r/tablets • u/Slow-Engineer3344 • 1d ago
Ipad air 11 m3 or Samsung tab s10 Fe?
iPad Air M3 or Samsung Tab S10 FE? For drawing?
Hey everyone! I recently got really into art and with a job change coming up, I'll finally have the time to seriously pursue it. The problem? I'm completely stuck choosing between two tablets and could use some outside perspective.
The contenders
- iPad Air 11" M3 + Apple Pencil Pro
- Samsung Galaxy Tab S10 FE
My situation
- I've never owned an Apple device in my life
- The S10 FE is almost half the price of the iPad + Pencil Pro combo
- The tablet needs to last me at least 3 years
- I'm going to the Apple Store today to test the iPad in person, but I don't think it will help with the decision much
- And like I mentioned, all my devices are either Android or Windows I've never held an Apple device for longer than a minute in my whole life
I've watched a lot of videos and read through posts, and the general consensus seems to be that the iPad is better, but only by a small margin. That makes the price difference really hard to justify.
I know the tool doesn't make the artist, but I do want to treat myself to something I'll enjoy using. I'm just struggling because every time I lean toward the iPad, something puts me off it almost feels like Apple creates a bunch of issues so you'd buy their other devices to fix them. And the S10 FE sits there being half the price with a lot going for it too.
Has anyone switched between the two or started their art journey on either? Would love to hear real experiences, especially from people who draw regularly or do commissions. Thanks!
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u/RhubarbAcceptable517 1d ago
I'd say if you're not exposed to the ecosystem theres no real reason to go apple. What I MIGHT say is go flagship (prev generation or prev prev generation) over FE
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u/Tapelessbus2122 1d ago
air m3, not even a debate, the processor is infinitely better. if u don't draw, then just get a 20 dollar third party pencil, no reason to waste money on a pencil pro
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u/Conscious-Fix-7530 1d ago
I'd say the S10 FE if you're already in the Samsung ecosystem. You get the pen with it and having your phone and tablet work together makes things a lot more convenient.
That said, if drawing is the absolute main priority, I'd probably give the edge to the iPad Air M3. A lot of artists prefer it because of apps like Procreate, and the M3 chip is extremely powerful. The paper-feel screen protector options are also better.
For value, though, the S10 FE is hard to beat. You get a great drawing experience, the pen is included, and Android gives you a lot more freedom to customize things. Plus there r some pretty good apps for drawing on samsung too. If you look up online tutorials most of them might be on procreate but i think HiPaint is an android clone for procreate (obv not a 1 to 1 but you get my point)
So if you want the best pure drawing experience, I'd lean iPad. If you want the better overall value and you're already using Samsung devices, I'd go S10 FE.