Samsung Galaxy Tab S11 Review: It’s Time For Something New

Worth When Reviewed

$799.99

Finest Costs As we speak: Samsung Galaxy Tab S11 5G

$799

$799.99

What do folks truly need from an Android pill? It’s a query that’s been on our minds for a couple of years now, and judging from the Samsung Galaxy Tab S11, it’s been on Samsung’s too.

After a 12 months wherein the corporate dropped the common mannequin from its premium pill vary, leaving solely the Samsung Galaxy Tab S10+ to accompany the flagship Extremely mannequin, the South Korean producer has selected one more new method.

This time round, there’s no Samsung Galaxy Tab S11+, with solely a Samsung Galaxy Tab S11 and a Samsung Galaxy Tab S11 Extremely to select from.

With costs ranging from £799/$799, you’re getting a extremely succesful 11-inch pill with robust efficiency, a shiny display, highly effective software program, and a bundled-in stylus. However apart from Samsung’s line-up indecision, there actually isn’t a lot that’s new or attention-grabbing right here.

Design & Construct

• Very acquainted design
• IP68 makes for an excellent bath-time pill
• New hexagon-shaped S Pen
• No extra rear attachment strip

The truth that you possibly can specify your Samsung Galaxy Tab S11 in Gray or Silver speaks to the final lack of inspiration that surrounds the design and really feel of this pill.

It seems loads like final 12 months’s mannequin. And the 12 months earlier than that. In reality, glancing again so far as our Samsung Galaxy Tab S7+ assessment of 2020 reveals the identical fundamental, flat-edged model.

Pill design generally has remained fairly samey because the 2018 iPad Professional 3, in fact, and Samsung has steadily refined its method over time. Lately, there’s an in-display fingerprint sensor relatively than the outdated energy button-based resolution.

Jon Mundy / Foundry

Progress? Maybe. It’s definitely extra handy to unlock when the pill is mendacity flat on a desk. Conversely, my very own thumbprint doesn’t appear to register fairly as constantly as I’d like.

IP68 certification is one other constructive design flourish that Samsung brings to the desk(t), making tub occasions with Disney+ really feel a lot much less precarious. It’s a way of reassurance that you simply don’t get with the £999 iPad Professional.

One other factor you don’t get with Apple’s imperious Professional pill is a stylus within the field. You do with the Galaxy Tab S11, and this S Pen comes with a remodelled hexagonal type issue. It’s even simpler to grip, whereas additionally serving to the stylus to affix to the highest edge via magnets.

There’s now not a devoted strip on the again of the pill for this goal, however the brand new method is extra intuitive. Extra problematic, for my cash is the elimination of Bluetooth Low Vitality assist, so you possibly can’t use the S Pen to remotely activate features such because the digicam or navigation options

Display & Audio system

• 11-inch AMOLED
• 120Hz refresh charge
• No anti-reflective coating
• Quad audio system

With Samsung vacillating between the Plus and non-Plus variant, it’s value restating that that is an 11-inch show – so it’s considerably smaller than the 12.4-inch Samsung Galaxy Tab S10+, and solely fractionally bigger than the ten.9-inch Samsung Galaxy Tab S10 FE.

Jon Mundy / Foundry

Fortunately, regardless of these two factors of comparability, it’s a lot nearer to the previous than the latter by way of high quality. This can be a wealthy, vibrant AMOLED panel with a pointy 1600 x 2560 decision.

Samsung has even bolstered the brightness since final 12 months’s mannequin, with a peak of 1,000 nits (up from 650 nits) in Excessive Brightness Mode.

Conversely, it’s a disgrace to see Samsung rolling again from the anti-reflective coating of the Galaxy Tab S10+. This was a most welcome improve in final 12 months’s mannequin, however there’s no such provision to be discovered on the Galaxy Tab S11.

Sound high quality is robust, courtesy of a full quad speaker set-up, with audio system evenly spaced on every nook. There’s a properly deep, spacey sound stage right here, particularly given the (comparatively) compact nature of the system.

Specs & Efficiency

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

Samsung has given the Galaxy Tab S11 a straight-up generational improve within the type of a MediaTek Dimensity 9400+ chipset. It won’t be probably the most recognisable chip available on the market, however make no mistake – this can be a high-performing chip.

Benchmark outcomes are broadly similar to the OnePlus Pad 3 with its Snapdragon 8 Elite chip, which has been a byword for ‘flagship efficiency’ for a lot of 2025.

