Galaxy Tab A11+ review: What has Samsung been doing all this time?

Best Prices Today: Samsung Galaxy Tab A11+

After taking a year off following the launch of the Galaxy Tab A9 and A9+, Samsung is back with another generation of budget tablets.

The company has made the decision to skip the Galaxy Tab A10 series altogether and has moved straight to the Galaxy Tab A11 series. It’s an understandable choice, given the wait, but it brings with it raised expectations.

If we’ve had one criticism of Samsung’s budget devices over the years, it’s been the tendency to play it safe with incremental improvements. With such a gap and a strident approach to naming, you might expect significant generational upgrades, but you’d be wrong.

Is the Tab A11+ still worth buying, and is it enough of an upgrade compared to the regular Galaxy Tab A11? After AO kindly provided us with a sample, here are my in-depth thoughts.

Design & Build

• Clean but familiar design
• No fingerprint sensor
• Available in only Grey or Silver

What has Samsung’s design department been doing in the two years between budget tablet launches? Not a great deal, judging from the look and feel of the Galaxy Tab A11+.

It looks exactly like the Galaxy Tab A9+ from late 2023, with the same mostly-metal, flat-edged chassis. The Samsung logo is in the same location on the back of the device, on the plastic strip that seems to facilitate the tablet’s antennas, and opposite a familiar circular camera module.

Would it surprise you to learn that the dimensions are identical, right down to the fraction of a millimetre? At 257.1 x 168.7 x 6.9mm, it’s a full-sized tablet that’s easy enough to throw into the pouch of a small bag. Samsung has shaved off a couple of grams somewhere along the line, though we’re still talking about a fairly substantial 477g.

It remains a tidy, if wholly unsurprising design. You’ll once again have to accept the lack of a fingerprint sensor, with a comparatively insecure facial recognition system or a tiresome code entry as your only alternatives. Such an omission isn’t unusual in a cheaper tablet, but that doesn’t make it any less annoying.

Samsung includes a 3.5mm headphone jack on the bottom corner of the tablet, which is a welcome blast from the past. The volume and power buttons are nice and clicky, too, if a little difficult to distinguish by feel alone.

If anything, Samsung has gotten a little more boring with the Galaxy Tab A11+. Where the Galaxy Tab A9+ came in three colours, here there are only two options: Grey and Silver.

Screen & Speakers

• Very familiar 11in FHD+ LCD display
• Up to 90Hz refresh rate
• Quad speakers with Dolby Atmos

If you were hoping that Samsung would at least have upgraded its budget tablet’s display, you’ll be sorely disappointed. This is yet another 11-inch TFT LCD with the same 1200 x 1920 and 90Hz refresh rate.

Yes, this is a budget tablet. Even so, I found this screen to be a bit of a letdown. While you couldn’t expect AMOLED-like colour depth, the picture looks somewhat washed out.

Brightness levels are adequate, at least when indoors, but tilt the display off-angle a little and everything dims and distorts, becoming markedly less distinct. This isn’t the tablet to buy if you tend to watch a lot of video content on the go with a second person.

While you couldn’t expect AMOLED-like colour depth, the picture looks somewhat washed out

A 16:10 aspect ratio makes this screen well-suited to widescreen video content, but less appropriate for browsing the web and other activities in portrait orientation.

There’s better news on the audio front, where you once again get a solid set of four speakers. This time around, Samsung has also supplied Dolby Atmos support for a more immersive output. They remain budget components, though, so expectations should be kept in check.

Specs & Performance

• Mediatek Dimensity 7300
• 6GB RAM
• 128GB or 256GB storage

Samsung has switched up the processor used in its latest budget tablet, but it’s hardly a huge advance. The Mediatek Dimensity 7300 is the chip that you’ll find (in one variation or another) in a range of budget phones, such as the Motorola Moto G86 5G.

This is backed by 6GB of RAM, which always leaves me a tad uneasy. Android always seems to me to be more comfortable operating with a minimum of 8GB. The OnePlus Pad Go 2 – a budget tablet contemporary – pairs a variant of the same processor with 8GB of RAM, which seems to be the sweet spot here.

