Samsung Galaxy Tab S10 FE Plus Review -Midrange Workhorse Tablet with the Works

Intended as the successor to the Galaxy Tab S9 FE Plus from 2023, the new Samsung Galaxy Tab S10 FE Plus is a midrange tablet that has a number of improvements over its predecessor while featuring much of the capabilities of the more premium Galaxy Tab S10 Plus while adding in a number of value-added extras.

We managed to get a sample for review and after taking it for a whirl for the past couple of weeks, here’s our Samsung Galaxy Tab S10 FE Plus review where we share this large yet modestly priced slate is a worthy investment.

Samsung Galaxy Tab S10 FE Plus Review – Build and Design

In general, the new Samsung Galaxy Tab S10 FE Plus is a more powerful, upgunned successor to the prior Galaxy Tab S9 FE+ albeit with some minor tradeoffs. While it is slightly heavier by 37g for the WiFi version and 40g for the 5G variant, it is 0.5mm thinner while featuring a an IPS LCD display that’s 0.7-inches larger at 13.1-inches diagonal that’s brighter too for better clarity under daylight.

It also has a better Exynos 1580 chipset, the same used in the new Galaxy A56 while featuring their Awesome Intelligence suite that adds in a smattering of image editing tools. The tradeoff here is that rather than a dual rear 8MP camera setup as that used on the older tablet, the new Tab S9 FE Plus has a single 13MP rear camera that outguns its predecessor but trades off an ultra wide angle lens in the bargain. The front is otherwise unaltered and sticks to a single 12MP camera . Battery sizes remain the same at 10,090mAh with support for 45W wired charging.

In terms of build and design, our Samsung Galaxy Tab S10 FE Plus review sample features a sturdy chassis mostly made of light aluminium that came in a shade of blue which works out to a light, tasteful shade of metallic blue interspersed with antenna bands across the backplate that come in a lighter shade of blue that are as tasteful looking as they are functional. Better yet, the tablet has a respectable IP68 dust and water resistance rating, allowing it to survive immersion in up to 1.5 meters of freshwater for up to 30 minutes.

The rear features a single 13MP camera capable of up to 4K@30fps video perched in the corner along with embedded magnets to dock the bundled S Pen stylus on the rear. Up top, the tablet which is intended to be used primarily in landscape orientation has a power button and volume rocker with the bottom featuring a set of pogo pins for other Samsung accessories.

The right side of the tablet features a single USB-C port for charging and docking duties with both the left and right sides featuring slits for the built-in speakers that form a stereo pair. 

Up front, the tablet features a 13.1-inch IPS LCD with 1,800 x 2,880 pixels resolution, a 90Hz refresh rate and a quoted 800 nits in high brightness mode (HBM) which is about 11% brighter than its predecessor. Up top, the tablet hosts a single 12MP camera for video calls and selfies. Like the rear camera, the front camera is also capable of 4K@30fps video capture.

Bundled by default with the Galaxy Tab S10 FE Plus is an S Pen stylus and for units sold in Malaysia, a free detachable keyboard case with a distinctly different design. Unlike last year’s wireless keyboard case that was permanently integrated into the case itself, the new designed keyboard case has a flip-down kickstand on the rear to allow for adjustable angles of incline all the way down to a near-flat 70-degrees or so as well as a brilliant feature – the wireless keyboard is completely detachable.

Connected to the tablet via Bluetooth, the keyboard itself sticks onto the main case assembly via a series of magnets and works in the traditional fashion as most tablet keyboard cases but the magic here is that you can pull it out and use it a short distance away from the keyboard much in the fashion of a traditional PC experience. Another key bonus is that the keyboard itself also has a touchpad, further enhancing the user experience. 

The bundled wireless keyboard case and S Pen stylus add quite a bit of value to the tablet unlike some competing tablets that nickel and dime you for every accessory though the whole package lacks a charger. What changes the game is that  adds in an impressive seven years of OS and security updates, keeping it secure all the way to Android 22 and safe all the way to 2032 which is exceptional for a midrange tablet and matches the support duration of Samsung’s best flagship devices.

 

Samsung Galaxy Tab S10 FE Plus Review – Performance and Benchmarks

Running under the hood of our Samsung Galaxy Tab S10 FE Plus review sample is their own in-house midrange Exynos 1580 chipset, the very same powering the Galaxy A56 that was released a few months earlier. 

For Malaysia, you’re able to opt between either a WiFi-only model or a 5G-enabled model, both of which have the same 12GB RAM and 256GB storage with support for a microSD card up to 2TB in size along with up to 8GB in virtual RAM Plus off the onboard storage. Connectivity is solid with WiFi6 and Bluetooth 5.3 Here’s how our Samsung Galaxy Tab S10 FE Plus review sample stacks up on paper:

 

Price	RM2,799 (WiFi only), RM3,299 (5G-enabled)
Display	13.1-inch IPS LCD, 1,800 x 2,880 pixels, 90Hz refresh rate
Processor	Exynos 1580
OS	Android 15 w/ One UI 7
Memory	12GB RAM/ 256GB storage+ microSD card
Cameras	13MP F/2.0 (rear) / 12MP F/2.4 (front)
Battery	10,090mAh w/ 45W charging
Size/Weight	300.6 x 194.7 x 6mm / 664g

On paper, the Samsung Galaxy Tab S10 FE Plus is an otherwise solid midrange design with more than enough horsepower for day to day tasks with the large display lending itself towards watching movies, web browsing and, with the provision of the S Pen, sketching and artistic endeavours.