Jon Mundy / Foundry

Certainly, the Samsung Galaxy Tab S11 truly scored considerably greater than its illustrious rival in our GPU assessments. There are mitigating circumstances with the OnePlus Pad 3’s extra pixel-packed show, in fact, however the reality stays that the Galaxy Tab S11 is a really robust runner.

That is pushed dwelling by firing up GRID Legends, some of the graphically superior video games on the Google Play Retailer. With the excessive decision graphics pack put in and a full grid of detailed vehicles jostling for place, it barely dropped a body.

There’s a 12GB of RAM as commonplace, which is first rate relatively than excellent, and there’s a alternative of 128GB, 256GB, and 512GB of inside storage. You may increase that additional with a microSD slot.

Samsung Galaxy Tab S11 benchmarks

Digital camera

• 13Mp rear digicam captures usually mediocre pictures
• 12Mp ultra-wide selfie cam greatest suited to video calls
• Helps 4K video at 30fps

I’m typically fairly dismissive in terms of discussing pill cameras, as a result of they don’t actually matter. In the event you’re shopping for this type of system with the intention of taking any variety of photos or movies, you’re doing it fallacious.

With that mentioned, the actual fact that these elements are at all times included necessitates some type of testing. And if you happen to’re spending £800/$800 on any good system, it’s honest to count on each part to no less than do an satisfactory job.

So, the Samsung Galaxy Tab S11 has a 13Mp digicam round again, and a 12Mp digicam in entrance. It’s very similar to the Samsung Galaxy Tab S10+ earlier than it, minus the devoted 8Mp ultra-wide digicam.

Jon Mundy / Foundry

They’re high quality. You may take satisfactory snaps with that 13Mp principal digicam if the lighting’s good and also you’re away out of your cellphone for some unlikely purpose, or (as is extra doubtless) you have to snap some paperwork.

Don’t hassle with these snaps if mentioned lighting is something lower than optimum. The sensor’s tiny, and also you don’t get OIS to help with longer exposures.

Samsung’s strong picture processing does quite a lot of the work right here, lifting the colors and the publicity to almost-unnatural ranges. The additional pop arguably serves such inferior elements higher than on Samsung’s flagship telephones, as there are extra photographic sins to cowl.

Video seize extends to 4K and 30fps, which most telephones promoting for half the worth can beat. Once more, that’s the take care of tablets.

The 12Mp entrance digicam is far more vital – not a lot for selfies as for video calls. Once you do use it to take selfies, it reveals itself to be a predictably restricted part. So perhaps don’t.

Battery Life & Charging

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

The Samsung Galaxy Tab S11 comes with an 8400mAh battery. That’s precisely the identical dimension because the Samsung Galaxy Tab S9, which is the final comparable premium pill that Samsung made.

Identical to that two-year-old pill, that is adequate for a full day of sunshine work or, as is a extra doubtless use case situation for a pill of this sort, most of every week of occasional utilization (a spot of internet shopping and the odd video).

Weirdly, the PCMark 3.0 Work Battery Check didn’t work on the Tab S11, regardless of repeated tries, so I can’t supply our ordinary comparability to rival gadgets. Nevertheless, I did report that an hour of Disney+ streaming sapped 8 % of a full cost, whereas half-hour of sunshine gaming sapped 5%.

These are robust outcomes, and are greater than aggressive with different full-sized tablets.

Charging assist extends to a decent 45W, if you happen to can present an acceptable charger (there isn’t one within the field). I recorded this getting from empty to 49% in half-hour.

Software program

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

The Samsung Galaxy Tab S11 is the primary pill to run on the corporate’s newest One UI 8 interface, working on high of Android 16. Given the sluggish rollout to Samsung’s telephones, that isn’t fairly such a minor declare because it sounds.

It seems and feels quite a bit like One UI 7, and that’s no dangerous factor. Samsung’s UI has tightened up considerably over time, with a vibrant look and appealingly sharp widgets.

It’s properly optimised for tablets, too, with a notification pane that pops down from the centre or the left aspect of the display, relying on the place you swipe from.

Jon Mundy / Foundry

Cut up display multitasking is dealt with intuitively, letting you contact and maintain from the app switching display, or just drag an app icon from the completely seen activity bar alongside the underside. You may run three apps concurrently on this method.

