Which Samsung Galaxy 10 and 12 Inch Tablet Should You Buy?
Last Update: August 26, 2015
Why Buy a Samsung Galaxy Tablet?
From their status as Google’s number one Android peddler to the high quality of their products, Samsung has been a prime choice for anyone looking for an Android handheld for years. Now there are over 10 tablets to choose from! With their devices being massively popular across the world and within their native country of South Korea (where LTE data and speedy download rates on mobile are the norm) it’s not hard to throw support behind them, but even outside of consumer satisfaction, Samsung maybe the best choice for an Android Tablet.
Criticized for releasing too many devices in a yearly cycle, Samsung’s product lines can be confusing and mind-muddling at best. Their tablets have various specs, price, shapes, sizes that are all going to go in one ear and out the other unless you've read up and done your research. In fact, some of the tablets on this list have such similar names that it’s a surprise Samsung themselves haven’t gotten confused!
So to make picking a Samsung Galaxy 10 or 12 inch tablet as easy as can be, we've rounded up specs lists, reviews and prices to help you choose your next best tablet.
Which Samsung 10 or 12 Inch Tablet?
Well the first question to ask yourself is ‘why do I need a bigger display’? If you only need your tablet for playing casual games on the go (Angry Birds anyone?) or to entertain your children in long car rides then perhaps a smaller 7 or 8 inch tablet is for you (you can find that buyer's guide here) but if you need incredible graphical fidelity, impromptu movie screen, and a bigger screen to do work on then a 10 or 12 inch Samsung tablet is what you need.
When choosing a Samsung Galaxy 10 or 12 inch tablet, the points below are some things to consider.
- Price
- Specs
- Features
Memory Card Limitations
When buying a tablet it’s also important to consider how much ‘stuff’ you’re going to put on it. Going to stuff it chock full of high definition pictures? Want to use it as a portable music player? Will you be watching a lot of movies and/or TV shows on it? Well then you’ll need a whole lot of space!
Thankfully, all of the tablets on this list come with memory card slots making the whole process a lot easier but as many apps can only be installed on the tablet itself, you’ll want to make sure that you choose a tablet with a good amount of internal storage as well as room for a larger microSD memory card.
Furthermore, rooting your Samsung Galaxy tablet might make it easier to store things on memory cards and remove certain limitations so keep this in mind if you have big, drastic plans for your new 10 or 12 inch device.
Samsung Galaxy 10 Inch Tablets
With a substantially bigger screen than Samsung’s 7 or 8 inch devices, their 10 inch tablets offer more touchscreen inches to watch films and do work on. They are more expensive too, but if those smaller screens don’t cut it, a 10 inch upgrade is absolutely worth it.
- Play Games
- Mobile Workspace
- Productivity Apps
- Watch Movies and TV Shows
Samsung Galaxy Tab A (Model SM-P550)
Launched: 2015
Status: Available
- Includes S-Pen Stylus
- SideSync
- Multi Window
- Storage – 16GB
- Maximum Supported microSD Card – 128GB
- Operating System – Android 5.0
- Rear Camera – 5 Megapixels
- Front-Facing Camera – 2 Megapixels
- RAM – 2GB
- Processor – 1.2 GHz Quad Core
- Size and Weight - (9.55 x 6.57 x 0.29 in), 1.07lb
- Screen Resolution - 1024 x 768 pixels
Recommendation: Consider if on a $300 budget.
The low resolution screen and limited memory make it hard to recommend this $300 tablet.
Samsung Galaxy Tab A inch Price Comparison
Samsung Galaxy Tab S2 (Model SM-T810)
Launched: 2015
Status: Available
- Includes S-Pen Stylus
- SideSync
- Multi Window
- Storage – 32/64GB
- Maximum Supported microSD Card – 128GB
- Operating System – Android 5.0
- Rear Camera – 8 Megapixels
- Front-Facing Camera – 2 Megapixels
- RAM – 3GB
- Processor – 1.3 and 1.9 GHz Quad Core
- Size and Weight - (9.34 x 6.65 x 0.22 in), 10oz
- Screen Resolution - 1536 x 2048 pixels
Recommendation: Consider if on a $300 budget.
A high resolution screen and lots of memory make it easy to recommend this $300 tablet.
Samsung Galaxy Tab S2 inch Price Comparison
Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 (2012 Edition) (Model GT-N8000)
Launched: 2012
Status: Discontinued
- Includes S-Pen Stylus
- Storage – 16/32/64GB
- Maximum Supported microSD Card – 64GB
- Operating System – Android 4.1 Jelly Bean
- Rear Camera – 5 Megapixels
- Front-Facing Camera – 1.9 Megapixels
- RAM – 2GB
- Processor – 1.4 GHz Quad Core
- Size and Weight - (10.31 x 7.09 x 0.35 in), 1.32lb
- Screen Resolution - 800 x 1280 pixels
Recommendation: Consider if on a $200 budget. Refurbished Galaxy Note 10.1 2012 should cost $175 or less.
