Review: OWC Thunderbolt Go Dock

Posted in Products with tags on September 30, 2024 by itnerd

When my MacBook Pro is set up at my desk, I use a dock to create a “1 cable solution” to charge and provide extra ports like USB ports and card reader ports. I do that because it’s a lot easier to access the dock’s ports rather than the ones on the MacBook Pro. And a dock often adds additional ports that I didn’t have before. With that background out of the way, I was intrigued by the OWC Thunderbolt Go Dock that OWC sent over for me to review. And after using it for the last few days, I can conclude that it is a dock that you should go out and buy if you want a dock that provides a load of functionality.

Let’s look at the dock:

The dock is 1.4″ x 9.5″ x 3.6″ and has some heft to it. But not so much heft that it would deter you from tossing it into a backpack to take it someplace. It’s made of aluminum which when in use gets warm to the touch. I point that out because I’ve tried docks that get outright hot to the touch which doesn’t exactly give me a good feeling as I wonder if the dock in question will die at some point because of the heat, or if it will have some other issue that would be a problem. I don’t have that feeling with this dock as clearly the heat is being managed well given that it is warm and not hot.

On one side you get a Thunderbolt 4 port that does 90W power delivery. You also get a Kensington slot to make sure that the dock doesn’t grow legs and walk away. This is the Thunderbolt 4 port that you use to connect to your laptop. In my case an M1 MacBook Pro. 90W of power delivery is a win because any laptop that requires a lot of power is going to be able to be charged quickly with this dock. Now if you look just above the Thunderbolt 4 port, there’s a hole there. That’s actually for a cable stabilizer that you can buy separately that makes sure that the Thunderbolt 4 port doesn’t disconnect by accident.

On the back you get two Thunderbolt 4 ports that do 15W of power delivery, a HDMI port with the ability to drive an 8K display at 60Hz, a 2.5 Gigabit Ethernet port which is handy if you have a network that supports that speed. Two USB-A 3.2 10 Gb/s ports that do 1.5A of power for bus-powered drives and device charging, and a plug for a power cable. Here’s why that power plug is cool. The power adapter that’s built into the dock. And that means no ugly power brick to deal with. It also means that you can use this dock worldwide. As in it covers 100~240V. And the plug itself is a 2 prong power cable. That’s important because if I want to travel with this dock, I simply have to figure out what cable I need for the country that I am going to and buy it off Amazon as a 2 prong power cable is very common and easy to find. Above each Thunderbolt 4 port are cable stabilizer ports.

On the front you get an  UHS-II SD card slot, a 1/8″ audio jack (it’s a combo port by the way), a USB 2.0 port and a USB-C 3.2 10Gb/s port. The other thing that I note is that there’s a fair amount of ventilation on this dock. Clearly that helps in terms of keeping it cool. Above the USB-C port is another cable stabilizer port.

I am going to flip over the dock to point out two things that I thought were cool. The first is that there are lights that tell you what’s going on from a power and Thunderbolt perspective are on the bottom. Because they’re on the bottom, it means that they will not light up a dark room. But will still be noticeable if you’re looking for them. People who work in dark rooms who don’t want the LED’s from their devices glowing all the time and bothering them rejoice!

To encourage you to RTFM, OWC has a sticker with a QR code that takes you to online versions of the manuals for the dock and a piece of software called Dock Ejector. More on the latter in a moment.

Also included in the box is a power cable and a Thunderbolt 4 cable. Both should be long enough for any use case that you might have. I should also note that the Thunderbolt 4 cable is a high quality cable that I would expect to last a long time.

So right off the bat, there’s a lot of good things here. Starting with the fact that it does 90W of power delivery to your laptop which means that you won’t be waiting for it to charge. And you have more than a healthy selection of ports to cover pretty much any use case. In terms of speed, from my testing you seem only to be limited to the speed of the devices that you connect to this dock to a point. For example, I connected an OWC Envoy SSD to do some testing with it and this is what I got:

If you compare these results to what I got when I reviewed it, having the OWC Envoy SSD connected to this dock results in roughly a 10% speed hit versus connecting it directly to my Mac. So while there is a a bit of a speed penalty, it’s a minor penalty that I am not going to lose any sleep over as you likely won’t notice it or care over the long term as this is still plenty fast.