Samsung’s DeX, in the meantime, permits you to run a number of instanced desktops aspect by aspect, together with windowed apps, primarily turning the Galaxy Tab S11 into a light-weight laptop computer – particularly if you happen to pair it with the non-obligatory Slim Ebook Cowl Keyboard.

The S Pen stylus implementation continues to be the most effective within the enterprise, too, regardless of the partial regression with the elimination of Bluetooth Low Vitality assist. I’m not fully offered on utilizing the S Pen to scrawl textual content for URLs and the like, however you possibly can’t fault Samsung’s handwriting recognition for this function.

Jon Mundy / Foundry

I’ve my very own private gripes over Samsung’s common method to software program, however as of late they largely revolve round its intensive efforts to model away from Google’s inventory apps. As somebody who’s closely invested within the Google method of doing issues, I discover it tiresome having to arrange Google Pockets, Calendar, and Password Supervisor on Samsung gadgets. Maybe that’s simply my laziness coming to the fore.

Extra typically, the Android pill app scene merely isn’t as mature as that of Apple’s iPad. You’re extra more likely to stumble upon apps which might be poorly optimised for the shape issue, in the event that they exist in any respect.

What can’t be denied is the continued generosity of Samsung’s seven-year replace promise. This arguably makes extra sense right here on a pill than it does on Samsung’s telephones, as you’re extra more likely to maintain a pill round for a number of years.

For the second 12 months working, Samsung has gone huge on Galaxy AI with its new flagship pill. Samsung’s apps are shot via with it, together with Drawing Help (rework tough sketches into artistic endeavors), Writing Help (refine your unexpectedly written notes), and extra.

In the meantime, Google Gemini is just ever an extended energy button press away, letting you ask questions on no matter’s on display.

Worth & Availability

The Samsung Galaxy Tab S11 is on the market now with costs ranging from £799/$799.99 for 128GB of storage, transferring as much as £899/$859.99 for 256GB and £999/$979.99 for 512GB.

You should purchase it direct from Samsung’s web site within the UK and the US (the latter is working a tempting double-storage deal at launch), but in addition from all the ordinary retailers, together with Amazon (each UK and US), John Lewis, and Very. Including 5G connectivity to the bundle provides £150 for every storage variant within the UK, however there is no such thing as a such mobile possibility for US clients.

It’s value noting that this isn’t low-cost for an Android pill. It falls proper in between the £599 iPad Air and the £999 iPad Professional. Given the availability of a slick 120Hz AMOLED show, IP68 certification, and a bundled stylus, it arguably does sufficient to warrant such positioning.

Nevertheless, if we flip our consideration to the remainder of the Android pill pack, the Galaxy Tab S11 begins to look slightly dearer. The OnePlus Pad 3, for instance, provides you a much bigger, sharper, smoother show; comparable efficiency; extra storage as commonplace; a a lot larger battery; and quicker 80W charging, all for a worth of simply £529.

It’s not higher in each method (the Samsung wins on OLED, water resistance, S Pen, and longer software program assist), however the level is that it’s an entire £270 cheaper. And even £370, if we’re evaluating like-for-like on the storage entrance.

See how the Tab S11 stacks up towards our high suggestions in our round-up of the most effective tablets round.

Must you purchase the Samsung Galaxy Tab S11?

The Samsung Galaxy Tab S11 is one other extraordinarily competent pill with only a few weaknesses. It’s quick, properly constructed, packs a ravishing AMOLED show, and bundles in a well-integrated S Pen stylus.

Nevertheless, we’ve been saying related issues about Samsung’s high tablets for years now, and the Galaxy Tab S11 doesn’t a lot as threaten to try something new.

That’s high quality – the pill format generally is fairly static as of late. Nevertheless, rival Android pill makers have responded to this by providing extra for much less, and the Galaxy Tab S11 feels ever so barely costly.

It’s probably the most full 11-inch Android pill on the market, and the closest equal to the 11-inch iPad Professional you’re more likely to discover. Nevertheless it’s not as compelling as that formidable Apple rival, whereas in Android phrases you may get a broadly related (and in some methods superior) expertise for considerably much less.

Specs

• Android 16 with One UI 8
• 11in, 1600 x 2560, OLED, 120Hz show
• In-display fingerprint sensor
• Mediatek Dimensity 9400+
• 12GB RAM
• 128GB/256GB/512GB storage
• 13Mp, f/1.8 principal digicam
• As much as 4K @ 30fps rear video
• 12Mp front-facing digicam
• Quad audio system
• 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 colors: Moonstone Grey, Platinum Silver