Best in class

Review: Samsung Galaxy Tab S11 - Luxurious tablet that lasts long

If you want a tablet with the best screen and performance and to be able to use it for a long time, the Samsung Galaxy Tab S11 is the right choice.

Published 10 September 2025 - 10:18

Galaxy Tab S11 is Samsung's new series of tablets for those who want the best. The series has two models, the extra-large Tab S11 Ultra with a 14.6-inch screen, and the more normally sized Tab S11, which is the one we are testing now. The screen is 11 inches large and the tablet weighs 469 grams, making it a small and handy tablet by today's standards.

When the previous generation was launched, Samsung skipped a size, so this is a successor to the Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 released two years ago. Since then, a lot has happened on the software side but not so much with the hardware. The Tab S11 is slightly lighter and thinner than the Tab S9, the cameras are the same, and the screen has the same size and resolution. The Tab S11 probably has a more durable and brighter screen, but here the specifications are a bit vague. In any case, the Tab S11 has one of the brightest screens I have seen on a tablet, with a maximum brightness for HDR viewing at 1600 nits and a high brightness mode at 1000 nits. This means the tablet can be used outdoors without the screen being washed out by the sun. However, the Tab S11 does not have the anti-reflective treatment on the screen surface that the Tab S11 Ultra has.

As before, the screen has a refresh rate of 120 Hz. This is especially nice on a tablet's large screen and with an AMOLED display. The image really follows without becoming blurry when you scroll and swipe.

The tablet's fingerprint reader is also in the screen. I'm not as sold on this. Firstly, it's not as intuitive where the fingerprint reader is located on the screen of a large tablet, and I need to tap the tablet to wake the screen before I can unlock it with my finger. Secondly, Samsung's in-screen fingerprint readers are quite finicky, and from the start, I've had trouble getting it to recognise my fingers.

Faster

The Samsung Galaxy Tab S11 is, of course, faster than its predecessor, the Tab S9. They've opted out of Qualcomm's Snapdragon chipset for a Mediatek Dimensity 9400+. The only Android tablet that's faster in our performance tests is the Oneplus Pad 3, but the difference isn't significant. For the user experience, the increased performance doesn't make much difference, but perhaps for the services offered.

The Samsung Galaxy Tab S11 comes with Android 16 and One UI 8, and is promised seven years of Android updates and security updates. This means it will have the latest Android version significantly longer than the Tab S9, which was promised four years of system updates, two of which have now passed.

In these two years, a lot has also happened in artificial intelligence, and this is evident in the features Samsung highlights in the Galaxy Tab S11. For example, you can edit images with generative AI. In Samsung Gallery, you can even draw in the image and ask AI to create a photorealistic image of what you've drawn, and in the notes app, you can do the same and get a drawing.

Of course, the stylus comes in handy for this. In this generation, Samsung has removed the Bluetooth connection from the pen, so it now only works when you either press it against the screen or hold the pen a few centimetres above the screen. As before, the pen has a button that can activate a menu to, for example, choose which type of brush you use in certain apps, but in, for example, Samsung Internet, their own web browser, and in Notes, you also get a direct shortcut to AI functions. You can, for example, circle a piece of text and ask AI to process the tone of the text.

Better computer mode

Another feature Samsung has developed since last time is the Dex mode. If you activate Dex mode on the tablet, you can have your apps in floating windows like on a computer, and now you can do it just by swiping down the bar at the top of the app. The higher performance means the tablet can handle several simultaneous windows compared to previous generations, without lagging. You can also create ready-made desktops with groups of apps in windows that you often use together and therefore want to open at once. Up to four different ready-made desktops can be saved.

Another new feature is that you can connect an external screen to the tablet, which then functions as an extended workspace beyond the tablet's own screen.

It's probably a plus if these are features you want and will use, because this is not a cheap tablet. In its cheapest form, it costs 10,990 kronor, but if you want built-in 5G connectivity and 256 GB of storage instead of 128 GB, the price jumps to 13,990 kronor. A stylus is included, but if you want a stand and keyboard, it will be a few thousand more. In other words, it costs as much as a laptop, and it might be reasonable if you intend to use it as one, but if you just want a large screen as an alternative to the mobile screen, it's harder to justify a tablet at this price, no matter how good the screen is.

Questions & Answers

How many system updates is the tablet promised? Seven years of major system updates and security updates.

How are the tablet's speakers? It has four speakers that provide a proper stereo sound, but I have tested tablets with better reproduction in the lower registers, here it gets a bit tinny.

Is the screen anti-reflective treated? No, only the larger and more expensive Ultra model has an anti-reflective treated screen.

An alternative

The predecessor Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 can be obtained today for about half the price of the Tab S11. You get slightly slower processors, but almost as good a screen.