Switching gears from a bulky Windows laptop to something sleeker always sounds tempting. Especially now, with remote work blurring lines and devices promising all-in-one magic. I mean, Samsung’s DeX mode turns tablets into desktop-like setups, right? So I figured, why not test it myself. As a tech journalist juggling deadlines, emails, and light editing, mobility matters. My old Dell XPS 15 weighs a ton in my bag. Enter the Galaxy Tab S10 Ultra—big screen, S Pen, and that keyboard case. For seven days straight, I ditched the laptop. No cheating. Just the tablet for everything: writing articles, browsing research, video calls. And Slack chats with the team. But reality hit quick. The promise faded under actual pressure. Multitasking glitches, app quirks, and hardware walls popped up everywhere. This isn’t some glowing review. It’s where the setup crumbled. And why, in 2025, tablets still lag as full replacements. Let’s break it down.
Setting Up the Switch
I grabbed the Samsung Galaxy Tab S10 Ultra. Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chip, 12GB RAM, 14.6-inch OLED display. Paired it with the official keyboard case, a Bluetooth mouse from Logitech, and a USB-C hub for extra ports. Setup took an hour. Installed essentials: Microsoft Office suite, Chrome, Slack, Adobe Lightroom for photo tweaks. DeX mode activated—bam, desktop interface. Felt promising at first.
But right away, Bluetooth pairing acted up. The mouse connected, then dropped. Re-paired three times. Frustrating. And the keyboard? Those keys are shallow. Typing felt off compared to my laptop’s clicky ones. I adjusted DPI settings on the mouse to mimic Windows navigation. Still, swipes and taps mixed with clicks confused things.
My Daily Grind on the Tablet
Work starts early. Coffee in hand, I fire up the tablet. Email check via Outlook app. Smooth. Then research for an article on AI tools. Open Chrome in DeX, split screen with Notes. Tabs pile up—ten, fifteen. Suddenly, lag. The processor handles it, but not like my laptop’s i7. Scrolling stutters.
Productivity Hits and Misses
Writing in Google Docs. I type 1,500 words. Auto-save works fine. But editing? Inserting images drags. Drag-and-drop from gallery to doc? Glitchy. Ends up resizing wrong. Had to use the share menu instead. Annoying detour.
Video calls on Zoom. Camera’s sharp, audio clear. But sharing screens? DeX mode flips layouts weirdly. Participants see sideways views sometimes. Fixed it by locking orientation. Still, not seamless.
And coding? I tinker with simple scripts for fun. VS Code app exists, but no full Git integration without workarounds. Pushed changes via browser—clunky. My friend, a dev, laughed when I mentioned it. “Tablets for code? Nah.”
Navigation Nightmares
Android’s touch-first design clashes with mouse use. Apps expect fingers. So holding click for context menus? Hit or miss. In DeX, the back button closes windows instead of navigating pages. Lost a draft once. Rage quit for five minutes.
Landscape mode dominates. But reading PDFs? Portrait feels natural. Switching modes resets app positions. Every time. Wasted seconds add up over a day.
Where the Setup Completely Tanked
By day three, cracks showed big time. Multitasking pushed limits. Open Slack, browser, Docs, and Lightroom. RAM fills—apps reload on switch. My Windows laptop juggles twenty tabs without sweat. Here? Crash. Had to close everything. Restart.
Software Gaps That Killed Workflow
No native x86 apps. Needed a Windows-only tool for invoice formatting. Emulation via apps like Winlator? Tried. Slow as molasses. Gave up, borrowed my partner’s PC for ten minutes. Cheated? Technically. But deadlines wait for no tablet.
3D rendering for a gadget mockup? Forget it. Tablet chips aren’t built for that heat. Fanless design means throttling quick. Screen got warm, performance dipped.
Hardware Hurdles I Couldn’t Ignore
Battery drained faster than expected. Eight hours claimed. Reality: five with heavy use. Power bank saved me twice. Laptop lasts ten easy.
Keyboard case. Oh man. Hard plastic keys bruised my fingers after hours. No backlight for night sessions. And the kickstand? Wobbly on laps. Fell over once, mid-type. Scratched the screen edge slightly.
Bluetooth woes persisted. Mouse disconnected during a call. Fumbled to reconnect while talking. Embarrassing.
Real-World Use Case: Covering a Tech Event
Last Friday, I hit a local gadget expo. Tablet in bag, light as heck. Snapped photos, jotted notes with S Pen. Edited on-site in Lightroom. Uploaded to cloud. Worked great for that.
But back at hotel, compiling the story? Struggled. Exporting edited pics to Docs—formats mismatched. Resized manually. Took twice as long. If it was my laptop, drag-drop-done. The mobility win? Offset by editing pains. Our team editor noticed delays in my submissions that day.
Step-by-Step Guide to Trying This Yourself
Want to test the waters? Here’s how I approached it. But heed the warnings.
Pick your tablet. Go high-end like Tab S10 series. Midrange lags under load.
Get accessories. Keyboard case essential. Add mouse, hub. Skip cheap ones—they fail.
Set up DeX. Enable in settings. Customize taskbar for quick apps.
Install key apps. Office, browsers, communication tools. Check Android versions.
Test workflows. Start light: emails, browsing. Ramp to heavy tasks.
Monitor battery. Carry charger. Adjust brightness, close background apps.
Have a backup plan. Keep your laptop nearby for emergencies.
Pro-Tip Box
Pro-Tip: To squeeze more from DeX, pair a mechanical keyboard via USB-C. Remap keys in settings for Windows-like shortcuts. I used a Keychron K2—transformed typing. But watch for battery draw; it sips extra power.
Troubleshooting and FAQ
Common gripes pop up on forums like Reddit and Quora. Here’s four I ran into, with fixes.
Why does my tablet lag during multitasking?
Low RAM or too many apps. Close extras via recent apps menu. Upgrade to 12GB models if possible. I cleared cache daily—helped a bit.
Bluetooth peripherals keep disconnecting—what’s up?
Interference from S Pen gestures. Disable air actions in settings. Worked for my mouse. Also, update firmware. Samsung’s app store has patches.
Can I run Windows software on the tablet?
Not natively. Use remote desktop apps like Chrome Remote. But latency kills precision tasks. For light stuff, okay. Heavy? No.
Battery dies too fast in DeX mode. Any tricks?
DeX is power-hungry. Dim screen to 50%, turn off auto-sync. Use airplane mode for offline work. I gained two hours that way.
Day seven wrapped. Failures stacked. Back to laptop.