OWC has a unique use case for this dock that allows you to use the Apple SuperDrive USB-A CD/DVD burner with this dock. Typically, docks don’t play nice with the Apple SuperDrive because of the power that they require. That usually means that you have to connect them directly to a Mac and that defeats the purpose of having a dock. To exploit this use case, you need to install a piece of software from OWC called OWC Dock Ejector. That does two things, it installs a driver that allows the SuperDive to run with this dock and consume more power, and it gives you a menu bar icon that allows you to eject discs easily. But to use this software, you need to change security modes on your Mac as per this YouTube video.

Now after watching this video, some of you might have an issue with this as lowering the security of anything is bad in 2024. So let’s go into the weeds for a bit to illustrate why this isn’t an issue.

Macs can have three possible security polices to choose from:

  • Full Security: This is the default and safest boot policy, with no security downgrades permitted. Your Mac ensures that only actively signed versions of macOS can be installed. (Fun fact: On iOS, this is used to prevent downgrades to previous versions.)
  • Reduced Security: Any compatible macOS version can be installed, as long as it was previously signed by Apple. You can also permit the following:
    • Allow third-party kernel extensions to run
    • Allow MDM (Mobile Device Management) to manage kernel extensions and software updates
  • Permissive Security: This is the most dangerous level and is hidden for safety reasons. Any compatible operating system can be installed, such as custom macOS builds or Linux. You can also permit the following:
    • Allow third-party kernel extensions to run
    • Allow MDM (Mobile Device Management) to manage kernel extensions and software updates
    • Customize or disable System Integrity Protection

If you really want to go into the weeds on this, Apple has this document for Apple Silicon Macs, and this document for Intel Macs that can help you with that. But here’s where I’m going with this. Reduced Security which is what OWC needs you to set your Mac to in order to install Dock Ejector, or more specifically the driver that allows the SuperDrive to work with your Mac via the dock. And using Reduced Security could introduce a theoretical risk that you could get pwned by something because the security level is reduced from the default level that your Mac ships with. But the reality is that the chances of getting pwned in while you’re in this mode are somewhere between slim and none. I should also note that OWC’s driver is notarized by Apple. So it’s not some sort or rogue piece of software. And all of that is on top of the fact that anything else that runs in that mode has to be notarized by Apple. That in effect means that no rogue piece of code should be able to pwn your Mac.

Now having said all of that, I am going to go out on a limb and say that a few of you will still have a problem with this. Let me help you with that. I was able to hop onto a Zoom call with OWC and they explained two things to me:

  1. The current driver that is part of Dock Ejector was was written in IOKit . Long story short, as macOS security tightened up around the kernel with every iteration of macOS, it forced OWC into a position where they had to ask users to do what I described above because this driver is a kernel driver which lives in layman’s terms in the core of the operating system.
  2. There is an upcoming version of Dock Ejector that should ship by the end of the year that includes a driver that has been rewritten in DriverKit. By using DriverKit, the driver runs not in the kernel, but in the user space. Which means that you don’t have to do what I described above to install it. Or put another way, you can use this new version of Dock Ejector to get your SuperDrive working without having to do anything that affects what I will call your “perceived level of security”. That’s a total win as far as I am concerned.

Let me point out one more thing. What the above illustrates is that OWC is a top shelf company to deal with. I highlighted a concern to OWC about something that their product did. They hopped onto a Zoom call with me and gave me their side of the story. They were completely transparent and open and I walked away with the feeling that I could confidently recommend this dock to those who find this to be a non-issue, and to those who might have a concern as that concern has been fully addressed from where I sit. I’m pointing this out because I rarely get this level of response and transparency from a company whose products that I review. And I am someone who among other things reviews products for a living. So you would think that because of that, companies would want to talk to me. But that’s not the case. I’ve had situations where companies have blown me off in similar situations. OWC didn’t do that which suggests to me that if you buy one of these docks, which you should if you have a use case that this dock can address, you’re going to be taken care of over the long term.

