Samsung could have put more effort into this update – Samsung Galaxy Tab A11 tablet review

Untapped potential. It almost seems as if Samsung has had to gloss over its lack of progress with euphemistic statements such as "The Samsung Galaxy Tab A11 adopts the Galaxy Tab A9's design."

Although we can't expect miracles considering the Galaxy Tab A11's affordable price range, its timelessly designed metal chassis and fairly narrow screen bezels create a good-looking tablet - despite the unchanged design.

The performance also remains impressive compared to similar tablets from other manufacturers. However, you'll still have to put up with stuttering and lengthy loading times.

The small battery still only equates to mediocre battery life. However, the 90 Hz display is actually a noticeable upgrade over the predecessor, and the front camera now takes slightly improved selfies.

The update situation is questionable, but we ought to expect a few years of support.

While we would have liked to see more tangible improvements, the Galaxy Tab A11 is still an attractive and usable entry-level tablet with GPS tracking and optional LTE.

At the time of reviewing, the tablet is unavailable on Samsung's online store. 

The tablet will also be available on Amazon shortly.

Cheap and portable, that has always been the philosophy behind the Galaxy Tab A, and in 2025, very little has changed with the tablet. This is despite the fact that there was never a Galaxy Tab A10, which means its predecessor, the Galaxy Tab A9, is already more than two years old.

However, there are minor improvements, and we aim to discover how these affect everyday use.

On its website, Samsung claims that the Galaxy Tab A11 "adopts" the design of its predecessor, the Galaxy Tab A9. Another way of putting it is that it simply reused the same chassis without making any changes: The dimensions are exactly the same, the appearance hasn't changed, but the Tab A11 is officially 3 grams heavier. Although this isn't something you'll notice in everyday use.

It doesn't necessarily have to be a bad thing to continue using an iconic design. And the Galaxy Tab A11, much like its predecessor, comes with a metal back. However, the side-located thick plastic strips, used for better antenna reception, could have been made a bit more discreet, and the front also has a rather mediocre screen-to-body ratio of 81%.

The Galaxy Tab A11 is reasonably stable when held in the hand and well-built. On trying to twist it, you might provoke a creaking noise, and moderate pressure will also be visible on the screen's liquid crystal.

At least Samsung has installed a microSD reader, allowing the user to expand the limited storage space if needed.

The reader actually transfers data relatively quickly, meaning we can confidently recommend it as an additional storage option.

Uncertainty regarding the update availability could hinder extended use. Samsung does, however, disclose that no recycled materials are used in its Galaxy Tab A11. Nevertheless, no further sustainability data is available.

In Samsung's official replacement part store, you can find parts for the predecessor, which means the Galaxy Tab A11 should also be included here soon.

The packaging is plastic-free and very flat, thus reducing CO² emissions during transportation.

WiFi 5 is the fastest existing Wi-Fi standard and is commonly found in this price range. Our test speeds with the Asus ROG Rapture AXE11000 reference router were acceptable, although there were occasional drops in data rates.

In addition, only around 200 Mbps can be expected for transmission. Received speeds are around 300 Mbps. This should be sufficient for everyday internet use, but anyone wishing to take full advantage of their gigabit internet connection will have to look elsewhere.

A WWAN model with mobile internet access via the cellular network is also available, but we only received the WiFi model for testing purposes. Modern 5G is still not supported by the Galaxy Tab A11, and even the WWAN model only supports LTE at most.

The main camera also had to prove itself in the lab - once under full studio lighting and once at just 1 lux.

As soon as the light level is too low, the images become blurry, with even well-lit photos quickly becoming blurry around the edges. Text against a red background also quickly loses contrast.

There is no charger inside the box, but a USB cable and a SIM tool are on board.

In Germany, Samsung provides its affordable tablet with a 2-year warranty 

The MediaTek Helio G99 is a popular SoC in this price range, and even though Samsung has already used it in the two-year-old Galaxy Tab A9, it still offers comparatively high levels of performance compared to other entry-level tablets.

However, don't expect miracles. Stuttering and long loading times are quite common, partly due to the limited RAM, which tops out at just 4 GB.

The graphics solution also performs only moderately well when it comes to graphics performance. At the display's low native resolution, you can certainly play games at reasonably smooth frame rates, as the benchmarks show. However, as soon as things get more demanding, the frame rates quickly plummet.

When browsing the internet, you can look forward to quite decent performance. Even larger pages don't take too long to load. However, when scrolling, you'll often have to wait for images to appear.

The UFS 2.2 storage found in the Galaxy Tab A11 is a great feature for an entry-level tablet and is significantly faster than some competing devices, especially when handling large files.

The surface temperatures remained well within limits even after prolonged use, reaching a maximum of 33.1°C on the front of the device.

The 3DMark stress test also showed only very slight performance losses after numerous benchmark repetitions.

Two speakers are located on the left and right-hand sides of the tablet, and holding the Galaxy Tab A11 horizontally creates a slight stereo effect.

The speakers aren't particularly loud, reaching a maximum of approximately 82.8 dB(A) in our test with a special microphone at a distance of 15 centimeters. The sound quality probably won't blow you away, but the bass is lacking, and even the low mids aren't particularly pronounced.

However, the speakers didn't overdrive in our tests and, overall, they sounded quite balanced considering their limited range. This made it easy to listen to a piece of music or a movie soundtrack.

If you prefer to connect speakers or headphones, you'll find the tablet is home to both a 3.5 mm audio jack and Bluetooth. Unfortunately, the selection of audio codecs for wireless sound transmission (SBC, AAC, aptX, SSC, and LDAC) is quite limited. Not even aptX HD is on board, so the selection of the HD audio-capable codecs, such as the aforementioned SSC, LDAC and limited AAC, is already very limited.

While the Galaxy Tab A11 consumes slightly more power than the Galaxy Tab A9 when idle, it is somewhat less power-hungry under heavier loads. We suspect that more up-to-date drivers and software optimizations have managed to reduce consumption.

The tablet still charges at a maximum of 15 watts. The Tab A11 is shipped without a charger in Europe, but it worked quite smoothly with our existing chargers. We were able to fully recharge the tablet in about 2 hours and 30 minutes when the battery was completely depleted.

In terms of battery life, the Galaxy Tab A11 isn't able to significantly differentiate itself from its predecessor, despite its slightly better power consumption figures. In our practical Wi-Fi test, it kept going for about 14 hours and 29 minutes - all in all, a few minutes longer. Under load, however, the lights went out a few minutes earlier.

If you look at other tablets, the Xiaomi Redmi Pad SE 8.7, and its larger battery than the 5,100 mAh housed inside the Galaxy Tab A11, proves that more is possible in this price range, and thus, also significantly better runtimes can be expected.