About three weeks ago, I made a post here asking whether I should switch from my iPad Pro M1 to the Galaxy Tab S11 Ultra. Well, I ended up taking the plunge and bought a like-new S11 Ultra from eBay for £700.
One of my biggest concerns was whether the Samsung would feel as fast and snappy as the iPad, and whether it would hold up as well over the next few years.
Initially, I wasn’t completely convinced. The animations felt noticeably slower than what I was used to on iPadOS, and it made the tablet feel less responsive than I expected. However, after playing around with the developer options and reducing the animation scales to 0.5x, what a difference! The whole experience now feels incredibly smooth and responsive.
I’m genuinely blown away by how far Samsung has come in terms of performance. The last Samsung phone I owned was the S21 Ultra, and I never really imagined their devices would reach this level.
The S11 Ultra is an absolutely incredible piece of technology. The display is stunning, the design is gorgeous, and it’s genuinely great. I actually find myself enjoying using it more than my old iPad. The customisation on these things are next level
I’ve been so impressed that I’ve since bought a Galaxy Z Fold 8 and a pair of Galaxy Buds Pro as well. After years of being heavily invested in Apple’s ecosystem, I never expected to find myself moving towards Samsung.

One area where I still think Apple has the upper hand is standby battery life. My iPad Pro barely seemed to lose any battery overnight, whereas I’ve noticed the S11 Ultra drains noticeably more when it’s not being used. It’s not a massive issue, but it’s definitely something Apple does better in my experience.

For anyone considering making the switch from an iPad Pro, I’d definitely recommend giving samsung tabs a chance.I’m really glad I did!

(English is not my native language, so this post was translated/written with the help of AI. Please excuse any awkward phrasing!)

A few months ago, u/x5ed posted an open-source tool called sdocx2pdf over on r/samsungnotes (https://www.reddit.com/r/samsungnotes/comments/1uj45xs/sdocx2pdf_a_tool_for_converting_samsung_notes/), which reverse-engineered the SDOCX format and made it possible to export notes into crisp, infinitely zoomable vector PDFs instead of Samsung's default blurry bitmap exports.

The engine worked great, but having to transfer files to a PC and run terminal commands each time was a bit inconvenient, especially when studying and taking notes directly on a Galaxy Tab.

So I took the open-source Rust engine, compiled it for ARM64 using the Android NDK, and built a native Android app around it for Galaxy devices.

• GitHub:https://github.com/FizzyHedgehog/sdocx-converter-android

(You can grab the compiled APK directly from the Releases tab on GitHub.)

A quick note on hardware: I’ve been testing and tuning this primarily on my Galaxy Tab, but Samsung has a huge variety of Galaxy tablets, foldables, and phones with different S Pen digitizers and aspect ratios. If you give it a spin, I’d love to hear how it performs on your specific setup, or if you run into any scaling/rendering quirks.

Huge thanks again to u/x5ed for making the original parser and math available to the community.

Was this a good deal? No trade ins, just promotional discounts. I currently have a Galaxy tab S7 FE but they gave me like 60 dollars for it as a trade in so I just skipped it.

Planning to get a Tab Mostly for Note taking and some content consumption, light gaming and normal use. But heavily confused between Tab S12+ & Tab S10+ . I don't seem to find much edge on one over the other.

Although I am getting: - S10+ at around Rs.80k (~800 USD) - S12+ at around Rs.90k (~900 USD)

Seriously this is the only difference I seem to find🙂. Does spending Rs.10k (~100 USD) extra on S12+ worth it?

Owners & experienced users, what are your thoughts??

Might edit the post later with final decision and some good accessory links.

Thinking about getting the s11 over the s12+, price seems really good, what do you guys think?

Which one do yall prefer the old Tab S10 plus Round S-pen Or the Newer Tab S12 plus Hexagonal S-pen? Am Looking forward to get a tab, but my main point of buying it is Note taking. So the S-Pen that comes with it makes a huge difference. I am getting both the Tabs at almost the same cost, So am kinda confused.

Go on share your Experiences.

Will edit with final decision and other useful link below afterwards.

can't wait for it to be delivered..