Now with that out of the way, Dock Ejector has a handy feature where if you try to eject a volume that has a file open by an application for example, it will not only tell you that is the case, but it will tell you what application is keeping it open. Thus allowing you to take action as you will be presented with the option to force eject the volume. That’s very cool. And makes it totally worth running if you have this dock.

I will end this review by saying that I really like this dock and I highly recommend it. During my week of testing it, I found zero issues with it and it is solid. Not to mention that it is well designed and thought out to make sure that it appeals to the broadest set of users possible. And at a cost of $299.99 USD, this dock is an excellent value given what OWC has brought to the table feature wise. And if that Dock Ejector thing bothers you, when the new version ships I’ll update this review with a download link to that new version in order to address your unease. If you need a dock for your desk setup, there’s really no reason why the OWC Thunderbolt Go shouldn’t be your first choice.

UPDATE: Dock Ejector 2.0 has launched. More details here.

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PayPal Opts You Into Sharing Your Data With Merchants BY DEFAULT… Here’s How To Fix That

Posted in Commentary on September 30, 2024 by itnerd

I swear, companies really don’t care about treating their users with enough respect so that they and not the companies are in control of their data. The latest case of this is PayPal. The company is updating their Terms of Service so that starting in November, you’re automatically opted into giving merchants access to your data.

All together now…. Whiskey – Tango – Foxtrot?

But there is some good news. Unlike some companies…. Ahem… Strava… You can opt out of this. Here’s how via the PayPal app or via your browser:

  • Go to Settings
  • Data & Privacy
  • Look for something either called PayPal Shopping or Personalized Deals & Offers. I had the latter and it looks like this.

I turned this off. You should too because being opted into anything which forces you to opt out out of it is unacceptable. Companies need to understand that and not partake in this sort of behaviour. At the same time, users need to be aware of, and looking out for this sort of behaviour and send a clear message to companies who partake in this sort of behaviour and send a clear message that this sort of behaviour will not be tolerated.

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Strava To Use Your Data To Train Their AI Without The Ability To Allow You To Opt Out… WTF?

Posted in Commentary with tags on September 30, 2024 by itnerd

Because I am a very athletic person, I post my bike rides as well as my walks, hikes and cross country skiing to Strava. And so do my friends who do similar activities. But I have to admit that I am rethinking that at the moment as this thread on Strava’s Community Forums says this:

I spent some time looking at the settings within Strava and found no way to opt out. So when this goes into effect today, every Strava user is opted into having their data shoved into some AI whether they want to have that happen or not.

That my friends is a complete and total #fail. Users should always have the choice to opt into something and not to be forced to opt out of it. And it’s worse when users have no choice to opt out as is the case here. So it leaves me wondering if I should be taking my data, deleting it, and finding another place to post my athletic activities. Because clearly Strava doesn’t care enough about their user base to give them the choice as to how their data is handed.

Oh, by the way, I suspect that once the EU finds out about this, they’ll be having a word with Strava. And it won’t be nice…. For Strava.

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An AirCanada Email Scam Is Making The Rounds…. But There Is Good News In Regards To This Scam

Posted in Commentary with tags on September 29, 2024 by itnerd

Here’s your second scam of the day. And this one is using Canadian airline Air Canada to make you more likely to fall for it. The scam starts via this email:

I find it extremely unlikely that any Canadian airline, never mind any airline period would just willingly hand over cash to anyone for deposit into their bank account or onto their credit card. On top of that, I haven’t flown Air Canada in over six years. So I know that there’s zero chance that this is real.

