Samsung Galaxy Tab S10 FE series leak hints at a bad pricing situation

Samsung is expected to launch new budget-centric tablets in the coming weeks, expanding its portfolio of “Fan Edition” devices. But it seems the upcoming Galaxy Tab S10 FE series of slates will test the loyalty of Samsung enthusiasts with a higher asking price.

The folks over at YTechB have shared the purported pricing structure for the vanilla Galaxy Tab S10 FE and its Plus variant, and it seems a minimum price hike worth $50 is on the horizon. This is what the outlet shared:

• Galaxy Tab S10 FE (8GB RAM /128GB storage) – $499
• Galaxy Tab S10 FE (12GB RAM / 256GB storage) – $569
• Galaxy Tab S10 FE+ (8GB RAM /128GB storage) – $649
• Galaxy Tab S10 FE+ (12GB RAM / 256GB storage) – $749

Upgrade, or not?

For comparison, the baseline Galaxy Tab S FE started at $450 in the US, for the entry-level variant with 6GB of RAM. This time around, Samsung has equipped the most affordable model with 8GB of RAM, so there’s that meaningful upgrade to make the increased price a tad more palatable.

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Interestingly, Samsung is also bumping up the RAM capacity on the higher-end model, taking it from 8GB to 12GB, while the peak onboard storage remains the same at 256 GB. Of course, that upgrade will come at a $50 premium, as well.

The Galaxy Tab S9 FE Plus, on the other hand, started at $600, while its successor might hit the shelves at $650. Unfortunately, buyers won’t find RAM or storage upgrades on the Plus variant, despite paying a higher premium for it.

The Plus model will also deliver another unsavory surprise. Despite commanding a higher asking price, it will come with one less rear camera than its predecessor, as per leaked renders of the upcoming tablet.

What to expect from Galaxy Tab S10 FE series?

As far as the design goes, Samsung is sticking with a familiar all-metal look with flat sides. This year, the screen size is going up, following in the footsteps of the iPad Air. The Galaxy Tab S10 FE+ will reportedly offer a 13.1-inch screen, slightly bigger than Apple’s mid-range tablet.

We’re not sure if an OLED upgrade is in the pipeline this year, but given the marketing placement of this tablet, I am not hopeful. Coming to the innards, Samsung will reportedly rely on the in-house Exynos 1580 silicon.

As per alleged benchmarks, this processor is roughly 32% faster ticking inside the upcoming tablet, compared to the Exynos 1380 silicon powering the Galaxy Tab S9 series.

Based on our tests, the Exynos 1580 powering the Galaxy A56 is faster than Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 7s Gen 3 silicon driving the Nothing Phone 3a Pro at single-core benchmarks. However, Samsung’s processor can’t quite beat Qualcomm’s mobile processor at multi-core workflows.

Both variants of the Galaxy Tab S10 FE tablet will offer stylus support out of the box, and will also support 45W wired charging, the fastest that Samsung has to offer. For now, details about the rest of the innards are under wraps, but visits to the regulatory databases suggest that an official launch is right around the corner.