Those that are less artistically inclined will appreciate the ability to take notes with the stylus and generally get more done as compared to a traditional laptop. When subjected to benchmarks with the default 4GB of RAM Plus virtual RAM, our Samsung Galaxy Tab S10 FE Plus review sample yielded the following benchmarks:

3D Mark Steel Nomad Light	690
3D Mark Steel Nomad Light Unlimited	701
3D Mark WildLife Extreme	1,348
3D Mark WildLife Extreme Unlimited	1,319
Geekbench 6 Single Core	1,368
Geekbench 6 Multi Core	3,901
Geekbench 6 OpenCL	6,474
Geekbench 6 Vulkan	6,797
Geekbench AI (CPU quanticised)	2,983
Geekbench AI (GPU quanticised)	689
PCMark Work 3.0 Performance	13,435
PCMark Battery Life	20 hours 45 mins

In synthetic benchmarks, the tablet with its Exynos 1580 chipset scored quite similarly to the Galaxy A56 though battery life is significantly improved on account of the vastly larger battery at 20 hours and 45 minutes. In fact, it has almost double the battery life of the Galaxy Tab S10 Plus which has a more powerful but also power-hungry chipset which lends itself towards more computationally demanding tasks like video editing or intensive gaming duties. 

 

When subjected to general use – paperwork, WiFi on all day long, social media and web browsing, the Galaxy Tab S10 FE was easily able to last a full work day in a normal office setting. When taken to Computex 2025 in Taiwan where work occurred in erratic spurts with a lot of note taking, it was confidently able to last all through the day.

Benchmarks aside, our Galaxy Tab S10 FE Plus review unit acquitted itself in a competent fashion with more than sufficient performance for day-to-day tasks. Apps opened in seconds, and it was able to tackle the usual combination of emails, web browsing, Netflix binge watching and the like. It was also able to handle a modicum of casual gaming too with the large 13.1-inch display and stereo speakers offering a pleasant gaming experience on most titles on default settings like Call of Duty Mobile, Genshin Impact and the like.

The provided display offers crisp text and decent blacks with relatively vibrant colour rendition on default settings though it still pales to the depth, richness and colour rendition that Samsung’s signature Super AMOLED displays such as that used on the Galaxy Tab S10 series are capable of offering. The improved screen brightness especially in high brightness mode offers improved clarity under direct sunlight but looks its best when used indoors. Even better, the provided speakers are surprisingly loud for their size and there’s no distortion even when cranked to maximum levels.

What gives the Galaxy Tab S10 FE Plus the edge is the fact that it has DeX mode, Samsung’s own special desktop mode that adds a taskbar to the bottom of the screen and the ability to open multiple apps in windowed mode with the ability to resize them at will which makes it look and feel very much like a PC. The provision of the detachable keyboard complete with touchpad and S Pen stylus completes the picture. You can read up more on my user experience and how it excelled as a PC alternative in my prior feature here.

Over the course of my field testing, my Galaxy Tab S10 FE Plus review sample excelled in note taking with the S Pen stylus and the addition of its ‘writing to text’ feature along with Samsung Note making it easy to take notes especially in interviews and when visiting the various booths at Computex 2025. You also get Samsung’s Circle to Search as well as Google Gemini too for research and translations which worked a treat when translating brochures and especially menus in my time with the tablet.

One quibble with the Galaxy Tab S10 FE Plus is that rather than the high-end Galaxy AI equipped on the flagship Galaxy Tab S10 series, the FE series uses a more streamlined variant called Awesome Intelligence that retains much of the image editing capabilities of the former but ditches the live translation capabilities. This typically isn’t much of an issue unless you’re a frequent overseas traveller or a foreign movie junkie.

Should I buy the Samsung Galaxy Tab S10 FE Plus?

The Galaxy Tab S10 FE Plus with its large display, detachable wireless keyboard and exceptional battery life along with its modest price tag enables it to excel as a general-purpose tablet for day to day use for most users. 

Where it has the edge over competing tablets is its DeX desktop mode that, combined with its detachable wireless keyboard, lend it a unique experience akin to a desktop PC while weighing less. Add in the fact that it ships with a free S Pen stylus, the aforementioned wireless keyboard case and has seven years of OS and security updates, and the Galaxy Tab S10 FE Plus is a complete package that offers great value for what you pay for.

If your work involves more demanding tasks like video editing and require a more colour accurate display, the Galaxy Tab S10 Plus makes for a better if pricier choice.

Samsung Galaxy Tab S10 FE Plus review sample courtesy of Samsung Malaysia. To purchase, please visit https://www.samsung.com/my/tablets/galaxy-tab-s10-fe/buy