On top of all of that, this pretty much confirms that Air Canada didn’t send me this:

That’s not Aircanada.com so game over scammer. You lose and people should just delete this email. Except that I didn’t do that and clicked on the “Claim Now” link where I was pleasantly surprised with what I saw:

It looks like the hosting company that was hosting the threat actor’s scam website took it out. That’s good as I find that even when I report scams like this to hosting companies, they either take a long time to take out the website, or they never do. And that leaves people who fall for emails like this vulnerable to getting scammed. So kudos to Bluehost for nuking this website within 24 hours of this scam email hitting my inbox.

That doesn’t change the fact that you still need to be on your toes so that you don’t fall for a scam. Because you can’t depend on others to keep you safe. You have to take action by looking at the details of anything that you get to keep yourself safe.

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A New But Primitive CIBC Phishing #Scam Is Making The Rounds

Posted in Commentary with tags on September 29, 2024 by itnerd

When it comes to finding out about the latest scams, readers of this blog or my clients will sometimes bring them to me. But sometimes they just drop into my lap. Take this one that popped into my inbox that uses Canadian bank CIBC to try and scam you:

Now this leverages a couple of methods to try and get you to fall for the scam. The first is that the mail claims that CIBC has a new “verification method”. That’s something that will get people’s attention because banks are trying to move away from text message based two factor authentication because of SIM swap attacks where a threat actor swaps your cell phone number onto a SIM that they control so that they can then take over your bank account and drain it. So people may assume that this email is legitimate based on that. The second reason why people might fall for this scam is that there’s a sense of urgency around it based on the fact that you have a deadline to do what the threat actor wants you to do. Because nobody wants to be separated from their money. But this of course isn’t coming from CIBC and there’s three ways to tell in this case:

The first is the fact that this email address in the from field isn’t from cibc.com. In fact it’s not even close. So CIBC didn’t send this email.

Looking at the to field shows the same email address. That indicates that this is an email that is being sent to thousands of people hoping that 1 or 2 percent of them fall for this. That’s further reinforced by the fact that the body of the email doesn’t reference me by name and only says “sir or madam.”

The final part are the words “Click To againe Access”. Clearly the threat actor wasn’t smart enough to spell check this before sending this out. #Fail.

So if you get this email, you should instantly delete it and not click on any links. But by now you know that this isn’t how I roll. So I clicked the link and got this:

This is a pretty basic replication of the CIBC website. And if you look at the address bar, it’s clearly not CIBC.com. Which should be two more things to send you screaming in the other direction. But what this website is after is pretty clear to me. The threat actors want your debit card number and your password so that they steal your money. I entered a fake card number and a password that told the threat actor where to go and how to get there, and I was then dumped to the actual CIBC website. Now I can only conclude two things based on that. Either the threat actors had code in the website that detected that I entered invalid information and punted me to the real CIBC website as a result. Or this is a very basic scam website that snatched what I entered so that the threat actors can potentially go to town at someone else’s expense.

So even though this is a very basic, bordering on primitive scam, it’s still a scam. Which means that you need to be on your toes so as to not fall victim to it. Because a scam doesn’t have to be well executed to be effective.

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CISA Warns Of “Unsophisticated” Attacks Targeting Industrial Systems

Posted in Commentary with tags on September 28, 2024 by itnerd

The CISA put out an alert that caught my eye yesterday:

CISA continues to respond to active exploitation of internet-accessible operational technology (OT) and industrial control systems (ICS) devices, including those in the Water and Wastewater Systems (WWS) Sector. Exposed and vulnerable OT/ICS systems may allow cyber threat actors to use default credentials, conduct brute force attacks, or use other unsophisticated methods to access these devices and cause harm.   

CISA urges OT/ICS operators in critical infrastructure sectors to apply the recommendations listed in Defending OT Operations Against Ongoing Pro-Russia Hacktivist Activity to defend against this activity. To learn more about secure by design principles and practices, visit CISA’s Secure by Design webpage. For more information and guidance on protection against the most common and impactful threats, tactics, techniques, and procedures, visit CISA’s Cross-Sector Cybersecurity Performance Goals.

