Samsung Galaxy Tab S11 Review: The High-End Android Tablet to Beat

When it comes to tablets, the ideal size is debatable. 

When Samsung first released its 14.6-inch Galaxy Tab 8 Ultra back in 2022, ‘s Josh Goldman described it as a “gigantic premium tablet” with some “killer specs.” It seemed great for certain applications, such as gaming, but he lamented that from a laptop-replacement standpoint, it wasn’t a Chrome OS-powered Chromebook but ran on Android instead. It was also quite expensive.

Three generations later, that jumbo 14.6-inch model is still around with the Galaxy Tab S11 Ultra ($1,200), but Samsung has also brought back the smaller, more affordable 11-inch model ($800) and ditched the in-between 12.4-inch size. I like the 11-inch version best. The 14.6-inch model is a little too big and expensive for my needs.

 So when Samsung reps said they had a limited number of review samples — and that they could only send one model — I opted for the 11-inch Galaxy Tab S11. After testing it for about a month, using it on a couple of trips and bringing it to the office occasionally, I’m glad I made that choice. It’s just easier to carry around. 

Read more: Best Tablets of 2025

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In my first review of the Galaxy Tab S11 line, I spent a lot of time examining the differences between this year’s S11 and last year’s S10 models. 

There are some notable advancements, including a more powerful processor that makes the tablet feel about 25% zippier overall, a slimmer design and a higher peak brightness for their displays, which are quite impressive. Beyond that, the differences are modest; see the end of this review for a full comparison.

The more expensive 14.6 Tab S11 Ultra starts at 256GB of storage, while the standard 11-inch Tab S11 starts at 128GB; upgrading to 265GB will cost you $60. Both retain their microSD card slots, so you can easily add more storage by buying a microSD card with up to a 2TB capacity. That’s up from the 1.5TB capacity cards that the Tab S10 supported. 

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Samsung Galaxy Tab S11 design

I’m not sure if there’s a sleeker Android tablet out there. Its 5.1mm thickness matches that of Apple’s 13-inch iPad Pro M5 ($1,299), and it retains the Tab S10’s IP68 rating, which means it’s dust-proof and waterproof (it can be submerged in up to 5 feet of water for 30 minutes). It’s also equipped with the Tab 10’s Armor Aluminum Frame, which is supposed to help prevent scratches and dings if you drop the tablet. I didn’t drop-test it, and generally encourage people to get a case.

The larger Tab S11 Ultra still has a camera notch, which some people were not happy about. But the smaller Tab S11 doesn’t have a notch and instead has a completely uninterrupted display, with the front-facing camera hidden in the bezel.   

As I said, the Tab S11’s sharp, vibrant display is one of the highlights. Both Tab S11 models now offer 1,600 nits peak brightness versus 930 nits peak brightness for the Tab S10, which can help with outdoor viewing. They have OLED 2X displays with 120Hz refresh rates, which means they have deeper black levels and better contrast than LCD. 

The resolution of the Tab S11 Ultra’s display is 2,960×1,848 pixels, while the Tab S11’s screen resolution is 2,560×1,600. However, the Tab S11’s screen is 275 ppi, while the Tab S11 Ultra’s is 240 ppi. That means the Tab S11’s screen looks a little sharper.

By comparison, Apple’s 13-inch iPad Pro M5’s OLED display offers 2,752×2,064-pixel resolution at 264 ppi, while the specs for the 11-inch iPad Pro’s ($999) display are listed as 2,420×1,668-pixel resolution at 264 ppi.

Despite the anti-glare technology baked into the Tab S11’s screen, I still saw some glare issues when using the tablet, particularly outdoors in bright sunlight. Note that the anti-glare coating on the step-up 14.6-inch Tab S11 Ultra is indeed a coating and is susceptible to being scratched off. 

Our social editor found that out when she unboxed last year’s Tab S10 Ultra and accidentally put a small but noticeable scratch mark on the screen’s surface (the glass wasn’t scratched, just the coating). I’m not sure the coating is such a great idea, and I’m glad the smaller Tab 11 leaves it off.

Noticeably speedier performance

When you buy a new tablet or PC, it tends to feel a lot zippier than the previous model you had, especially if it’s three or four years old. When I bought my Galaxy Tab S8 Plus three years ago, it seemed pretty darn zippy. 