Whenever I use my samsung physical keyboard in my tablet and type in google docs chrome, an underscore appears whenever I press space and type in the next word. I have tried it in google docs and it doesn't happen there but I don't really wanna use the app, because the chrome is easier to manage with tabs. I have also searched about it in google and reddit but the solutions I have tried did not work. Can you guys help me, please? Thank you!

As shown in the screenshot a simple out of the box setup of Apollo (for windows) and Artemis (for Android) gives a 144 Hz display extension wirelessly gives upto 100 fps on integrated GPU and consistent 120 fps on dedicated GPU according to Artemis's logging. Corrected after it was pointed out in the comments.

The only caveat is that this setup is only meant for using your tablet as a second monitor for the windows/Linux PC and not the vice versa.

I think this makes it the best free superdisplay alternative in performance.
Verified on Screen Refresh Rate Test Online — Hz Test & FPS Check.

Estava vendo video no youtube normalmente e apareceu e ficou assim do nada. É um tab a9

Hi, does anyone have a spare samsung email code or something similar to use? I saw a post recently with a very good deal on a tablet, however unfortunately did not get on the email list. I tried messaging support but the code would not work within the samsung student store. May have to be a UK exclusive code as I live there.

Many thanks

Im looking to buy a tablet, but my budget its not as big as i would love to have, did u suggest me the s10 lite tab? Its around 350$ to 400$.

My budget for a tablet is around $500 which puts me at either the S9 or S10FE. My gut is telling me to go with the S9 because of how great the screen is (OLED, 120hz). The only concern though is software updates ending next year. It doesn't seem like a huge deal to me though.

The FE has the advantage with the update life cycle but everything else about feels worse.

What do you guys think?

is this normal? i'm guessing it's not. it still happens after restarting the tablet

i'm confused. it only happens when it's a pdf file.

When it (still) happens : - after restarting the tab - when the non-flashing side is something else than Google chrome - when adding a third split screen - when changing the orientation of the split (horizontal split) - when the tablet is in portrait mode and i do the same - when i switch to desktop mode and resize the window with the file in it - in desktop mode, when i take the window out of full screen or full window mode - on youtube, the white text flashes cyan as well

When it does not happen : - when i use split screen on two images or an image and an app - in desktop mode, when i put the window in full screen or full window screen - any other app - once it's in split screen, it never happens again, even if i scroll

brand new tab s11, bought in july or august ~ (not on samsung's official website, can still get samsung care tho)

edit: added details on when it does or does not happen + changed format for clarity

I ordered the S12+ with pro keyboard for $665 after trading in my S11 Ultra on 10/10/26 with an original estimated delivery date of 10/14/26 yet it has not even shipped. I do not see anybody else saying anything as I am assuming not a lot of people are actually buying either of the two tablets. Samsung rep just told me it’s delayed due to high demand LOL

Edit: this is in the U.S

i have tab s11 and while monitoring temp in CPU-Z app, it shows two types of temperature: battery temp and thermal sensor 0. so which one is the main temp i gotta be concerned about!?

So basically I got this s10 lite as a gift but the spen looks like this now and idk if I should keep using it coz I am not using any screen protectors or anything . In India rn and the other pens are like 10k 5k rupeese 😭 . I just started digital art and this is what happens to me after ONE sketch . Its so hard to find people talk abt this pen and this tab aghhhhhhhh

Hi everyone,

I'm trying to unlock my own Samsung Galaxy Tab A7 (SM-T500, Wi-Fi only model) that got stuck on the Google Account FRP lock after a factory reset. I'm setting this up as a Home Assistant wall panel, but I've hit a wall with the patched firmware.

Device & System Details:

• Model: SM-T500 (Wi-Fi only, no SIM card slot)
• Firmware: Latest security patch

What I've already tested/ruled out:

1. Emergency Dialer (*#0*# / Test Mode): Blocked/disabled on the setup wizard.
2. USB / ADB: No USB data handshake detected on PC (lsusb on Linux shows no hardware connection, ADB is disabled by default in setup).
3. TalkBack / Voice: Voice commands are missing in this TalkBack version, and the "Help & Feedback" / Braille keyboard shortcuts do not open YouTube or Chrome links.
4. Keyboard Settings: Samsung Keyboard settings tricks (Layout/Feedback options) are patched out.
5. SIM Trick: Not applicable (Wi-Fi only device, no SIM tray).