The word “Unsophisticated” is what caught my eye. That’s because this warning comes after the Arkansas City water treatment facility cyberattack:

The City of Arkansas City revealed that its water treatment facility had been breached on September 22. The city notified relevant authorities and moved the water plant to manual control to ensure safe operations.

Evan Dornbush, former NSA cybersecurity expert had this comment:

  “CISA’s guidance of recommended practices may be ideal for defenders who are well staffed or are perhaps building out new networks.

  “In terms of overall practicality, changing default passwords and patching and moving HMI devices behind firewalls or hardened VNC can be laborious.

  “Keeping with defense in depth philosophy, it may be more efficient for established OT/ICS operators to add a network detection capability to their existing infrastructure. Using modern advancements in computation, the market is full of quality options for those looking to glean intelligence from their network data.

  “Subscribing to a cyber threat intelligence platform is another low-friction avenue. Those purport to increase awareness of known exploited vulnerabilities (KEV) which can help steer defenders towards highest priority infrastructure.”

I truly hope that organizations take these warnings seriously. There’s enough evidence out there that should suggest that not doing so will end badly for all concerned.

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Victims Lose $70k To A Single Crypto Wallet-Draining App On Google Play Store

Posted in Commentary with tags on September 28, 2024 by itnerd

A malicious app impersonating the legitimate ‘WalletConnect’ project was available on Google Play for five months, amassing over 10,000 downloads. The fraudulent app, designed to drain cryptocurrency from unsuspecting web3 users, managed to steal approximately $70,000 from victims before being taken down.

The app posed as an official WalletConnect application, despite no such app existing on the Play Store. WalletConnect, a widely-used protocol that allows users to connect decentralized applications to their crypto wallets, does not offer a dedicated app.

George McGregor, VP, Approov Mobile Security had this to say:

 “This is an example of a massive issue. Both iOS and Android are affected by fake apps. HarmonyOS and the Samsung Galaxy Store are not immune to the issue. The problem is significant enough that it impacts users of all major mobile operating systems. Despite security measures, and claims to the contrary, fake apps can slip through on all mobile platforms. Official app stores like Google Play and the Apple App Store are overwhelmed struggling to address this issue, despite having extensive app review processes in place.

  “Some scammers have found ways to exploit the Apple App Store process by initially submitting apps in specific languages for certain countries, then gradually expanding to other markets. 

As regulations like the EU’s DMA (Digital Markets Act), the UK’s DMCC (Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024), and Japan’s SSCPA (Smartphone Act) kick in, more apps will be available outside of official app stores and security based on official app stores will become even more irrelevant than it already is.  

  “So, fake and unauthorized apps are a significant and growing problem. Common advice is that USERS should protect themselves: remain vigilant, carefully review app permissions, be wary of suspicious reviews or download numbers. But the reality is that all platforms face challenges with fake reviews and artificially inflated app rankings, which can make it difficult for users to identify legitimate apps. It is unrealistic to expect users to protect themselves from fake apps. 

  “In fact it is critical that app developers must put solid security in place – this means a zero trust runtime security solution that immediately identifies and blocks fake apps before they even try to access an API. “

This highlights the fact that users need to be vigilant about what they download. And that’s on top of app marketplaces needing to tighten up on their security to avoid this scenario from happening.

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Kia Cars Can Be Pwned In Epic Fashion

Posted in Commentary with tags on September 27, 2024 by itnerd

This is the second time in a week that I am going to say this. My wife and I are keeping our current car until it dies. But instead of potential privacy issues, it’s due to the fact that cars these days are connected to the Internet. Which means that they could be pwned. Here’s an example of that:

Today, a group of independent security researchers revealed that they’d found a flaw in a web portal operated by the carmaker Kia that let the researchers reassign control of the internet-connected features of most modern Kia vehicles—dozens of models representing millions of cars on the road—from the smartphone of a car’s owner to the hackers’ own phone or computer. By exploiting that vulnerability and building their own custom app to send commands to target cars, they were able to scan virtually any internet-connected Kia vehicle’s license plate and within seconds gain the ability to track that car’s location, unlock the car, honk its horn, or start its ignition at will.