But when I compare the experience of using it now to using the Tab S11, the Tab S8 Plus feels downright sluggish. It’s still fine for a lot of what I do with it, including basic productivity tasks, streaming video and Xbox Cloud gaming with Game Pass Ultimate. But it just feels a little laggy. I’m certainly tempted to trade in my Tab S8 Plus for a Tab S11. (Samsung is offering $450 as a trade-in value of the S8 Plus.)

The Dimensity 9400 Plus features a Cortex X925 core clocked at 3.73 GHz with a 12-core ARM Immortalis G925 GPU. While you can also feel a difference between using a Tab S11 and the Tab S10 Plus, it’s not nearly as significant a jump, which is why I don’t think it’s worth upgrading if you already have a Tab S10 Plus or Tab S10 Ultra. 

Samsung, like a lot of other companies, is placing a greater emphasis on AI features, and you can certainly sense the NPU performance bump whenever you engage those AI features. 

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On Geekbench 6, which measures raw CPU power, the Galaxy Tab S11 scored 2,763 on the single-core test and 8,762 on the multicore test running Android 16. It scored 20,455 in the GPU test. Meanwhile, the Galaxy Tab S10 Plus came in at 2,169 for the single-test and 7,126 for the multicore test running Android 14. 

By comparison, ‘s Scott Stein says Apple’s new flagship model, the iPad Pro (M5, 2025), scored 16,116 in the multicore test, which is about 10% better than what 2024’s iPad Pro M4 scored. Needless to say, either iPad Pro’s multicore score blows away the Tab S11’s.   

Samsung used to use Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Elite processors in its flagship tablets, but shifted to Mediatek chips for last year’s Tab S10, which some people were upset about. 

Earlier this year, I reviewed the OnePlus Pad 3 ($600), which is probably a better comparison than the iPad Pro. The OnePlus is powered by the Snapdragon 8 Elite 4, and it scored 3,077 (single-core), 9,022 (multicore) and 24,366 (GPU) in our tests with Android 15. That’s a bit better than this Galaxy Tab S11, so people’s gripes may be justified. 

Watch this: Back to the Future: Samsung Galaxy Tab S11 Returns To 11-inch Size

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The Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 4 processor allegedly runs hotter and is less energy-efficient than the Dimensity 9400 Plus, which is why Samsung may have chosen it for its slimmed-down flagship tablet (a slimmer design makes it harder to dissipate heat). In other comparisons, the OnePlus Pad 3 is larger (13.2-inch), weighs 675 grams and has an LCD, not an OLED screen.

I didn’t do extensive game testing with Tab S11, but I did run my usual tests with a few graphically intensive games, including Asphalt Legends Unite, with the graphics settings maxed out. It looked great. With the Tab S11 models, you now have the option to go with 96fps and 120fps at the maxed-out graphics setting, while it was capped at 60fps with the Tab S9 and Tab S10 models. 

The Tab S11 gets a little warm in the center after longer gaming sessions, but stays reasonably cool on the sides. (If you’re curious, you can read a thread on Reddit about folks’ experiences with other games using the Tab S11.) 

Galaxy Tab S11 photo samples

Tablets have never been known to take great photos, but lots of folks still use their tablet’s camera anyway, particularly as part of their profession (real estate agents, for example). As noted, both Tab S11 models have a 12-megapixel front cam and a 13-megapixel rear camera. 

The Ultra adds a second 8-megapixel ultrawide camera on the back. I thought the front cam did a decent job during videoconference calls (I used Zoom and Google Meet), and I was satisfied with the photos I took outdoors, but Samsung’s phones clearly take better indoor photos.

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Galaxy Tab S11 productivity feature upgrades

If you’re looking for a tablet that’s a true laptop replacement, your best bet is arguably still Microsoft’s Surface Pro. It runs Windows 11 and starts at $800 for the 12-inch model and $1,200 for the 13-inch model. Both Apple and Samsung have been making some improvements in the hybrid laptop/tablet department. 

In his review of the new iPad Pro M5, editor Scott Stein seems a little less miffed that Apple hasn’t turned its higher-end iPads into touchscreen Macs, saying the latest models are “closer than ever to the future Mac.” 

