Galaxy Tab S10 Ultra and Tab S10+ launch at Samsung’s latest AI event
The Galaxy S24 FE and Galaxy Watch FE LTE are available for pre-order, too
🟦 Samsung announced new devices at its latest AI launch event
📱 $649 Galaxy S24 FE is an affordable 6.7-inch phone (like to S24 Plus)
⌚ $249 Galaxy Watch FE LTE (40mm) adds cellular (like Watch 4)
📱 $999 Tab S10+ & $1,299 Tab S10 Ultra are powered by MediaTek
🤖 All four have Galaxy AI features, as seen in our S24 Ultra review
Samsung’s latest AI launch event revealed three new products that are affordably priced and offer some of the AI smarts first seen in our Galaxy S24 Ultra review. They make the case that you don’t have to overspend to get AI in your latest tech.
The $649 Samsung Galaxy S24 FE, the $179 Galaxy Watch FE LTE and two Galaxy Tab S10 tablets starting at $999 are on sale with pre-order discounts and boosted trade-in offers to sweeten the deal. Everything will start shipping on October 3.
I went hands-on with each before their release – here’s what you need to know.
As always, you can pre-order these devices at a discount after reading Sherri’s hands-on experience with them.
Samsung Galaxy Tab S10 Ultra and Galaxy Tab S10+: Coming for iPad’s throne, maybe
Thinner, lighter, but not quite as slim as the latest iPad, the Galaxy Tab S10 Ultra and Tab S10+ are lovely-looking tablets. I was seriously impressed holding the 14.6-inch S10 Ultra. And yes, that’s almost 15 inches is a tad excessive. However, once you attach the magnetic Book Cover keyboard, it transforms into a viable laptop substitute.
Samsung is really going for a premium audience as the rear panel and the actual frame are made of the same Armor Aluminum as the S24 FE and two colors are available: Moonstone Gray or Platinum Silver. In the top right corner are two cameras, a 13-megapixel sensor, and an 8MP rear ultra-wide shooter, which sits directly next to the magnetic S Pen holder.
There are four side-firing speakers, a top-mounted power button, as well as a volume rocker and a USB-C port on the right. There’s a pair of connection ports on the bottom for the keyboard accessory. The screen, made of Corning Gorilla Glass Victus Plus, is framed by black bezels that I wish were little thinner. Two 12MP front cameras are on the Tab S10 Ultra if you want to do a video conferencing session, though the S10+ only has one 12MP front shooter.
Speaking of the display, it’s a sight to behold. Similar to its smartphones, Samsung gave both tablets a Dynamic AMOLED 2x display. As mentioned previously, the S10 Ultra has a 14.6-inch display with a 2960 x 1848p resolution while the S10+ panel is a 12.4-inch, 2800 x 1752p resolution. The color just pops off the screen and the detail is as sharp as a tack.
To combat glare, Samsung wisely added an anti-reflective coating. I could see myself using the S10 Ultra extensively with the S Pen as I actively use one with my S23 Ultra. The writing is smooth and is augmented with the usual Pen features. However, there are a few new ones courtesy of AI. For instance, with Sketch to Image, my rough sketch of a dog was transformed into several cool watercolor images.
However, the Tab’s AI features extend beyond creativity. You can also get a fair amount of work done too. Features like Note Assist can summarize notes and dictation while Handwriting Help, makes even the worst chicken scratch legible. On the Book Cover keyboard, you’ll find an AI Key for easy access to most of the Galaxy AI features. And if you’re going to make use of the Book Cover with either of the tablets, make sure you have a firm sturdy surface, as the cover with its kickstand and origami folds does not play nice with laps.
Under the hood, both tablets have a MediaTek Dimensity 9300+ processor, a surprising departure from both Samsung’s own Exynos chips as well as Qualcomm. I’m chomping at the bit to see how the performance fares against either a Qualcomm chip or Apple M4 processor.
The S10 Ultra has a 11,200mAh battery while the Tab S10+ has a 10,090mAh battery. While I don’t expect it to outlast the iPad Pro, I anticipate at least 13 hours of battery life, but we’ll have to wait and see in testing.
Samsung Galaxy S24 FE: Chonky, but classy
The Samsung Galaxy S24 phone is gorgeous, boasting a glossy Corning Gorilla Glass Victus Plus rear panel in four fun shades: Blue, Graphite, Gray, and Mint. The phone is also well made, as the frame is built from Armor Aluminum. The display is shielded by the same durable Gorilla Glass and it should survive splashes and dust thanks to its IP68 rating.
The phone is beefy at 7.9 ounces, 6.4 x 3 x 0.31 inches, but I like how substantial it feels. Plus, it fits into my meager girl jeans pocket with relative ease. Still, that’s heavier than both the 5.9-ounce Galaxy S24 and the 6.95-ounce S24+. Samsung outfitted the FE with the same 6.7-inch, 2340 x 1080, Dynamic AMOLED 2x panel as the regular S24 Plus, which means you can expect a bright, vivid display with rich contrast.
Surprisingly, the S24 FE has a 4-nanometer Samsung Exynos processor instead of a Qualcomm chip. Each model of the FE has 8GB of RAM with onboard storage options starting at 128GB with a maximum capacity of 512GB. Samsung states the Exynos chip is powerful enough to support ray tracing, which will make a lot of mobile gamers happy. We’ll have to test this in a full Galaxy S24 FE review at a later date.
You get a trio of rear cameras, including a 12MP Ultra-Wide, 50MP Wide Camera, and 8MP Telephoto sensor. At the front is a 10MP shooter. Except for the front and telephoto cameras, the FE is on par with the S24 and S24+. The FE’s large battery (4,700mAh) battery sits between the S24 (4,000mAh) and the S24+ (4,900mAh), which bodes well for the price.
Finally, there are the features. Samsung has always created feature-rich smartphones and the FE is no different. Much like the rest of the S24 line, the FE includes AI-powered tools like Circle to Search, Live Translate, and Composer, which uses AI to generate text whether you’re writing an email or a social media post. It’s sort of a souped-up predictive text.
There are also plenty of photo-based features such as Instant Slow-Mo, and Portrait Studio which give an artistic flair to selfies, reimagining them as watercolors, sketches, and comics. And of course, there are Generative Edit and Edit Suggestions for easy-peasy photo-editing.
Samsung Galaxy Watch FE LTE
Somebody slapped a new coat of paint on the Galaxy Watch 4 and renamed it the Galaxy Watch FE LTE. But hey, you don’t have to reinvent the wheel every time. The wearable only comes in one size, 40mm, which is a shame because I’d love to see a 44mm option, especially with the stunning AMOLED display. The colors on this thing is unreal.
Powered by an Exynos W920 processor with 1.5GB of RAM and 16GB of onboard storage, the FE LTE watch offers more connectivity, for those of you who actually leave your phone at home. The watch has the same color options as the Wi-Fi only version: Pink, Gold, Silver, and Black.
Outside of the LTE connectivity, the Galaxy Watch’s biggest selling point is the price as you can save $50 if you pre-order, bringing the price down to a more reasonable $199. In practice, the FE LTE isn’t going to outperform the heavy hitters in the market, but it’s not designed to. As the FE states, this is for fans of Samsung’s wearables who want most of the features without the premium price.
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