Galaxy Tab S11 review: Samsung, we’re ready for something new

Best Prices Today: Samsung Galaxy Tab S11 5G

What do people actually want from an Android tablet? It’s a question that’s been on our minds for a few years now, and judging from the Samsung Galaxy Tab S11, it’s been on Samsung’s too.

After a year in which the company dropped the regular model from its premium tablet range, leaving only the Samsung Galaxy Tab S10+ to accompany the flagship Ultra model, the South Korean manufacturer has decided on yet another new approach.

This time around, there’s no Samsung Galaxy Tab S11+, with only a Samsung Galaxy Tab S11 and a Samsung Galaxy Tab S11 Ultra to choose from.

With prices starting from £799/$799, you’re getting a highly capable 11-inch tablet with strong performance, a bright screen, powerful software, and a bundled-in stylus. But aside from Samsung’s line-up indecision, there really isn’t much that’s new or interesting here.

Design & Build

• Very familiar design
• IP68 makes for a great bath-time tablet
• New hexagon-shaped S Pen
• No more rear attachment strip

The fact that you can specify your Samsung Galaxy Tab S11 in Grey or Silver speaks to the general lack of inspiration that surrounds the design and feel of this tablet.

It looks a lot like last year’s model. And the year before that. In fact, glancing back as far as our Samsung Galaxy Tab S7+ review of 2020 reveals the same basic, flat-edged style.

IP68 certification is another positive design flourish that Samsung brings to the table(t)

Tablet design in general has remained pretty samey since the 2018 iPad Pro 3, of course, and Samsung has steadily refined its approach over the years. These days, there’s an in-display fingerprint sensor rather than the old power button-based solution.

Progress? Perhaps. It’s certainly more convenient to unlock when the tablet is lying flat on a table. Conversely, my own thumbprint doesn’t seem to register quite as consistently as I’d like.

IP68 certification is another positive design flourish that Samsung brings to the table(t), making bath times with Disney+ feel much less precarious. It’s a sense of reassurance that you don’t get with the £999 iPad Pro.

Another thing you don’t get with Apple’s imperious Pro tablet is a stylus in the box. You do with the Galaxy Tab S11, and this S Pen comes with a remodelled hexagonal form factor. It’s even easier to grip, while also helping the stylus to affix to the top edge through magnets.

There’s no longer a dedicated strip on the back of the tablet for this purpose, but the new approach is more intuitive. More problematic, for my money is the removal of Bluetooth Low Energy support, so you can’t use the S Pen to remotely activate functions such as the camera or navigation features

Screen & Speakers

• 11-inch AMOLED
• 120Hz refresh rate
• No anti-reflective coating
• Quad speakers

With Samsung vacillating between the Plus and non-Plus variant, it’s worth restating that this is an 11-inch display – so it’s significantly smaller than the 12.4-inch Samsung Galaxy Tab S10+, and only fractionally larger than the 10.9-inch Samsung Galaxy Tab S10 FE.

Thankfully, despite those two points of comparison, it’s much closer to the former than the latter in terms of quality. This is a rich, vibrant AMOLED panel with a sharp 1600 x 2560 resolution.

Samsung has even bolstered the brightness since last year’s model, with a peak of 1,000 nits (up from 650 nits) in High Brightness Mode.

Conversely, it’s a shame to see Samsung rolling back from the anti-reflective coating of the Galaxy Tab S10+. This was a most welcome upgrade in last year’s model, but there’s no such provision to be found on the Galaxy Tab S11.

Sound quality is strong, courtesy of a full quad speaker set-up, with speakers evenly spaced on each corner. There’s a nicely deep, spacey sound stage here, especially given the (relatively) compact nature of the device.

Specs & Performance

• MediaTek Dimensity 9400+ chipset
• 12GB RAM
• 128GB / 256GB / 512GB storage (microSD expandable)

Samsung has given the Galaxy Tab S11 a straight-up generational upgrade in the form of a MediaTek Dimensity 9400+ chipset. It might not be the most recognisable chip on the market, but make no mistake – this is a high-performing chip.

Benchmark results are broadly comparable to the OnePlus Pad 3 with its Snapdragon 8 Elite chip, which has been a byword for ‘flagship performance’ for much of 2025.