For the release of the Tab S11, Samsung’s made some upgrades to its DeX mode, which stands for “desktop experience.” This mode gives the tablet a more PC-like interface and allows you to connect a TV or monitor as well as a Bluetooth keyboard and mouse. Samsung has made it easier to jump into DeX mode, letting you create a true dual-monitor setup with support for multiple screens and up to four customized workspaces. 

The experience does seem to be improved and more robust, but I couldn’t connect wirelessly to a Samsung M8 smart monitor (it kept disconnecting,, and I couldn’t figure out why) so I had to go with a wired USB-C connection, which is more reliable. 

I could spend a lot of time explaining how the new DeX works, and you’ll find YouTube videos that go into depth on it, but if you’re new to it, expect there to be a little bit of a learning curve to set up workspaces, adjust DeX settings and fully master it. 

While connecting a monitor to the Tab S11 will give you something akin to a full desktop computer experience when you connect a Bluetooth keyboard and mouse, it feels a little small as a standalone laptop — it just doesn’t lend itself as well to split-screen action in standard tablet mode (you can multitask with two apps open side by side) as the larger 14.6-inch Tab S11 Ultra.

I do like the Tab S11 for light work on the go, and it works well for video conferencing. I also prefer it for taking notes because it’s lighter and easier to hold than the Ultra (you can set it down flat on a table and write, but sometimes you’ll want to hold it). But graphic artists and illustrators will likely prefer the Ultra’s larger screen. 

Samsung has also created a shortcut wheel interface when you’re using the S Pen, making it easier to access certain features. Both the wheel interface and upgraded DeX mode will come to the Tab S10 models with a software update later this year, so they’re not exclusive to the Tab S11.

Like the Tab S10 and S10 FE tablets, the Tab S11 is equipped with a variety of AI features, such as AI-powered note-taking, Circle to Search, text translation, as well as sketch-assist and photo-editing tools, some of which are useful and some of which are just fun to play around with. 

While the Tab S11 doesn’t have any exclusive new features, the upgraded processor, as I said, makes the AI work faster, so there’s less lag time, for example, as several pages of your handwritten notes are analyzed, then converted into a set of key highlights (the Cliff Notes version of your notes).

I should also point out that Samsung has said the Galaxy Tab S11 is guaranteed to get seven years of major Android OS upgrades and security updates. The S11 has launched with Android 16 and Samsung’s One UI 8 interface overlaying it, so that means you’ll be good through Android 23. That’s nice, but you’ll likely trade in your Tab S11 for a discount on a future Samsung Tab before you get to Android 23.   

Samsung Galaxy Tab S11 battery life

Reviewers do battery rundown tests in a variety of ways. In our test, we set the screen brightness and volume to 50%, and then loop a YouTube video (I looped my video of the AirPods Pro 3) that we stream over a Wi-Fi network (the Tab S11 supports WiFi 7 networks, but I tested it on a Wi-Fi 6 network). I should point out that at 50% volume, the tablet’s four-speaker setup, which doesn’t seem upgraded, outputs plenty of volume. There’s not much bass, but for a tablet, the audio performance is solid. 

In my battery test, the Tab S11’s battery conked out after 11 hours and 35 minutes. The Tab S11 Ultra should do even better than that because it has a bigger battery, but that battery life is still quite solid for a tablet.

To be clear, you’ll get much better battery life should you download a video and store it locally on the tablet (and don’t use Wi-Fi, which has a big impact on battery life). But if you play a graphically intensive game, it will drain your battery a lot faster than watching a video.

The Tab S11 supports USB-C wired charging at up to 45 watts. I was able to charge the tablet to 50% in about 30 minutes and fully charge it in about an hour and a half.  

Samsung Galaxy Tab S11 accessories

With some tablets, the company includes some sort of case or cover — or companies like OnePlus sometimes offer up an accessory as a “free gift” with your purchase. The Tab S11 comes with the S Pen, which is good (Apple does not include its Pencil or Pencil Pro with its iPad Pro M5), but nothing else, so you’ll want to buy a case for it. I tried it with Samsung’s Book Cover Slim Keyboard, which lists for $145, but sometimes is half off when you bundle it in with a Tab S11.

