Samsung Galaxy Tab S10 Ultra vs. M4 iPad Pro: Samsung has just released its brand-new Galaxy S10 Ultra tablet, so it’s only natural to compare it to Apple’s latest tablet offering, the M4 iPad Pro. Recently, I actually compared the iPad Pro to the S9 Ultra—it wasn’t that long ago, and unfortunately, there haven’t been many significant changes with the S10 Ultra. I’ll start with what’s new here first and then get into my overall experience between the two.
| Specification | Samsung Galaxy S10 Ultra | Apple M4 iPad Pro |
|---|---|---|
| Operating System | Android 14 with One UI | iPadOS 18 |
| Display | 14.6-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X, 120Hz, Anti-glare coating | 12.9-inch Liquid Retina XDR, 120Hz ProMotion, Nano Texture option |
| Resolution | 2960 x 1848 pixels | 2732 x 2048 pixels |
| Processor (CPU) | MediaTek Dimensity 9000 (AI-optimized) | Apple M4 Chip (16-core Neural Engine) |
| Graphics (GPU) | Mali-G710 MC10 | Apple-designed 12-core GPU |
| RAM | 12GB / 16GB | 16GB (standard for M4 models) |
| Storage Options | 256GB / 512GB / 1TB (expandable with microSD) | 512GB / 1TB / 2TB (no expandable storage) |
| Camera (Rear) | 13MP main + 6MP ultra-wide | 12MP main + 10MP ultra-wide + LiDAR Scanner |
| Camera (Front) | 12MP ultra-wide (centered) | 12MP ultra-wide (centered, with Face ID) |
| Battery Capacity | 11,200mAh | 8456.76 mAh |
| Charging | Fast charging, 45W | 20W USB-C fast charging |
| Stylus | S Pen (included) | Apple Pencil (2nd Gen, sold separately) |
| Keyboard Support | Galaxy Keyboard Cover (optional, S9 version compatible) | Magic Keyboard (sold separately) |
| Audio | Quad speakers, AKG-tuned with Dolby Atmos | Quad speakers, Dolby Atmos |
| Connectivity | Wi-Fi 6E, 5G (optional), Bluetooth 5.2, USB-C 3.2 | Wi-Fi 6E, 5G (optional), Bluetooth 5.3, Thunderbolt 4 |
| Face/Touch ID | No Face ID, under-display fingerprint scanner | Face ID |
| Multitasking | Multi-window (up to 4 windows), DeX Mode | Stage Manager, Split View, Slide Over |
| AI Features | Galaxy AI (Note Assist, Voice Transcription, Web Summaries) | Apple Intelligence (iOS 18, beta) |
| Biometric Authentication | Under-display fingerprint sensor | Face ID (TrueDepth Camera) |
| Weight | 718g | 446g Lighter |
| Dimensions | 326.4 x 208.6 x 5.5 mm | 280.6 x 214.9 x 6.4 mm |
| Ports | USB-C 3.2, no headphone jack | USB-C with Thunderbolt 4, no headphone jack |
| Pen Latency | Ultra-low latency with S Pen (2.8 ms) | Ultra-low latency with Apple Pencil (9ms) |
| Software Support | Samsung DeX, Galaxy Note App with AI features | iPadOS-specific productivity apps, Apple Pencil features |
| Best Features | Fingerprint Sensor Water Resistant Memory Card Support | NO NO NO |
| Price | Best Deals | Best Deals |
Galaxy AI vs. Apple Intelligence change
The biggest Galaxy AI vs. Apple Intelligence change this year is, you guessed it, the slate of Galaxy AI features making its way across the entire Samsung product lineup. There are tons of AI features listed in settings, but I want to highlight the ones that are actually useful or at least fun to use.
