Artist Review: Samsung Tab S11 and S11 Ultra

Review unit on loan from Samsung Singapore

The Samsung Galaxy Tab S11 and Tab S11 Ultra were released in September 2025. Some upgrades over the previous model include a redesigned S Pen, new MediaTek Dimensity 9400+ processor, and Samsung One UI 8 on top of Android 16.

Listed below are official retail prices here in Singapore (source):

Prices are usually lower on Shopee SG and Lazada SG when there's a sale going on.

And below are official retail prices in USA:

Bottom line

The Samsung Tab S11 tablets are probably the best Android tablets in the market now. Hardware is great and the display is now even brighter with peak brightness up to 1600 nits. Samsung OneUI 8 has a refreshed design and more software features.

The Samsung S Pen has a new hexagonal design. You can still expect fantastic writing and drawing performance from the pen. The front is more tapered to make it easier to draw with tilt effect. Pen nibs from the older S Pens can no longer be used with this new S Pen. The Bluetooth feature was removed which I don't think is a huge loss.

The classic SamsungDex with the taskbar is now only available when tablet is connected to an external display. The new SamsungDex that runs internally is designed to be more touch-friendly and will take some time to get use to since the UI is quite different.

If you're looking for a high quality Android tablet, the Samsung Tab S11 tablets are definitely the ones to consider. If you're looking to upgrade, I probably don't recommend unless your old Samsung tablet no longer works, or the battery life is abysmal. If you're using a Tab S7 (2020) or older tablet, the upgrade is huge.

Specifications

And below's a comparison table of the Ultra tablets from Tab S9, S10 and S11.

And below's the comparison of the 11-inch Tab S9 vs Tab S11

Things included

• Tablet
• USB-C to USB-C charging cable
• SIM ejector
• Quick start guide

Design

The Tab S11 series only comes with the 11-inch and 14.6-inch Ultra, no 12.4-inch Plus model. With the Tab S10 series, only the 12.4-inch and 14.6-inch are available. I'm not sure how I feel about having two instead of three models to choose from. Anyway. if you want the 12.4-inch Plus model which is not available, you can always get the Tab S10 Plus which is still powerful and should be cheaper after a year.

Choosing which size to get should be easier with 11-inch and 14.6-inch since the sizes are so different.

Here are the pros and cons of the larger tablet:
+ Better for multi-tasking, e.g. split screen
+ More immersive experience when gaming and watching shows
+ Works better as a wireless external display
+ Works better with apps with many UI elements, e.g. CSP, Krita
- More unwieldy to handle. It's essentially a tabletop tablet

The smaller Tab S11 is significantly more portable and easier to handle. It's light for its size, even when a case is added. Dimensions are 253.8 x 165.3 x 5.5 mm vs 326.3 x 208.5 x 5.1 mm.

The smaller tablet is still bigger than an A5 sized sketchbook, but the 14.6-inch tablet is two times the size. The Tab S11 works better as a portable digital sketchpad that you can bring around easily. The Tab S11 Ultra is more like a home or studio-based drawing workstation.

And there's the weight of 469g vs 692.

One thing that surprised me is the Tab S11 Ultra is just 5.1mm vs Tab S10 Ultra's 5.4mm and Tab S9 Ultra's 5.5mm. As for Tab S11 vs Tab S9, it's 5.5mm vs 5.9mm. It's feels unreal seeing how thin the Tab S11 Ultra is. There is actually some flex if you try to flex the tablet, but of course the tablet won't bend unless you bend it.

By the way, I did not review the Tab S10 series tablets because there wasn't any review units from Samsung Singapore, and I did not want to buy the tablet just to review because the upgrade wasn't much. But with the Tab S11 vs Tab S10, there are some noticeable upgrades.

There's now only one selfie 12 MP f/2.4 camera. The 12 MP f/2.4 camera is gone. So yeah the camera notch is smaller not but it's not like the dual-camera notch actually took up that much space. Anyway, I'm not sure of the utility of an ultrawide front camera since that camera on a tablet is mostly used for video calls. Auto-brightness works well.

Bezels are impressively thin on the Ultra, so thin that when you hold the tablet, your thumb may go onto the display and affect the touch of your other hand. This isn't much of an issue because the Ultra probably won't be handheld that often. Bezels are thicker on the 11-inch tablet.

USB-C port has 45W charging, USB 3.2 charging speed and can output video. Audio from the 4-day speakers is loud, clear and has good surround.

The back of the 11-inch tablet only has one 13 MP f/2.0 26mm camera, and the Ultra has an extra 8 MP f/2.2 ultra wide camera. The camera bump is big so the tablet will wobble when it's flat on the table. It's best to use a case if you don't want the wobble.

Accessories for previous models will not work with these new tablets. Tablets are thinner so old cases will not fit. The cameras are physically bigger so magnetic stands or cases with camera cutout will not fit. Pogo pin connectors have moved from the sides to the back of the tablet. Older keyboard cases can no longer be used.

