Samsung’s Galaxy Tab S10 series could bring a key hardware change

Summary

• The Samsung Galaxy Tab S10 series could feature the MediaTek Dimensity 9300+ chipset, a departure from the previous lineup.
• Qualcomm’s higher-cost Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 may not be used due to a potential price increase that could impact customers.
• The limited yield of the Exynos 2500 chip, meanwhile, could compel Samsung to partner with MediaTek for the upcoming flagship tablet series.

The Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 debuted alongside the Galaxy Z Fold 5 and the Z Flip 5 in July last year and is currently among the best Android tablets available. We’ve known for a while now that a successor is in the works, with recent reporting giving us a better idea about the tablet lineup’s launch timeline. A reliable source of Samsung-related info is now indicating that Samsung may be prepared to make a major change with the upcoming flagship tablet series.

Writing on social media platform X, Ice Universe revealed that Samsung will use the MediaTek Dimensity 9300+ chipset with the Galaxy Tab S10 series. Incidentally, this isn’t the first time we’ve heard of Samsung leveraging MediaTek’s SoCs for a flagship device lineup.

A report last month suggested that the South Korean smartphone maker could potentially use a MediaTek-made chipset on the Galaxy S25 series in early 2025. This came days after another report indicated that Samsung will utilize its home-grown Exynos 2500 chip, provided the company can significantly bolster its yield in time for production.

Ice Universe has a pretty decent track record reporting on upcoming Samsung devices. However, since this is technically a rumor, we will wait for additional confirmation from Samsung before jumping to conclusions. The manufacturer could also be preparing for some other changes to the lineup, such as limiting the Galaxy Tab S10 series to just the Plus and Ultra versions, killing off the base model in the process.

Why not the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4?

Qualcomm is expected to reveal its next flagship mobile SoC, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4, during the three-day Snapdragon Summit event in Hawaii, between October 21 and 23. While it was largely believed that Samsung would continue outfitting its tablets with the For Galaxy version of the flagship Snapdragon chip of the year, Ice Universe’s revelation has indicated that Samsung may have different ideas.

Although Snapdragon-branded chipsets are the most popular in the hardware business, recent reports indicate that Qualcomm could increase the cost of its new chip by 25-30%. This could put manufacturers like Samsung in a tough spot as they will either have to pass down that cost to the consumer or have it eat into their revenues.

Meanwhile, with the yields of the upcoming Exynos chip being quite low right now, Samsung has no option but to strike a deal with MediaTek. Ice Universe says in a follow-up post that the MediaTek Dimensity 9300+ “is still a very good performer,” suggesting that it may not be all that bad compared to the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4. Only time will tell if that’s accurate.