Samsung Galaxy Tab S11 series wishlist: All the features I want to see

Android tablets may still lag behind their iPad counterparts, but there are still some decent options out there if you’re looking to buy a Google-flavored slate. The two models that make up Samsung’s Galaxy Tab S10 series are among the best premium Android tablets you can get your hands on in 2025.

The Galaxy Tab S10 Plus and Galaxy Tab S10 Ultra launched more than six months ago, so it’s a good time to ponder what comes next from the South Korean tech giant. We’d expect the Galaxy Tab S11 series to be announced later this year, so let’s take a look at the improvements on our wishlist for Samsung’s next flagship Android tablets.

Probably the least popular decision Samsung made with its Galaxy Tab S10 series was the omission of the smallest model with an 11-inch display. That left potential buyers with only the choice between the massive Tab S10 Plus and its 12.4-inch screen or the positively ginormous 14.6-inch Tab S10 Ultra.

I would prefer a more reasonably-sized display, and while Samsung still sells the older Galaxy Tab S9 at a discounted price, that model came out in the summer of 2023. It’s possible Samsung will skip the smaller screen size once again and reserve that feature for the recently unveiled Galaxy Tab S10 FE. There’s surely demand for a brand-new premium 11-inch slate from Samsung, though, so I hope that’s what Samsung has in store for us.

The first credible leak about the Galaxy Tab S11 series suggests we may get our wish. We discovered mentions of two new Samsung tablets with codenames gts11 and gts11u, likely the Galaxy Tab S11 and Galaxy Tab S11 Ultra. There’s no word of a Plus model yet, but an updated smaller device could make up for that.

Up until the Galaxy Tab S9 series, Samsung’s tablets followed a similar pattern to its flagship phones in terms of chipset. The devices would ship with a top-of-the-line Snapdragon processor in North America while using a slightly less performant Exynos chip in Europe. In a curious move, the Galaxy Tab S10 Plus and S10 Ultra made the switch to a MediaTek Dimensity 9300+ SoC instead of Qualcomm’s best or Samsung’s own silicon.

There weren’t too many complaints, since the MediaTek chips offered fast performance and decent efficiency. Like many people, I’d prefer a return to Snapdragon processors for the next Samsung tablets, not least for better emulation support. For its Galaxy S25 phones, Samsung went all in on the Snapdragon 8 Elite, in every market. And if our Galaxy S25 Ultra review is anything to go by, that Snapdragon 8 Elite processor would absolutely fly in a Samsung tablet.

Unfortunately, as we recently reported, it looks like Samsung is gearing up to use MediaTek SoCs again for its Galaxy Tab S11 series. The rumored Dimensity 9400 processor would be an upgrade over the Dimensity 9300+, at least, but I’d still prefer to see the tablets ship with the latest Snapdragon chip.

It may be one of the more unique tablets on the market, but I’d love to see the Galaxy Tab S11 Ultra get a full redesign. In our review, Ryan noted that the slim bezel is “barely enough to hold the tablet without accidentally touching the screen”. Another consequence of this super-thin bezel is that the dual front-facing cameras have to be housed in a less-than-aesthetically pleasing notch.

Slightly larger bezels would make the device more comfortable to hold and allow for a uniform border around the screen. This would also allow the front cameras to be placed neatly within the bezel, so here’s hoping Samsung sees sense and rejigs the design of the Ultra model.

Another design choice I’d like to see Samsung steal from Apple is the aspect ratio of its tablet displays. Both the Galaxy Tab S10 Plus and Ultra feature 16:10 screens, which is great for watching wide content but not a lot else. It makes for an incredibly awkward experience on the huge Tab S10 Ultra, especially since very few apps are optimized for such a large, wide display.

Apple typically uses a 4:3 or 3:2 aspect ratio for its iPads, depending on screen size, and I find this more comfortable for most use cases. It depends on what you use your tablet for, but for reading web content, drawing, note taking, and multitasking I’d almost always prefer a squarer aspect ratio. I don’t expect Samsung to go down this route, as it likely sees this feature as a key differentiator of its products. One can dream, though.

With the Galaxy Tab S10 series, Samsung promises an incredible seven years of software support, but there’s a small catch. Unlike its flagship phones, which get the usual monthly patches, Samsung only updates its tablets every quarter. That might not seem like a big deal in terms of rolling out new features, but if you only update a device four times a year, you leave it open to security issues.

I’d love to see Samsung bring its update schedule for its tablets in line with its phones. Offering users peace of mind with monthly security updates for the Galaxy Tab S11 series would be a welcome upgrade.

Samsung has launched new Tab S series models on an almost yearly basis since 2014, and there’s no reason to believe 2025 will be any different. If previous years are anything to go by, we’d expect new Galaxy Tab S devices to arrive sometime between late summer and the end of fall.

• Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 — February 9, 2022
• Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 — July 26, 2023
• Samsung Galaxy Tab S10 — September 27, 2024

I did wonder if Samsung would change the naming convention for its upcoming Galaxy Tab S devices to match the year, as it did with the Galaxy S20 series back in 2020. By jumping from the S10 in 2019 up to the S20 the following year, the company signaled a new era of premium Galaxy phones. This also coincided with the launch of the first “Ultra” phone in the lineup.

According to our recent report, Samsung is referring to its next flagship tablets as gts11 and gts11u, which could mean it’s sticking with the Galaxy Tab S11 moniker. There’s plenty of time for this to change, however, and it might make it easier for consumers if it markets the new products as the Galaxy Tab S25 series to match its smartphones.

It’s hard to say whether or not you should wait since there’s no release date or solid info on new features at this point. If you’ve been waiting for an update to the Galaxy Tab S9 and its more manageable form factor, the rumored return of the smaller Galaxy Tab S11 might be worth waiting for.

The current generation Galaxy Tab S10 ($999.99 at Samsung) or Galaxy Tab S10 Ultra ($1199.99 at Samsung) will be plenty good enough for most people. And if you’re looking for a great Android tablet with a smaller display, you may be happy to save some money and go for the older Galaxy Tab S9 ($799.99 at Samsung) or the recently unveiled Galaxy Tab S10 FE ($499 at Samsung).