but the raw power onboard is more than enough to tackle everything you'd ever throw at the tablet. We have synthetic benchmarks for the Apple device, but we'll have to wait to test the Galaxy Tab S10 FE to include the full comparison below.

Speaking of which, the Galaxy Tab S10 FE uses an Exynos chipset, namely the Exynos 1580. This silicon screams midrange and powers the Galaxy A56 phone. If we take the results that the latter managed in our performance test, we expect a substantial difference in performance between the Galaxy Tab S10 FE and the new iPad A16, in favor of the Apple device.

Sadly, the iPad A16 doesn't support Apple Intelligence due to the A16 chipset (Apple's AI suite requires A17 Pro or M1 and later), but the iPadOS 18 still features some cool new things worth mentioning.

This OS comes with some pretty major tweaks, mainly in customizability. You can now customize your home screen and rearrange the app icons however you like, plus quickly swap between light and dark modes, choose the colors of each icon, and more.

The Photos and Messages apps have received an overhaul, and you can also use a private space to hide some apps from curious eyes.

The Galaxy Tab S10 FE is still under wraps, and we don't know if the slate will launch with Android 15 and OneUI 7 out of the box or rely on the previous version and get an update later. If Samsung follows the software decisions taken with the latest A-series devices, we should expect the Tab S10 FE to come with Android 15 onboard.

Another area where these two come close is the battery. Apple lists the battery of its iPads in Wh, but a quick conversion shows that the cell inside the iPad A16 packs around 7600 mAh of juice. In comparison, the Galaxy Tab S10 FE is expected to launch with an 8000 mAh cell inside, and whether or not the 400 mAh difference will translate into more battery life, we still don't know.

The iPad managed a 4h 36m overall battery life estimate in our composite test, which ranks it in #10 place for tablets tested in the last two years. Not a bad result, considering all the power packed inside. 

According to the latest info, the Galaxy Tab S10 FE will feature almost the same camera configuration, with a 13MP rear camera and a 12MP front snapper. The former is definitely an upgrade compared to the 8MP main camera of the previous generation of FE tablets.

Stay tuned for our side-by-side photo and video samples.

 

Which one should you buy?

On the Android front we have the upcoming Galaxy Tab S10 FE, which is a strange bird priced at around $450-$499. It's not exactly a midrange price when you compare it to the $349 iPad A16, which has almost identical specs and more raw power. On the other hand, the Galaxy Tab S10 FE comes with a stylus included, adding around $100 of value and putting it exactly where the iPad is.

We will update this comparison once we finish the review of the Galaxy Tab S10 FE.