Display

The displays on both tablets are Dynamic AMOLED 2X with adaptive 120Hz refresh. Typical brightness is 1000 nits and peak brightness is 1600 nits. The extra brightness makes the tablets more usable under direct sunlight, although the tablet will probably overheat within minutes from the heat of the sun, battery and display. The higher brightness now makes the displays easier to see in bright outdoor environment.

S11 Ultra and S9 Ultra display quality looks similar indoors.

Colours from the OLED display look vibrant. Contrast ratio is 100,000:1. Thanks to the increased brightness and contrast ratio, HDR now looks even better.

The Tab S11 Ultra comes with an anti-reflective coating while the S11 does not. The anti-reflective coating is quite effective and makes it less likely for you to see your own face when you're looking at the display. I highly recommend getting an anti-reflective screen protector for the tablet, and Samsung does make one official one that cost SGD 38 (~USD 30).

Resolution for the 11-inch and 14.6-inch tablets are 2560 x 1600 and 2960 x 1848 respectively. Aspect ratio is 16:10. The displays are sharp and pixelation is not noticeable.

One thing you have to know about OLED is there's pulse wave modulation (PWM). People with sensitive eyes may be affected by PWM. If you're unsure whether you'll be affected by PWM, I recommend you go see the tablets in person in a shop. PWM is the reason why sometimes you see flickering lights or displays in some Youtube videos.

Performance

Tab S11 series has the MediaTek Dimensity 9400+ and it's a powerful processor. Benchmarks are comparable to the Snapdragon 8 Elite. And according to benchmarks, this is almost 2 times more powerful than the Samsung Tab S9 Ultra that I am still using after 2 years and is still very responsive today. So you can expect even better longevity with the MediaTek Dimensity 9400+.

So the processor together with the 120Hz refresh rate makes this tablet feel responsive and fast.

With Genshin Impact, the default graphics setting is High, which is the 2nd of 5 graphics settings. My Tab S9 Ultra could only get Low graphics settings, the 2nd lowest of 5 settings.

There's 12GB RAM which is plenty for multi-tasking.

OS and software

The tablet comes with Samsung OneUI 8 on top of Android 16 and there's official support for Google Play Store.

There are some visual refinements. Samsung OneUI always has many features but I don't use that many, and I did not test them intensively to say much. I'm the guy who just opens an app and goes straight to work. I use split screen occasionally. The pull-out sidebar is still useful.

To see more software features, just watch this review below by Thao:

The most significant change to OneUI is with the new SamsungDex.

Classic SamsungDex with the taskbar is now only available when the tablet is connected to an external display.

New SamsungDex replaces Classic SamsungDex internally. To activate New SamsungDex, you just pull down a full-screen app from the top and turn that app into a floating window. You can create five floating windows/apps, and you can create different workspaces for those apps, e.g. workspace for work, entertainment, social media, etc. The cool thing about New SamsungDex is there's no reloading of the system, so there's no downtime.

New SamsungDex is designed to be touch friendly while Classic SamsungDex is designed to work better with keyboard and mouse since it's a familiar classic desktop UI, just like Windows. Users of the Classic SamsungDex will need some time to get used to the new design and workflow that's for sure.

Pen

There are several changes with the new Samsung S Pen (white).

The pen body is now hexagonal and looks like a traditional wooden pencil. It's still lightweight and comfortable to hold.

The front is now more tapered which makes it easier to tilt to pen low to get tilt effect of brushes to work properly. The previous bulbous front design makes the pen tip lose contact with the display when the pen is tilted too low.

The pen still has one side button that is customisable depending on the app used. The button is flushed to the side of the body so it's not prone to accidental clicks, but I still press the button unintentionally at times.

Downside to the hexagonal body design is it's now impossible to know where the side button is just from the feel of the pen. With the old pen with the cylindrical and flat sides, the side button is always opposite of the flat side where your hand can feel. Now the pen is symmetrical and you'll have to actually look at the side button to know where it is . If you're someone who holds the pen and never ever rotate the barrel, then you'll always know where that side button is. Using the side button now is kinda a hassle because I have to look and see where it is first.

The pen tip is still rubberised to provide extra resistance when drawing or writing on the display. This provides more control when drawing compared to a plastic tip.

This pen tip is also bigger than those used by the previous S Pens, so pen tips for older S Pens are no longer compatible with the new pen. When buying pen tip replacements, make sure to buy those that are made for the Tab S11 S Pen.

The pen still uses Wacom EMR so all other pens that use Wacom EMR are compatible with Tab S11, and that includes all the old Samsung S Pens. Wacom EMR supports tilt, pressure sensitivity and palm rejection. The pen is not powered by battery, so no charging and Bluetooth pairing is needed for it to work with the tablet.

This new pen no longer have the Bluetooth features that support wireless shortcut gestures.

This new pen no longer attaches to the back of the tablet, but it can still attach to the side magnetically. While the magnetic attachment is strong, the pen can still be knocked off. To prevent the pen from being knocked off, you'll have to use a case that can protect the pen. The old pen attachment is actually better because the case back cover can protect the pen, and the pen props up the tablet making it easy to lift the tablet.

Line tests

Line tests below were created with Medibang Paint.