Indeed, the Samsung Galaxy Tab S11 actually scored significantly higher than its illustrious rival in our GPU tests. There are mitigating circumstances with the OnePlus Pad 3’s more pixel-packed display, of course, but the fact remains that the Galaxy Tab S11 is a very strong runner.

This is driven home by firing up GRID Legends, one of the most graphically advanced games on the Google Play Store. With the high resolution graphics pack installed and a full grid of detailed cars jostling for position, it barely dropped a frame.

There’s a 12GB of RAM as standard, which is decent rather than outstanding, and there’s a choice of 128GB, 256GB, and 512GB of internal storage. You can expand that further with a microSD slot.

Samsung Galaxy Tab S11 benchmarks

Camera

• 13Mp rear camera captures typically mediocre shots
• 12Mp ultra-wide selfie cam best suited to video calls
• Supports 4K video at 30fps

I’m generally quite dismissive when it comes to discussing tablet cameras, because they don’t really matter. If you’re buying this kind of device with the intention of taking any number of pictures or videos, you’re doing it wrong.

With that said, the very fact that these components are always included necessitates some form of testing. And if you’re spending £800/$800 on any smart device, it’s fair to expect every component to at least do an adequate job.

If you’re buying this kind of device with the intention of taking any number of pictures or videos, you’re doing it wrong

So, the Samsung Galaxy Tab S11 has a 13Mp camera around back, and a 12Mp camera in front. It’s much like the Samsung Galaxy Tab S10+ before it, minus the dedicated 8Mp ultra-wide camera.

They’re fine. You can take passable snaps with that 13Mp main camera if the lighting’s good and you’re away from your phone for some unlikely reason, or (as is more likely) you need to snap some documents.

Don’t bother with those snaps if said lighting is anything less than optimal. The sensor’s tiny, and you don’t get OIS to aid with longer exposures.

Samsung’s solid image processing does a lot of the work here, lifting the colours and the exposure to almost-unnatural levels. The extra pop arguably serves such inferior components better than on Samsung’s flagship phones, as there are more photographic sins to cover.

Video capture extends to 4K and 30fps, which most phones selling for half the price can beat. Again, that’s the deal with tablets.

The 12Mp front camera is much more important – not so much for selfies as for video calls. When you do use it to take selfies, it reveals itself to be a predictably limited component. So maybe don’t.

Battery Life & Charging

• 8400mAh battery
• 45W wired charging
• No charger in box

The Samsung Galaxy Tab S11 comes with an 8400mAh battery. That’s exactly the same size as the Samsung Galaxy Tab S9, which is the last comparable premium tablet that Samsung made.

Just like that two-year-old tablet, this is sufficient for a full day of light work or, as is a more likely use case scenario for a tablet of this kind, most of a week of occasional usage (a spot of web browsing and the odd video).

Weirdly, the PCMark 3.0 Work Battery Test didn’t work on the Tab S11, despite repeated tries, so I can’t offer our usual comparison to rival devices. However, I did record that an hour of Disney+ streaming sapped 8 percent of a full charge, while 30 minutes of light gaming sapped 5%.

Those are strong results, and are more than competitive with other full-sized tablets.

Charging support extends to a respectable 45W, if you can provide an appropriate charger (there isn’t one in the box). I recorded this getting from empty to 49% in 30 minutes.

Software

• Android 16
• One UI 8
• Seven years of software updates

The Samsung Galaxy Tab S11 is the first tablet to run on the company’s latest One UI 8 interface, running on top of Android 16. Given the sluggish rollout to Samsung’s phones, that isn’t quite such a minor claim as it sounds.

It looks and feels quite a lot like One UI 7, and that’s no bad thing. Samsung’s UI has tightened up significantly over the years, with a colourful look and appealingly sharp widgets.

It’s nicely optimised for tablets, too, with a notification pane that pops down from the centre or the left side of the screen, depending on where you swipe from.

Split screen multitasking is handled intuitively, letting you touch and hold from the app switching screen, or simply drag an app icon from the permanently visible task bar along the bottom. You can run three apps simultaneously in this way.

Samsung’s DeX, meanwhile, lets you run multiple instanced desktops side by side, along with windowed apps, essentially turning the Galaxy Tab S11 into a lightweight laptop – especially if you pair it with the optional Slim Book Cover Keyboard.