After the researchers alerted Kia to the problem in June, Kia appears to have fixed the vulnerability in its web portal, though it told WIRED at the time that it was still investigating the group’s findings and hasn’t responded to WIRED’s emails since then. But Kia’s patch is far from the end of the car industry’s web-based security problems, the researchers say. The web bug they used to hack Kias is, in fact, the second of its kind that they’ve reported to the Hyundai-owned company; they found a similar technique for hijacking Kias’ digital systems last year. And those bugs are just two among a slew of similar web-based vulnerabilities they’ve discovered within the last two years that have affected cars sold by Acura, Genesis, Honda, Hyundai, Infiniti, Toyota, and more.

“The more we’ve looked into this, the more it became very obvious that web security for vehicles is very poor,” says Neiko “specters” Rivera, one of the researchers who both found the latest Kia vulnerability and worked with a larger group responsible for the previous collection of web-based car security issues revealed in January of last year.

“Over and over again, these one-off issues keep popping up,” says Sam Curry, another member of the car hacking group, who works as a security engineer for Web3 firm Yuga Labs but says he did this research independently. “It’s been two years, there’s been a lot of good work to fix this problem, but it still feels really broken.”

This isn’t just a bad look for Kia. It’s a bad look for the entire car industry. George McGregor, VP, Approov Mobile Security had this to say:

  “This shows how mobile app security and backend API security must be considered together. The attacker was able to copy the apps behavior and the backend checks were not sufficient to distinguish these requests from those from a valid app. 

  “In fact the API needs contextual information about what is going on in the device and the app to be able to prevent this kind of vulnerability being exploited. And the assessment of device and app needs to be thorough and happen continuously so that every request is validated as being legitimate. 

  “An effective app attestation solution such as the one from Approov can easily stop unauthorized apps, bots, cloned mobile apps or scripts from accessing your APIs and provide a Zero Trust approach that prevents this kind of exploit. “

The car industry simply needs to do better when it comes to security. Because at present, it looks like they as a whole don’t take security very seriously. Though they are free to prove me wrong at any time by describing how they are going to do better on this front and how long that will take.

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Microsoft Vulnerability CVE-2024-6769 Now Public on Fortra.com

Posted in Commentary with tags on September 27, 2024 by itnerd

Global cybersecurity software and solutions provider Fortra has published details about a vulnerability affecting Microsoft systems that allows attackers to escalate privileges from medium to high integrity levels without triggering a UAC (user account control) prompt.

The UAC prompt is essential for preventing unauthorized actions by providing a security checkpoint for administrators. However, this exploit removes that safeguard, enabling attackers to execute high-level tasks without detection or administrative approval. This could have significant consequences, particularly in environments where elevated permissions are tightly controlled, such as corporate networks or government systems.

  • Impact: Allows unauthorized escalation to high integrity without UAC, introducing serious post-compromise risks
  • Affected Systems: Windows 10, Windows 11, Windows Server 2019/2022 (with all updates applied)
  • Current Status: Microsoft has not classified this as a vulnerability according to their security criteria, but Fortra urges organizations to be aware of the risks, as this exploit can be used for privilege escalation post-compromise.

Fortra has developed a full working proof of concept and provided detailed insights into the vulnerability’s two-stage process, all of which can be found on their Security and Trust Center page: https://www.fortra.com/security/advisories/research/fr-2024-002. 

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Samsung Announces Galaxy S10 Series Tablets

Posted in Commentary with tags on September 26, 2024 by itnerd

Samsung today unveiled the Galaxy Tab S10 Ultra and Galaxy Tab S10+, Samsung’s first tablets purpose-built for AI. The premium hardware includes 14.6-inch and 12.4-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X displays — the ideal canvas for the intuitive S Pen bundled with both models. Performance upgrades for the Galaxy Tab S10 Ultra include an 18% increase in CPU, 28% increase in GPU, and 14% increase in NPU compared to the Galaxy Tab S9 Ultra.