1. Initial activation force is low. Thin lines can be drawn easily even with a thick brush selected. There's no noticeable diagonal line wobble.

2. Lines can taper smoothly and sharply.

3. Line transition from thin to thick and back is smooth. Thin lines can be drawn after thick lines. Pen is able to detect minor changes in pressure when drawing with minimal pressure.

4. Line width can be maintained consistantly by maintaining consistent pressure.

5. Dots can be drawn easily.

6. This is the cursor misalignment tests for pen displays. Tablets usually don't have issues with cursor misalignment. I was able to join separate lines without overshooting and leaving gaps.

Tilt sensitivity works fine.

The pen performance is great, just like the previous S Pens that came before which is not surprising since all the pens use Wacom EMR. The pen is sensitive and accurate, performance is consistent and predictable. The pen is definitely good enough for professional artists.

Drawing experience

Drawing experience is good. Drawing experience has always been good ever since the S Pen existed years ago. Palm rejection works really well and is almost flawless.

If you're thinking of choosing between an iPad or an Android tablet for drawing, I would say the pen performance of the Apple Pencil and Samsung S Pen is almost evenly match. The only drawing related feature that's missing from the S Pen that the Apple Pencil Pro has is the barrel rotation where you can turn the pen to rotate the cursor.

There are many capable drawing apps available from the Google Play Store, some are

• Artflow
• Clip Studio Paint
• Concepts
• HiPaint
• IBisPaint X
• Infinite Painter
• Krita
• Medibang Paint
• Sketchbook
• Tayasui Sketches

One main advantage that iPad has over Samsung for digital artists is there are more apps that handle vector illustrations, such as Adobe Illustrator, Affinity Designer, Linearity Curve, Amadine, etc.

These sketches were created with Medibang Paint.

The pen has fantastic support for pressure sensitivity and I was able to get the thin and thick lines to come out just the way I expect to.

The few sketches below were drawn with Concepts app.

This was sketched on the train with the 11-inch Tab S11. The smaller tablet is definitely easier to handle and works great as a portable digital sketchpad. The 14.6-inch size is unnecessary for such sketches, and you'll get unwanted attention from people looking at you and your huge tablet, and what you're drawing on it.

I usually sketch on the train with my Tab S25 Ultra phone but drawing on a small display is challenging. The larger display allows you to rest your palm on the display so that you can get better control over the pen, and allows you to draw details more easily without having to zoom in and out that often, which improves how fast you can sketch.

And that's the guy on the left that I sketched, who was standing and now seated on the right.

This was a 45min sketch of a neighbourhood fruit stall. While sketching, I was listening to the shop owner chatting with another about international politics.

This was a stall that's selling jewellery.

Random sketch of basketball play with the help of a reference photo.

The pen performance is definitely good enough for creating professional comics, probably not with Concepts app but you can definitely do so with Medibang Paint or CSP.

The main advantage to go with the larger 14.6-inch tablet is if you use drawing apps with many UI elements, or you just need a larger drawing area so that you can draw details more easily with less zooming in and out.

Battery life

Battery life is good. I could get at least 8 hours of use with above average brightness with both tablets, or 10 to 12 hours easily with auto brightness.

Conclusion

The Tab S11 tablets are beautiful, well made tablets with good performance. If you're looking for the best Android tablet, this is the best Android tablet.

Pros and cons at a glance
+ Beautiful design with IP68 rating for dust and water resistance
+ Thin portable design
+ Premium build quality
+ OLED display is bright, vibrant and sharp
+ Adaptive refresh rate from 60 - 120Hz
+ Good battery life
+ 4-way speakers with good audio quality
+ S Pen included
+ Good pen latency, but only with supported apps
+ S Pen support tilt and pressure sensitivity
+ S Pen is accurate and sensitive
+ New pen design makes it easier to use tilt brushes
+ Palm rejection works well
+ Snappy performance
+ Face and fingerprint unlock work well
+ Micro SD card slot
+ Samsung One UI 8 on Android 16
+ Samsung DeX available
- Only two instead of three sizes available
- Samsung backup does not backup 100% of the tablet
- Ultra model is too big and is mostly a table-top tablet
- Hand held gaming not ideal due to weight and size, unless tablet is on a stand
- Old accessories may not work or fit the new S9 design due to larger cameras
- Included USB-C cable does not transmit video
- No charger is included
- No headphone jack
- S Pen replacement tips not included
- S Pen side button cannot be located by feel
- Pen tips for old S Pens are not compatible with new S Pen
- OLED colours too vibrant and will make the same art look less saturated on LCD displays
- OLED may have PWM that can affect people with sensitive eyes

Availability

Shopee SG - https://s.shopee.sg/3q761vu36t
Lazada SG - https://c.lazada.sg/t/c.bsWAdX
Amazon (US | CA | UK | DE | FR | ES | IT | JP)

By the way, if you have intention to buy this tablet, considering using the affiliate links above. I get to make some commission for each sale but at not extra cost to you. Your support helps me put out more reviews like the one you've just read.

And if my review is inaccurate in any way, let me know in the comments section below.