The Android tablet app scene simply isn’t as mature as that of Apple’s iPad

The S Pen stylus implementation continues to be the best in the business, too, despite the partial regression with the removal of Bluetooth Low Energy support. I’m not entirely sold on using the S Pen to scrawl text for URLs and the like, but you can’t fault Samsung’s handwriting recognition for this feature.

I have my own personal gripes over Samsung’s general approach to software, but these days they largely revolve around its extensive efforts to brand away from Google’s stock apps. As someone who’s heavily invested in the Google way of doing things, I find it tiresome having to set up Google Wallet, Calendar, and Password Manager on Samsung devices. Perhaps that’s just my laziness coming to the fore.

More generally, the Android tablet app scene simply isn’t as mature as that of Apple’s iPad. You’re more likely to bump into apps that are poorly optimised for the form factor, if they exist at all.

What can’t be denied is the continued generosity of Samsung’s seven-year update promise. This arguably makes more sense here on a tablet than it does on Samsung’s phones, as you’re more likely to keep a tablet around for several years.

For the second year running, Samsung has gone big on Galaxy AI with its new flagship tablet. Samsung’s apps are shot through with it, including Drawing Assist (transform rough sketches into works of art), Writing Assist (refine your hastily written notes), and more.

Meanwhile, Google Gemini is only ever a long power button press away, letting you ask questions about whatever’s on screen.

Price & Availability

The Samsung Galaxy Tab S11 is available now with prices starting from £799/$799.99 for 128GB of storage, moving up to £899/$859.99 for 256GB and £999/$979.99 for 512GB.

You can buy it direct from Samsung’s website in the UK and the US (the latter is running a tempting double-storage deal at launch), but also from all of the usual retailers, including Amazon (both UK and US), John Lewis, and Very. Adding 5G connectivity to the package adds £150 for each storage variant in the UK, but there is no such cellular option for US customers.

It’s worth noting that this isn’t cheap for an Android tablet. It falls right in between the £599 iPad Air and the £999 iPad Pro. Given the provision of a slick 120Hz AMOLED display, IP68 certification, and a bundled stylus, it arguably does enough to warrant such positioning.

However, if we turn our attention to the rest of the Android tablet pack, the Galaxy Tab S11 starts to look a little more expensive. The OnePlus Pad 3, for example, gives you a bigger, sharper, smoother display; comparable performance; more storage as standard; a much bigger battery; and faster 80W charging, all for a price of just £529.

It’s not better in every way (the Samsung wins on OLED, water resistance, S Pen, and longer software support), but the point is that it’s a whole £270 cheaper. Or even £370, if we’re comparing like-for-like on the storage front.

See how the Tab S11 stacks up against our top recommendations in our round-up of the best tablets around.

Should you buy the Samsung Galaxy Tab S11?

The Samsung Galaxy Tab S11 is another extremely competent tablet with very few weaknesses. It’s fast, well built, packs a beautiful AMOLED display, and bundles in a well-integrated S Pen stylus.

However, we’ve been saying similar things about Samsung’s top tablets for years now, and the Galaxy Tab S11 doesn’t so much as threaten to attempt anything new.

That’s fine – the tablet format in general is pretty static these days. However, rival Android tablet makers have responded to this by offering more for less, and the Galaxy Tab S11 feels ever so slightly expensive.

It’s the most complete 11-inch Android tablet out there, and the closest equivalent to the 11-inch iPad Pro you’re likely to find. But it’s not as compelling as that formidable Apple rival, while in Android terms you can get a broadly similar (and in some ways superior) experience for significantly less.

Specs

• Android 16 with One UI 8
• 11in, 1600 x 2560, OLED, 120Hz display
• In-display fingerprint sensor
• Mediatek Dimensity 9400+
• 12GB RAM
• 128GB/256GB/512GB storage
• 13Mp, f/1.8 main camera
• Up to 4K @ 30fps rear video
• 12Mp front-facing camera
• Quad speakers
• Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/6e
• Bluetooth 5.4
• 8400mAh battery
• 45W charging
• 253.8 x 165.3 x 5.5 mm
• 469g
• Launch colours: Moonstone Gray, Platinum Silver

Best Prices Today: Samsung Galaxy Tab S11 5G