With that said, I can’t complain about performance on the Galaxy Tab A11+ – it’s one of the tablet’s main strengths. Everything runs reasonably well, and I was able to jump between multiple open apps through the app switcher with only a slight stutter to betray the tablet’s budget status.

Our Geekbench 6 results are perfectly fine and offer a 50% (ish) improvement over the Galaxy Tab A9+ in the multi-core department.

GFXBench wouldn’t run for me here, so I can’t comment on the Tab A11+’s GPU performance. Based on the results we captured with the aforementioned OnePlus Pad Go 2, though, you shouldn’t expect a graphical showcase.

I can’t complain about performance on the Galaxy Tab A11+ – it’s one of the tablet’s main strengths

Suffice to say, only light gaming is recommended. I was able to play Destiny: Rising at an acceptable frame rate on the tablet, but only with low graphical settings that looked pretty ugly blown up to 11 inches.

You have a choice of either 128 or 256GB of internal storage, which represents a welcome (if expected) doubling over the A9+. There’s a dedicated Micro-SD slot should you wish to expand that further.

While Samsung does appear to have made a cellular option, the model available here in the UK is Wi-Fi-only, which is another disappointment.

Cameras

• 8Mp rear camera
• 5Mp front camera

There’s the exact same pair of cameras here as before, which is neither surprising nor particularly troubling.

It is true that the brutally basic 8Mp main camera shouldn’t be used for anything but emergency, impromptu snaps and document scans, though. The same can be said for capturing footage, where the combination of a tiny sensor size, lack of OIS (optical image stabilisation) and limited resolution support (up to 1080p at 30fps) should be enough to dissuade anyone from attempting to record anything of meaning.

The few snaps I took with these two cameras, purely in the name of professional due diligence, were truly terrible. And that’s OK

Meanwhile, even a bog-standard smartphone will take superior selfies to the Galaxy Tab A11+’s 5Mp unit. We’re talking fuzzy, flat, and lacking in dynamic range.

But that’s kind of the norm for cheap tablets – or even mid-range tablets, for that matter. These unwieldy slabs are not built for such a purpose, and these cameras should only really be put to use for the odd video call.

The few snaps I took with these two cameras, purely in the name of professional due diligence, were truly terrible. And that’s OK.

Battery Life & Charging

• 7040mAh battery
• 25W charging
• No brick in the box

As you might have gathered, given the nigh-on identical dimensions, Samsung has stuck with exactly the same 7,040mAh battery as the A9+. It might sound huge by smartphone standards, but it’s actually smaller than most tablets around this size.

It’ll still stand up to a good day of fairly active mixed usage. This is reflected in a PCMark Work 3.0 Battery Test score (which simulates a mixed workload of productivity tasks like web browsing, video editing, and typing) of almost 10 hours, which is a good hour and a half better than its predecessor.

I’d argue that even this is going above and beyond what the tablet is intended for, though. Without so much as a bundled stylus (unlike the Galaxy Tab S10 FE), and with such modest specs, this is a tablet that’s intended for casual media consumption and web browsing on the go.

On that front, the Galaxy Tab A11+’s battery will comfortably last you through a full day. You can leave the charger at home for weekends away, though considering it’s USB-C, you’ll probably have one with you anyway.

Samsung has also bolstered the charging provision. It’s up from 15W to 25W, though you’ll need to provide an appropriate charger.

With such an accessory to hand, I was able to get the Samsung Galaxy Tab A11+ from empty to 40% in 30 minutes, while a full charge took just over 90 minutes.

The Galaxy Tab A11+’s battery will comfortably last you through a full day

Software & AI

• Android 16
• One UI 8
• Seven years of software support

The Samsung Galaxy Tab A11+ runs Android 16 out of the box, together with the company’s own One UI 8 interface. In other words, it’s bang up to date at the time of writing.

What’s more, Samsung promises to keep the budget tablet up to date until at least November 2032. That’s an impressive seven years of major Android OS upgrades and security patches.

