The Samsung Galaxy Tab S11 is an 11-inch, 120Hz OLED Android tablet with a MediaTek Dimensity 9400+ processor, 12GB of RAM, a microSD slot, IP68 water resistance and an S Pen in the box. PCMag rated it 4.0 out of 5 and CNET scored it 8.4 out of 10. Both praise the screen, speed and included stylus, and both list the price as the main drawback.
Full review
A compact flagship with an OLED screen
PCMag measures the Tab S11 at 6.51 by 9.99 by 0.22 inches and 1.03 pounds and says it feels sturdy in the hand. CNET's reviewer prefers this 11-inch size to the 14.6-inch Tab S11 Ultra, which he finds a little too big and expensive.
The display is an 11-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X panel with 2,560 by 1,600 pixels, a refresh rate of up to 120Hz and 1,600 nits of peak brightness, up from 930 nits on the previous generation, according to PCMag. CNET calls the screen one of the highlights but still saw glare outdoors in bright sunlight despite the anti-glare treatment.
Performance in PCMag and CNET benchmarks
The tablet runs a MediaTek Dimensity 9400+ with 12GB of RAM. PCMag recorded 2,778 single-core and 8,970 multi-core on Geekbench 6, ahead of the Tab S10's 2,072 and 7,242 and behind the iPad Pro's 3,679 and 14,647.
CNET measured 2,763 and 8,762 on the same test and notes the OnePlus Pad 3 scored 3,077 and 9,022, a bit better than the Samsung.
Battery life and charging
The 8,400mAh battery lasted 9 hours and 25 minutes in PCMag's rundown test, which streams HD video over Wi-Fi at maximum brightness. On a 45W charger PCMag saw 27% in 15 minutes, 50% in 30 minutes and a full charge in 1 hour and 30 minutes.
S Pen, software and support
The S Pen comes in the box and attaches magnetically along the top edge. PCMag describes Android 16 with One UI 8 as offering advanced multitasking, resizable app windows and DeX for a desktop-like interface, and finds Galaxy AI useful. Samsung promises seven generations of OS updates and seven years of security fixes.
CNET says DeX is improved but its reviewer had trouble wirelessly connecting to a Samsung monitor.
Where it falls short
Price is the first con in both reviews. PCMag found the four speakers clear in mids and highs at 91.7 dB but unable to reproduce the deepest bass, and judged the cameras fine for quick snaps and video calls rather than serious photography. There is no 5G version, and Wi-Fi tops out at 6E where the Tab S11 Ultra supports Wi-Fi 7.
Strengths
- +11-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X display at 2,560 by 1,600 and 120Hz with 1,600 nits peak brightness, per PCMag
- +Fast: PCMag recorded Geekbench 6 scores of 2,778 single-core and 8,970 multi-core, up from 2,072 and 7,242 on the Tab S10
- +Lasted 9 hours, 25 minutes in PCMag's video rundown at maximum brightness and recharged fully in 1 hour, 30 minutes
- +IP68 dust and water resistance and seven years of Android support, both listed as pros by CNET
Watch-outs
- −Expensive, the first con in both the PCMag and CNET reviews
- −CNET still saw glare in bright sunlight despite the anti-glare screen
- −CNET had trouble connecting DeX mode wirelessly to a Samsung monitor
- −Speakers miss the deepest bass on PCMag's test track
- −No 5G model, and Wi-Fi 6E rather than the Ultra's Wi-Fi 7, per PCMag
How it compares
At 11 inches the Tab S11 is smaller than the 13.2-inch OnePlus Pad 3 and the 13.1-inch Samsung Galaxy Tab S10 FE Plus. It has an OLED panel where the OnePlus uses an IPS LCD, and a microSD slot the OnePlus lacks, but CNET's Geekbench 6 results put the OnePlus Pad 3 slightly ahead. Its 8,400mAh battery is smaller than the OnePlus's 12,140mAh and the Tab S10 FE Plus's 10,090mAh.
Rating sources
Counts as 4.16/5 in our score — this publisher's 181 scores on the site average 4.00, so its scores are adjusted up to compare fairly with other publishers.
Counts as 4.16/5 in our score — this publisher's 34 scores on the site average 4.21, so its scores are adjusted down to compare fairly with other publishers.
Our 4.2 score is the average of these published ratings, each adjusted for how strictly its publisher scores. More about methodology.
