Galaxy Tab S11 launches, S Pen ditches Bluetooth & copies iPad

Samsung’s new Galaxy Tab S11 has arrived with updated specs, the return of an 11-inch size, and some big S Pen changes.

The Galaxy Tab S11 series will feel pretty similar to anyone who has seen the past few generations. This year, we’re getting the usual 14.6-inch monster, the Galaxy Tab S11 Ultra, alongside the return of a smaller 11-inch Galaxy Tab S11 that was missing from last year’s lineup. There’s no 12.4-inch “Plus” model this time around, though.

Under the hood, these tablets are powered by MediaTek Dimensity 9400+ and 12GB of RAM, or up to 16GB on the top-tier 1TB Galaxy Tab S11 Ultra. Both tablets have 45W charging, quad-speakers, an under-display fingerprint sensor, and a microSD card slot. Tab S11 has an 8,400 mAh battery while the Ultra has an 11,600 mAh battery. Both are super thin at 5mm and 5.6mm, respectively, and ship with One UI 8.

One of the big changes on Galaxy Tab S11 Ultra is that the display notch is getting smaller as the tablet removes one of its two selfie cameras, now offering just a single 12MP front-facing sensor just like the smaller Tab S11.

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But we knew a lot of this already. What caught me by surprise was that Samsung is making some big changes with the S Pen this year.

Like the Galaxy S25 Ultra before it, Samsung is ditching Bluetooth support in the S Pen on Galaxy Tab S11. The included S Pen is still there, but it’s limited to interactions very close to the display. This removes some air gestures and the ability to use the pen as a remote for the camera, but it really wasn’t all that useful on the tablet.

Unsurprisingly, Samsung confirmed to 9to5Google that users simply weren’t using this feature.

So why remove it? There’s actually good reason, at least in my book.

Prior Galaxy Tab releases had a clunky magnetic dock on the back of the tablet to hold the S Pen, which always felt pretty bad. This time around, the S Pen is mounted to the side of the tablet, just like Apple does with the iPad’s Apple Pencil. Of course, there’s no charging needed for this new S Pen, but the new mounting location is still very much appreciated.