Samsung recently launched its latest budget tablet with the Galaxy Tab S10 FE Plus and we’re keen to see how it really compares to the premium Tab S10 Plus.

Although we gave the Galaxy Tab S10 Plus a near-perfect 4.5-star rating, as it’s almost double the price of the S10 FE Plus, should you spend more to guarantee a better tablet? Or could you save a bit of money on the FE?

We’ve highlighted the key differences between the Galaxy Tab S10 FE Plus and Tab S10 Plus to help you decide which Android tablet is best for you and your needs.

Alternatively, read our Galaxy Tab S10 FE vs Tab S9 FE comparison to see what’s new with the Fan Edition tablet. Otherwise our best Android tablet and best cheap tablets guides are here to provide more inspiration.

Pricing and Availability

The recently launched Galaxy Tab S10 FE Plus is the cheaper of the two tablets, with a starting price of £649 / $649. 

With a £999 / $899 price tag, the Galaxy Tab S10 Plus has the same starting price as the slightly smaller 11-inch iPad Pro M4, making it one of the most expensive tablets around in 2025.

The Galaxy Tab S10 FE Plus has a larger screen

With a screen size of 13.1 inches, the Galaxy Tab S10 FE Plus is larger than the 12.4-inch Tab S10 Plus but it’s also the largest screen ever found on a Galaxy FE. Although it’s smaller, it’s worth noting that the S10 Plus boasts a stunning Dynamic AMOLED 2X, whereas the S10 FE Plus only sports an LCD with a 2880 x 1800 resolution.

We praised the S10 Plus’ display as an “absolute beauty for viewing all manner of media and web content, with deep blacks and rich colours, aided by HDR10+ compatibility.” Not only that, but its 120Hz refresh rate means all content looked and felt smooth, whereas the S10 FE Plus only reaches up to 90Hz. Although this is less than we’d like, remember that a 90Hz refresh rate is still considerably higher than the likes of the iPhone 16 and even iPad Air M2.

The Tab S10 Plus also sports a 16:10 aspect ratio, which supplies a wider screen that we find is better suited for video playback than for attempting any productivity tasks. 

Otherwise, both Galaxy Tabs come equipped with an S Pen which allows you to draw and handwrite notes. The pen magnetically attaches to its respective tablet for easy storage. The inclusion of the S Pen at no extra cost is especially noteworthy when you compare it to the iPad and Apple Pencil, which needs to be purchased separately.

The Galaxy Tab S10 Plus has two rear cameras

It’s fair to say that a tablet’s primary function is rarely to be used as a camera, however it’s always good to have a decent set-up if you’re ever caught without your phone to hand. Both the Tab S10 FE Plus and S10 Plus are equipped with a 13MP main rear lens, but the latter also has a supporting 8MP ultrawide too. 

We found the S10 Plus’ image quality to be “just fine in good lighting” with Samsung’s usual vibrant colours covering “a multitude of photographic sins”.

Otherwise, the two tablets have a 12MP front lens which should be sufficient enough for video calls. In fact, in our S10 Plus review we hailed the selfie cam as a “decent video call camera – not least for its ultra-wide perspective, which makes it much easier to stay in view.” Although we haven’t reviewed the S10 FE Plus yet, we can imagine it’ll be the same as the S10 Plus.

The Galaxy Tab S10 FE Plus promises a longer battery life

Although both Galaxy Tabs have a maximum battery capacity of 10090mAh, the S10 FE Plus actually promises a higher battery life with up to 21 hours of video playback compared to the S10 Plus’ 16 hours.

Both tablets support up to 45W fast charging, which translates to a charge time of around 90 minutes for the Tab S10 Plus. We can expect the S10 FE Plus to offer a similar time frame, but as we haven’t tested the tablet ourselves yet, we can’t confirm this.

The Galaxy Tab S10 Plus has a faster processor

With the Dimensity 9300+, the Tab S10 Plus should boast faster speeds than the S10 FE Plus’ Exynos 1580 alternative. While we haven’t reviewed the Galaxy Tab S10 FE yet, we have reviewed the Samsung Galaxy A56 which sports the same processor and found it “holds its own in day-to-day use” and the whole user experience feels “snappy and responsive”.

Overall, we found the Tab S10 Plus to “sport decent performance, though it was perhaps a little underwhelming for its asking price.” In fact, although the Tab S10 Plus is the same price as the iPad Pro M4, the latter completely obliterated the former in our benchmarking tests. Not only that, but even the considerably cheaper iPad Air M2 still trumped the Tab S10 Plus in its test results.

While the Tab S10 Plus received a Geekbench 6 single-core score of 2158 and a multi-core score of 6660, the iPad Pro scored 3660 and a whopping 14555, respectively. Even the iPad Air M2 received scores of 2583 and 10023, respectively.

Otherwise, both the Tab S10 FE Plus and Tab S10 Plus also supports the Galaxy AI toolkit, which includes features such as Circle to Search, Samsung Notes and Samsung’s photo editing tools too.

The Galaxy Tab S10 Plus has more storage

Both the Galaxy Tab S10 FE Plus and S10 Plus have two storage options to choose from. While the Tab S10 FE Plus is available as either a 128- or 256GB model, the S10 Plus comes in either 256- or 512GB options, giving you more storage space to play with. 

It’s worth noting that both Galaxy Tabs have a microSD slot for expanding storage too, so you aren’t too restricted if you do require more space.

Early Verdict

While we enjoyed our time with the Galaxy Tab S10 Plus and hailed the tablet as “outstanding for media playback,” but we concluded that it’s not “the ideal tablet for productivity hounds,” especially as the iPad Pro M4 and iPad Air M2 significantly outperform it. 

With this in mind, the Tab S10 FE Plus is significantly cheaper, so this could be a more tempting option. Although it lacks the Dynamic AMOLED 2x display and faster processor, it still offers a solid chipset and up to 21 hours of video playback.

Instead, we recommend flicking through our best tablet guide, which lists the top-performing tablets across all budgets and operating systems.