Samsung’s upcoming Galaxy Tab S10 lineup might only offer flagships

Summary

• Samsung is ditching the base model in the Galaxy Tab S10 lineup, focusing on Plus and Ultra variants.
• The company aims to compete with Apple’s iPad Pro, targeting larger AMOLED tablets.
• Samsung also plans to switch to MediaTek chipset for the Galaxy Tab S10 series due to rising Snapdragon chip prices.

The well-known British singer and songwriter Freddie Mercury has a famous quote: “The bigger the better; in everything.” When he said this, he probably didn’t know this statement could inspire tech companies to make their products as big as possible. Among others, Samsung was one of the first companies to launch smartphones with bigger screens. As of today, a 6-inch screen has become a norm among manufacturers, a size that seemed giant for a smartphone a decade ago.

But when it comes to the best tablets in the market, a bigger version is always welcome. Today’s tablets aren’t merely a bigger version of your smartphone, and thanks to their big, shiny screens, they’re well suited for both work and entertainment. For loyal Samsung fans, the company has a few solid products in the showcase, including Galaxy Tab S9+ and S9 Ultra.

Samsung’s Unpacked event will be held on July 10, and we expect the company to reveal the Galaxy Tab S10 lineup alongside other Galaxy-branded products. Since the Galaxy Tab S8 series, Samsung tablets have been launched in three variants: a basic model, a Plus variant, and a bigger Ultra variant. However, it seems that Samsung is going to break this tradition and ditch the smallest variant in the Galaxy Tab S10 lineup.

Samsung Galaxy Tab S10 lineup only focuses on bigger models

According to the Korean website The JoongAng on Naver, Samsung has ditched the base model from the upcoming Galaxy Tab S10 lineup, releasing the products only in Plus and Ultra variants. As the outlet says, this is the only change to the lineup, and Plus and Ultra variants will stick to their 12.4 and 14.6-inch screen sizes.

While Samsung’s reasons for making this decision are still unclear, the move could come on the heels of rising competition with Apple. Apple is currently leading the tablet market with a 36 percent market share, followed by Samsung with a 21 percent share. In May, Apple released its latest iPad Pro in a 13-inch model and a portable 11-inch variant. One assumption is that Samsung wants to ditch the basic model and focus on making large AMOLED tablets to overtake the iPad Pro.

The Korean outlet also reports that Samsung will switch to the MediaTek chipset in the Galaxy Tab S10 series to diversify supply chains. The Samsung Galaxy Tab series has traditionally been launched with Qualcomm Snapdragon chips under the hood. However, the rising prices of Snapdragon chips have reportedly pushed Samsung toward using MediaTek chips.