Since all software-level entry points from the setup wizard appear to be completely patched on this build, I have a couple of questions for the community:

1. Is Qualcomm EDL / Testpoint mode (9008) the only remaining way to clear FRP on this specific SM-T500 build?
2. Are there any known working tools, exploits, or specific firmware downgrades (via Download Mode/Odin) that still work for this binary without needing an active ADB session?

Any advice or pointers from anyone who has successfully bypassed this specific model recently would be hugely appreciated! Thanks!

The Google drive feature allowing you to annotate pdfs used to work great for me on my Galaxy tab 7. Now the stylus is very laggy. I'm assuming it's just another sign to upgrade but I wondered if anyone can verify that it works fine on newer tablets.

Pretty much locked on getting the Ultra and the Pro Keyboard, now looking at which accessories to get (mostly just protection). Im looking for a case that may work with the Pro Keyboard and has a slot for the pen. Anyone have luck finding one?

Hi everyone,

I love playing a retro space shooter on my Galaxy Tab S8+. The game is designed for finger input, but I much prefer the S Pen for better visibility and smoother movement.

The problem is that battles last around 5 minutes, with the pen constantly touching the screen. Movements are often very fast, with frequent changes in direction and pressure as well as taps/double taps to trigger certain actions. In the heat of the battle, I often torture my nibs, s-pen and and screen protectors (I've worn through numerous nibs and glass tempered screen protectors).

I want to try something else. I still need:

• Extremely smooth glide with minimal friction.
• Low latency and reliable tracking during fast movements.
• Reasonable durability (3 months would already be great for me), without damaging screen protectors.

I assume pressure sensitivity, precision and palm rejection aren't particularly important for gaming like this. Correct me if I'm wrong.

I'm considering two options:

1. Switch to a capacitive stylus. Some use mesh-fibre tips (see photo below) that look very promising for glide and not scratching the screen, provided they're responsive enough for fast gaming.

2. Stick with the S Pen or use a or a different Wacom EMR stylus. Ideally, I'd find a compatible nib with similar properties, but haven't found anything.

Has anyone tried either approach or found a stylus that might fit my needs?

Thanks!

Hello,

I'm looking to get a tablet as a very light desktop pc replacement.

I have a 7 year old HP laptop that I barely even use anymore because I have consoles for gaming and a phone for web browsing and messaging.

I only use the laptop when I need to read a pdf, write something in word or sign any documents with online signature, pay bills...basically light desk work.

I've been looking around and apparently tablets can handle multitasking and light document editing quite well nowadays, if I can buy a bluetooth keyboard as well, I'm guessing that it will fullfill all my pc needs for the foreseeable future and will be much easier to carry around with me around the house and on trips.

My candinates are the

Lenovo idea tab 11" (8/128) with the bundled pen for 200 euro

Xiaomi redmi pad 2 (8/256) for 230 - 250 euro

Samsung galaxy tab A11+ (8/256) for 300 euro

I do not care that much for watching series and movies on the tablet for hours on end so vibrant screen and amazing audio aren't priorities.

I'm looking for something that can comfortably have 5 browser windows open minimized and out of sight, have music playing from youtube again minimized, an open pdf in one side of the screen and an open word file so I can write documents in another side.

I'm heavily leaning towards the samsung galaxy because it also has Dex which basically transforms the UI into a mouse and keyboard interface with floating windows like a pc but I'm also thinking that there could be some cheaper like the lenovo that could do the same things with less money.

What is everyone's opinion about tablets as light workstations?

Do you have any other recommendations at around the same price and maximum at 350 euro?

Thank you.

I have bought my Samsung Galaxy tab 10 lite 3 months back......Till now haven't found any nice and minimal HQ wallpaper for my tab.....Can you guys share your collection in the comments..... thanks in advance