Let’s start with the Note Assist features, which include the ability to have your notes automatically formatted with headers, bullet points, and paragraphs. This is useful if you’re typing up a lot of documents or notes, making it one of the more practical features compared to some of the more fun or novel AI features. Of course, you can get summaries of your notes, and you can even transcribe and summarize voice recordings inside your notes. If you’re a college student listening to a lecture, you can have it summarized and transcribed automatically.
For a tablet this large, most people will likely use it as a work- or school-related tool, so these AI-enhanced Note features make a lot of sense. You’ll also be doing a lot of web browsing on something this large, and the summarize and translate features in the Samsung web browser are incredibly helpful. If you’re reading long articles online and don’t have time to read everything, simply tap the AI icon, and you’ll get a summary in seconds. The same applies to web pages in different languages—you can use AI to translate them on the fly.
There are also fun and potentially useful features, like the ability to sketch objects onto a photo and have AI generate them into your image, or completely change the look and feel of your image with Portrait Studio. Plus, there’s Google’s Gemini built-in, and it’s so important to Samsung that there’s a dedicated key to bring up the chatbot assistant on the first-party keyboard. Having everything at your fingertips is super helpful.
Google Gemeni & Circle to Search
My favorite feature, though, is probably Google’s Circle to Search. It’s simple, but very useful. If you’re browsing the web and see an image you want more information on, you just hold down the home button and circle it. You’ll get a Google Image Search of what you’re looking at, along with detailed information on that card. It’s a fun and practical feature.
M4 iPad Pro as Apple Intelligence Coming Soon.
At this moment, however, we don’t have any AI features on the M4 iPad Pro, as Apple Intelligence is still only in beta with iOS 18.1 and not available to the general public. But when it is, a lot of these features—aside from Circle to Search—will be available in some form on the iPad. I plan to do a full AI deep-dive comparison in the future.
Display change
As for the display and general use of the tablet, another new change this year is that Samsung has added an anti-glare coating to the display. It helps block out external lights to reduce distracting reflections. Now, I’m not Apple fanboying here—I actually really like this tablet—but this anti-glare coating is not nearly as good as Apple’s Nano-texture option, which you do have to pay extra for. The Samsung coating comes standard and is closer to an anti-reflective coating than Apple’s more advanced solution. Still, it does a decent job at reducing reflections.
Other than that, this tablet feels a lot like the previous model. There aren’t many big differences, which is fine because I do love this tablet. It’s massive at over 14 inches, and it’s a powerhouse for productivity and watching content. The 120Hz AMOLED display has been slightly tweaked—now called the Dynamic AMOLED 2X display. I’m not entirely sure what the “2X” refers to, but it’s a bright, vivid OLED display with deep blacks and great contrast. It’s one of the biggest selling points of this tablet.
Better multitasking experience
I also think multitasking is way better on the Galaxy S10 Ultra compared to the iPad Pro. Even without considering DeX mode, which provides a full desktop experience, the S10 Ultra lets you have three to four windows tiled at once, making it a much better multitasking experience than Apple’s Stage Manager. And if you do want a more desktop-like experience, you can slip into DeX mode, which you can’t really do on the iPad.
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keyboard cases
Regarding keyboard cases, the good news is that the old keyboard case with the trackpad from the S9 Ultra still fits the S10 Ultra. However, you don’t get the Galaxy AI key, which is a bit of a bummer, but it saves you from spending an extra $350 on a new case. The bad news is that the keyboard and trackpad experience is still rough compared to Apple’s redesigned Magic Keyboard. The Samsung folio trackpad is so bad that it makes me want to pull my hair out, and using the kickstand on your lap is frustrating.
conclusion
Conclusion: The S10 Ultra is still a great tablet. Samsung’s AI features make it stand out, especially the Note Assist and multitasking capabilities. The AMOLED display is still one of the best out there, but the keyboard case leaves much to be desired. If you’re already in the Samsung ecosystem, the S10 Ultra is likely the better option, especially with the S Pen included, compared to Apple’s additional charge for the Apple Pencil Pro.