This improved processing power enables faster and more responsive Galaxy AI features, which are now easily accessible with written prompts using the new Galaxy AI Key on the Book Cover Keyboards to customize the AI assistant. Innovative software includes features such as Note Assist and Drawing Assist, optimized for the tablet form factor. The Galaxy Tab S10 series also acts as a home AI device, with a 3D Map View available through SmartThings that gives a visual overview of the home and all connected devices to streamline device management across the SmartThings ecosystem. Robust Samsung Knox security also provides data privacy and control.

Built on Samsung’s legacy of providing powerful experiences, the Galaxy Tab S10 Ultra and Galaxy Tab S10+ harness significant leaps in AI processing power to deliver a supercharged experience. The Galaxy Tab S10 Ultra includes an 18% increase in CPU, 28% increase in GPU, and 14% increase in NPU compared to the Galaxy Tab S9 Ultra. Coupled with a long-lasting battery life and Super-Fast Charging, the Galaxy Tab S10 series can be used for longer, with less time spent waiting for it to charge.

The Galaxy Tab S10 Ultra’s 14.6-inch display and Galaxy Tab S10+’s 12.4-inch display  both feature innovative Dynamic AMOLED 2X technology and offer a vibrant yet natural viewing experience, even outdoors. Details are clear with its advanced anti-reflective technology, minimizing distracting glare and reducing reflection. The series’ quad speaker setup is further enhanced with AI-powered Dialogue Boost, which amplifies voices over unwanted noise to create ultra-clear audio. And for use on the go, the Galaxy Tab S10 series offers an IP68 rating further protected by enhanced Armour Aluminium.

The Galaxy Tab S10 series offers an efficient experience — enhancing productivity —and serves as the ideal canvas to let out your creative side.

  • With Note Assist and the intuitive S Pen, notetaking is a breeze on the tablet’s large display. Schoolwork, note-taking, and personal journaling become more efficient with automated transcriptions and summaries provided by AI.
  • With PDF Overlay Translation, the Galaxy Tab S10 series can also seamlessly translate PDFs via an on-screen overlay. 
  • Handwriting Help cleans up untidy handwritten notes, too.
  • Galaxy AI’s Sketch to Image makes the Galaxy Tab S10 Ultra great for turning imagination into reality, acting as a creative assistant for overcoming mental roadblocks.
  • With Circle to Search with Google on the Galaxy Tab S10 series, you can Circle to search anything without switching apps. Instantly translate anything you see on your tablet with Google. Without switching apps, you can translate any image, video or text in two taps. Quickly get the info you need, then get right back to what you’re doing. Circle to Search can even recognize and outline steps for solving physics and math problems.
  • The Galaxy S Pen’s Air Command provides instant access to your AI Assistant features without toggling between menus. These AI Assistant apps can also be easily launched by the Galaxy AI Key on the Book Cover Keyboard with written prompts, making it easier for users to choose between Samsung’s Bixby and Google’s Gemini for a customized AI experience.

I had a look at these new tablets earlier this week and here’s my first impressions:

This is a picture of the S10 Ultra with the optional keyboard case. But the S10+ version has an option for the keyboard case as well.

And what’s cool about the case is that you can hide the S Pen underneath a flap on the case so that you don’t lose it.

The Galaxy Tab S10 Ultra and Galaxy Tab S10+ will be available in Canada from September 26, 2024 for pre-order , and offered in two colours: Moonstone Grey and Platinum Silver. For more information about the Galaxy Tab S10 Series, please visit: https://www.samsung.com/ca/tablets/galaxy-tab-s/galaxy-tab-s10-ultra-wi-fi-gray-256gb-sm-x920nzaaxac

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