This is above and beyond for an affordable tablet, and Samsung’s UI is one of the more pleasant to use day to day. True, if you’re accustomed to a cleaner UI that’s closer to Google’s stock Android, then you’ll likely find it a little busy.

Such tablet UIs are few and far between, however – even more so than on smartphones. Samsung’s icons are sharp and colourful, while its widgets are as easy on the eye as they are useful. I continue to find its Settings menus a little difficult to navigate, however.

The preponderance of Samsung apps can be a little irritating for someone accustomed to using Google’s own provisions with their Android devices, too. We really didn’t need a second web browser, nor indeed a second app store for that matter.

I’m not a huge fan of Samsung’s own Calendar app either, and accessing Google’s Password Manager feels trickier on Samsung devices than on those from other Android manufacturers.

On the positive side, Samsung’s Notes app is one of the more powerful and useful examples out there, and it comes pre-installed here. With that said, the lack of S Pen compatibility on the Tab A11+ robs this multi-functional app of some of its appeal. You can scrawl notes and sketches with your finger, but it’s not the same.

An impressive seven years of major Android OS upgrades and security patches…this is above and beyond for an affordable tablet

DeX compatibility is present, essentially transforming into a lightweight desktop OS, complete with a discrete desktop environment and windowed apps. Accessing this is a little buried, however, and the tablet’s inherent limitations (not to mention the lack of an available keyboard case) make it a less viable laptop replacement than some of its more capable siblings.

Price & Availability

The Samsung Galaxy Tab A11+ starts from £249. From a certain perspective, that’s a £10 price increase over the launch price of the Galaxy Tab A9+.

However, as mentioned above, Samsung has doubled the storage provision for its budget tablet this time. You get 128GB as standard, rather than 64GB.

There’s also a step-up model with 256GB of storage, which costs £309. There are no cellular models available in the UK, which is a bit of a shame, but you can buy the regular version directly from Samsung and via Amazon, AO or Currys.

There’s no word on US availability at the moment, but given that the Tab A9+ is sold there, we’d expect the Tab A11+ to go stateside at some point.

At this end of the market, it can count the new(ish) Redmi Pad 2 Pro and the Honor Pad 10 as rivals – two budget tablets that outgun Samsung’s model on almost every key specification.

The excellent Xiaomi Pad 7, too, has dropped to a price that makes it a direct (and far superior) competitor, while you can also stir the OnePlus Pad Go 2 into the mix – albeit with a higher starting price of £319.

Another unflattering comparison is the classy iPad (A16) – yours for just £20 more than the 256GB model of the Tab A11+.

See more alternatives in our guides to the best tablets and best budget tablets you can buy.

Should you buy the Samsung Galaxy Tab A11+?

We’ve waited some time for the Samsung Galaxy Tab A11+, after the company skipped a refresh of its budget tablet in 2024. It would be a stretch to say that the wait has been worth it.

The tablet’s design is pretty much identical to its two-year-old predecessor, while the same old display continues to underwhelm with its poor viewing experience at anything other than head-on. Performance has at least taken a step forward, battery life has improved, and the storage situation is also better – but only to the extent that you’d expect from a 2025 tablet.

Perhaps the one shining light in an otherwise mediocre package is Samsung’s software, which is arguably more appealing within a tablet context than it is in a smartphone. With an exemplary support period, sharp presentation, and plenty of power features, it’s a fine example of a modern tablet UI.

While it’s a solid budget tablet, though, I’d struggle to recommend the Samsung Galaxy Tab A11+. Rivals are moving the game on in almost every respect, making it feel stuck in the past.

Specs

• Android 16 with One UI 8
• 11in, 1200 x 1920, TFT LCD, 90Hz, flat display
• Mediatek Dimensity 7300
• 6GB RAM
• 128GB/256GB storage
• 8Mp main camera
• Up to 1080p @ 30fps rear video
• 5Mp front-facing camera
• Quad stereo speakers
• Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac
• Bluetooth 5.3
• 7040mAh battery
• 25W charging
• 257.1 x 168.7 x 6.9mm
• 477g
• Launch colours: Grey, Silver