SCORE
Samsung Galaxy Tab S11
Cons
- Expensive
- Larger 14.6-inch Tab S11 Ultra works better as a laptop replacement
- DeX (desktop) mode is improved but I had trouble wirelessly connecting to a Samsung monitor
2025
SCORE
When it comes to tablets, the ideal size is debatable.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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, CNET’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.
3DMark Wild Life Extreme Unlimited
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.
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.
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.
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.
Source: CNET.
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