I like the Book Cover Slim Keyboard case because it’s sleek, doesn’t add much weight to the tablet, and its keys are nicely designed and tactile. It also has shortcut buttons to DeX mode and AI key you can map to launch Google Gemini, Samsung Bixby or other AI apps. But it’s overpriced at its list price, is missing a trackpad and isn’t equipped with a compartment to store the S Pen, which adheres magnetically to the side of the tablet. That means you’ll have to connect a Bluetooth mouse if you want to get the full laptop-like experience.

Samsung also makes a case without a keyboard called the Smart Book Cover Slim that retails for $90. Again, it’s a nice case, but overpriced at full price. It also doesn’t have a compartment for storing the S Pen.

If you’re looking for something cheaper to protect Tab S11, Amazon has plenty of folio case options, with decent ones like this one starting as low as $19.   

Samsung Galaxy Tab S11 final thoughts 

On the surface, Samsung’s flagship Galaxy Tab Series doesn’t seem like a particularly good value. But you should always take Samsung’s tablet list prices with a grain of salt, as it frequently offers discounts and device trade-in options to bring the price down. 

Not everybody has something to trade-in — and the trade-in value tends to be best for older Galaxy Tabs — but some of the value of owning a Tab is that once you buy one, you can trade it in for a nice chunk of change even three years later (as I said, the Tab S8 Plus would fetch $450 in trade-in value while the Tab S8 is listed at $400). 

Apple’s latest iPad Pro models are more powerful devices, but in the Android tablet world, anyway, there really isn’t anything quite as sleek or slim with a great display that offers excellent performance as the Tab S11, which is why we’ve awarded it an Editors’ Choice. 

You can certainly quibble with Samsung’s choice of processor and argue that tablets like the OnePlus Pad 3 are a better overall value when you compare list prices, but the Tab S11 is still the Android tablet to beat. While the 14.6-inch Tab S11 Ultra has its advantages for certain applications and is unique in the tablet world due to its extra-large size, for most people, the smaller and more affordable Tab S11 makes more sense.

Key differences between the Galaxy Tab S11 and Tab S10

• The Tab S11 is now 5.5 mm thick, compared to 5.9 mm for the Galaxy Tab S9. Its bezel has gone from 5.9 mm to 5.5 mm, and its weight has dropped from 498 grams (for the Tab S9) to 482 grams. 
• Both Tab S11 models are powered by a Mediatek Dimensity 9400 Plus processor (the Tab S10 models used a Dimensity 9400 processor). NPU stands for neural processing unit, which helps drive AI performance and machine learning tasks.
• Samsung says that the processor offers 24% faster CPU performance, 27% faster GPU performance and 33% faster NPU performance compared to the Mediatek 9400 chip in the Tab S10 Series.
• Both models now offer 1,600 nits peak brightness versus 930 nits peak brightness for the Tab S10. As with the Tab S10, the TAB S11 displays are OLED, not LCD, with 120Hz refresh rates.
• While Tab S11 Ultra’s battery has gone from 11,600 milliamp hours compared to 11,200 mAh for the Tab S10, the Tab S11 has the same 8,400-mAh battery capacity found in the Tab S9.
• Both Tab S11 models have a 12-megapixel front cam and a 13-megapixel rear camera. The Ultra adds a second 8-megapixel ultrawide camera on the back. In contrast, the Tab S10 Ultra has a 13-megapixel and 8-megapixel ultrawide rear camera and a 12-megapixel ultrawide front camera, so the new model is missing the 12-megapixel ultrawide front camera. 
• The larger Tab S11 Ultra has an extra antiglare coating on it, while the 11-inch model doesn’t. Both screens have antireflective qualities, but with a huge 14.6-inch display, it helps to have a little more antiglare tech. 
• The S Pen has been redesigned with a hexagonal grip and a new, larger cone-shaped tip that offers better control (the S Pen doesn’t have a battery; it draws power from the screen instead).
• The Tab S10 Series comes in versions with Wi-Fi and 5G cellular, but the Tab S11 currently doesn’t have a 5G cellular option. It supports the newer Wi-Fi 7 standard.