It has as much RAM as your phone and upon release it was praised for its speedy processors. The screen resolution isn't great but a knocked down price on this discontinued model should make up for it.
Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 inch Price Comparison
Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 (2014 Edition) (Model SM-P600)
Launched: 2014
Status: Available
- Includes S-Pen Stylus
- Storage – 16/32GB
- Maximum Supported microSD Card – 64GB
- Operating System – Android 4.3 Jelly Bean
- Rear Camera – 8 Megapixels
- Front-Facing Camera – 2 Megapixels
- RAM - 3GB
- Processor - 1.9 GHz Quad-Core
- Size and Weight - (9.57 x 6.75 x 0.31 in), 1.18lb
- Screen Resolution - 2560 x 1600 pixels
Recommendation: Consider only if you need a stylus. Galaxy Note 10.1 2014 refurbished tablets should cost less than $300.
With miserable camera specs, this is hardly going to be a big screen replacement to your high-end phone but the reasonable amount of RAM keeps it ticking along nicely. Furthermore, Jelly Bean is 2nd only to Android 4.4 KitKat meaning that’s it’s one of the most updated, stable operating systems out there and the majority of apps and such will work on it. On the lower end of its pricing, you can pick up the Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 2014 for under $500 although a Tab S 10.5 is a much better tablet.
Samsung Galaxy Tab S 10.5 (Model SM-T800)
Launched: 2014
Status: Available
- Storage – 16GB/32GB
- Maximum Supported microSD Card – 128GB
- Operating System – Android 4.4 KitKat
- Rear Camera – 8 Megapixels
- Front-Facing Camera – 2 Megapixels
- RAM – 3GB
- Processor – 1.9Ghz Quad Core + 1.3Ghz Quad Core
- Size and Weight - (9.74 x 6.98 x 0.26 in), 1.03lb
- Screen Resolution - 2560 x 1600 pixels
Recommendation: Buy if you can afford it.
With just a slightly bigger screen and thinner profile than the one before it, don’t get fooled into thinking that the Tab S 10.5 and the Note 10.1 are cut from the same cloth. The Tab 10.5 is high-end but it’s also the very best option for watching films and TV shows as its screen quality blitzes everyone else out of the water (including the iPad) and that microSD allowance means that there’s plenty of room for extra downloads. If you have a lot of apps open, the touchscreen can lag a little but with visuals this pretty you won’t even mind. Prices start from around $500.
Samsung Galaxy Tab Pro 10.1 (Model SM-T520)
Launched: 2014
Status: Available
- Storage – 16GB/32GB
- Maximum Supported microSD Card – 128GB
- Operating System – Android 4.4 KitKat
- Rear Camera – 8 Megapixels
- Front-Facing Camera – 2 Megapixels
- RAM – 2GB
- Processor – 1.9 GHz Quad Core
- Size and Weight - (9.57 x 6.75 x 0.29 in), 1.03lb
- Screen Resolution - 2560 x 1600 pixels
Recommendation: Consider but Tab S is better bet.
It’s not pretty and it doesn't always perform well when you push its limits but the Tab Pro 10.1 is a solid build with a good looking screen and a camera any amateur photographer could make good use of. $100 less than a Tab S, but inferior screen and performance. We would spend the extra $100 on a Tab S.
Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 (Model GT-P7500)
Launched: 2011
Status: Discontinued
- Storage – 16/32/64GB
- Maximum Supported microSD Card – Not available
- Operating System – Android 3.1 Honeycomb (Upgradeable to Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich)
- Rear Camera – 8 Megapixels
- Front-Facing Camera – 2.0 Megapixels
- RAM – 1GB
- Processor – 1.0 GHz
- Size and Weight - (10.11 x 6.90 x 0.34 in), 1.25lb
- Screen Resolution - 800 x 1280 pixels
Recommendation: Avoid
Three years on from its initial release, the Tab 10.1 isn't going to be the speediest tablet available but for a cheap, entry product into the tablet world, this one is definitely worth it.
Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 10.1 (Model P5100)
Launched: 2012
Status: Discontinued
- Storage – 16GB/32GB
- Maximum Supported microSD Card – 32GB
- Operating System – Android 4.2 Jelly Bean
- Rear Camera – 3.2 Megapixels
- Front-Facing Camera – 0.3 Megapixels
- RAM – 1GB
- Processor – 1.0 GHz
- Size and Weight - (10.10 x 6.90 x 0.38 in), 1.30lb
- Screen Resolution - 800 x 1280 pixels
Recommendation: Avoid
Launching to lukewarm reception back in 2012, the Galaxy Tab 2 10.1 had outdated specs even during its time. If it wasn't worth the price then then it certainly isn't worth it now.
Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 10.1 (Model P5220)
Launched: 2013
Status: Available
- Storage – 16GB/32GB
- Maximum Supported microSD Card – 128GB
- Operating System – Android 4.2 Jelly Bean
- Rear Camera – 3.15 Megapixels
- Front-Facing Camera – 1.3 Megapixels
- RAM – 1GB
- Processor – 1.6 GHz Intel Atom
- Size and Weight - (9.57 x 6.93 x 0.31 in), 1.12lb
- Screen Resolution - 1280 x 800 pixels
Recommendation: Consider if all you afford is $200. Refurbished Galaxy Tab 3 10.1 should cost less than $175.
This is a tablet that’s showing its age now. A year on from its release and Samsung’s newer tablets have almost twice the power of the Tab 3. Save your money and invest in one of the others on this list instead.
Samsung Galaxy Tab 4 10.1 (Model SM-T530)
Launched: 2014
Status: Available
- Storage – 16GB/32GB
- Maximum Supported microSD Card – 64GB
- Operating System – Android 4.4 KitKat
- Rear Camera – 3.15 Megapixels
- Front-Facing Camera – 1.3 Megapixels
- RAM – 1.5GB
- Processor – 1.2 GHz Quad Core
- Size and Weight - (9.58 x 6.94 x 0.31 in), 1.07lb
- Screen Resolution - 1280 x 800 pixels
Recommendation: Buy if $300 is your budget limit.
Released this year, the Tab 4’s specs are pretty reasonable. Ideal for heavy family usage, it has a great battery life even if resolution and speed leave something to be desired.
Samsung Galaxy 12 Inch Tablets
Ideal for work with its multi window software. It can show 2 apps at the same time, Samsung Galaxy 12 inch tablets are also capable of watching movies and using social media sites too.
Samsung Galaxy Note Pro Price Comparison
Samsung Galaxy Note Pro 12.2
- Includes S-Pen Stylus
- Use 4 apps side by side
- Storage – 32GB/64GB
- Maximum Supported microSD Card – 64GB
- Operating System – Android 4.3 Jelly Bean
- Rear Camera – 2 Megapixels
- Front-Facing Camera – 8 Megapixels
- RAM – 3GB
- Processor – 1.9 GHz Exynos Octa
- Size and Weight - (11.64 x 8.03 x 0.31 in), 1.66lb
- Screen Resolution - 2560 x 1600 pixels
Recommendation: Beware, wait for next generation
It may have a gigantic screen but if you plan on using the Note Pro 12.2 for work, don’t expect it to replace your desktop workstation. It lags when you run multiple apps and writing on it using a stylus is a chore. At $650 it’s also an incredibly expensive, sometimes unresponsive paperweight. Give this one a miss.
Samsung Galaxy Tab Pro 12.2
- Storage – 32GB/64GB
- Use four different applications side by side
- Maximum Supported microSD Card – 64GB
- Operating System – Android 4.4 KitKat
- Rear Camera – 2 Megapixels
- Front-Facing Camera – 8 Megapixels
- RAM – 3GB
- Processor – 1.9 GHz Exynos 5 Octa
- Size and Weight - (11.64 x 8.03 x 0.31 in), 1.63lb
- Screen Resolution - 2560 x 1600 pixels
Recommendation: Possible Buy
Admittedly, the Tab Pro 12.2 is a little pricey at $550 but you get what you paid for as it’s one of the most exceptional tablets in its field. It’s screen is bright, its processing power is a great chunk of muscle and its battery life is such that you’ll be able to work on this one without needing to charge it so often. Unfortunately, it’s a bit of a heavy one so weak-limbed users need not apply, it also gets quite hot if you've been using it for a while but other than that it ticks all the right boxes and is the only tablet you should be looking at if you have work to do.
Conclusion
There are plenty of great tablet options from Samsung in the 10 and 12 inch ranges and they should fulfill any shopper’s need for a versatile device to play games, read, access Twitter, Facebook and do work too. Hopefully you now have a better ideal of quick is best for you.
Tags: Android, Samsung, Samsung Galaxy, Tablet
Hi,
When was Samsung Galaxy Tab pro (10.1, Wi-Fi)discontinued? If one buys it in the store in the middle of 2016, does it mean that the resource of the battery will be greatly reduced?
It was released in 2014 and was discontinued then. If you buy a new one, it will have been sitting around for probably 2 years. Battery life will be less.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samsung_Galaxy_Tab_Pro_10.1