Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 Lite 2024 Review: The Truth About This S Pen Tablet

With the 2024 edition of the Galaxy Tab S6 Lite, Samsung has released the third edition of this tablet. Compared to its predecessor, Just four things have changed. The packaging looks different, the charger is no longer included, Android 14 is installed Out of the box, and the processor is actually a new one, and a better one at that.

Nevertheless, it’s still weaker than the Galaxy Tab S9 FE, which costs just a little more. Still, the 2024 edition of the S6 Lite can be a fantastic choice for some.

Hardware & Performance

We start this review with the most important change, namely the internal hardware. Samsung has equipped the S6 Lite 2024 with its own Exynos 1280, which is supported by 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage. Further storage options may be released later. There is a version with LTE, but 5G is not supported.

In my Geekbench 5 benchmark comparison, you can see that the performance has actually improved quite a bit compared to both predecessors. It’s also faster than the Galaxy Tab A9+, which is quite new. However, it is important to emphasize that the Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 FE and Xiaomi Pad 6 are both a good deal more powerful.

You can see the same in the 3D Mark Wild Life test. Here, the S6 Lite 2024 is stronger than its predecessor and stronger than the Galaxy Tab A9+. At the same time, the S9 FE is better and so are the competitors from Xiaomi and Apple.

The real-world performance also feels better. I think the 2024 version feels a little faster than its predecessor. Apps can be opened side by side and multitasking works well. Compared to a premium device, however, there is still a lot of room for improvement.

My gaming test confirms this. Although you can install and play Fortnite without any problems, it is very jerky with most graphics settings. It’s only reasonably playable after I set the quality to “low” and the 3D resolution to 30%. Then it often ran at around 30FPS, but there were still stutters from time to time. And sometimes it’s unplayable, even with the lowest settings, for example when something is updating in the background.

I also noticed that the loading time of Fortnite is quite long. So I definitely can’t recommend it as a Fornite tablet.

PUBG Mobile can be played much more smoothly, but I could only set the graphics quality to HD here. Star Wars Hunters ran well with medium graphics.

Display & Speakers

The display hasn’t changed. As usual, it is 10.4 inches in size and offers a resolution of 2000 x 1200 pixels. High-resolution enough, in my opinion, and overall the display is good enough.

Nevertheless, it’s a shame that nothing has changed since the first version in 2020. Most competitors support 90Hz or even 120Hz now, such as the Samsung Galaxy Tab A9+, Lenovo Tab M11 or Lenovo Tab P12 Gen 2. Even the inexpensive Redmi Pad SE has 90Hz.

Because prices are so similar, it’s important to compare it to the Galaxy Tab S9 FE. This one offers a noticeably better 11-inch display, which is not only a good deal brighter and supports 90Hz, but also offers a higher resolution. Text and icons therefore look a good deal sharper.

Although the S6 Lite 2024 only has two speakers, the sound is actually pretty good. Even compared to the S9 FE, it’s able to keep up and the sound is a bit better than the A9+. Although the 2024 version has not improved in this respect, there have obviously been no major improvements overall.

S Pen: Excellent As Usual

There are no changes to the S Pen. But that’s not a bad thing, because the pen was already excellent in the first two generations and it’s still excellent today. This is because there are almost no differences to the premium class in terms of the S Pen and the supported features. That’s right, the S Pen on the S6 Lite behaves almost exactly the same as on the S9 Ultra.

There are small differences compared to the flagship tablets. For example, the S Pen on the S6 Lite is not protected against water and dust, does not react quite as quickly due to the 60Hz display, and you cannot use it as a remote control in the camera app or in PowerPoint. But that’s it.

Although the display only supports 60Hz, the pen reacts much better than on the Lenovo Tab M11, Lenovo Tab P11 Gen 2, Amazon Fire Max 11 and Google Pixel Tablet. At the same time, the display is fully laminated, which is an advantage over the iPad 9 and 10.

The S Pen is very precise, responds well and has almost exactly the same software features as Samsung’s pro tablets. Above all, this includes the really good Samsung Notes app, but also the S Pen commands.

Because of the S Pen, the Galaxy Tab S6 Lite 2024 could be an exciting choice for some, at least once the price has fallen a little and is significantly lower than the Galaxy Tab S9 FE. The two predecessors were the cheapest tablets with a pen that I could comfortably recommend without hesitation, and this is also the case with the 2024 edition. At least until a manufacturer brings something better and cheaper to the market, which hasn’t happened yet.

Design & Build Quality

There are no differences in the design either, it looks exactly the same as the 2020 and 2022 versions. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but the design is starting to look a bit old, especially if you’re familiar with Samsungs newer devices.

Nevertheless, it is nice that the body is made entirely of metal and makes a very high-quality impression. It’s 7mm thin and weighs 467g.

On the sides it has a USB 2.0 port, a MicroSD card slot and even a normal headphone jack. Hardly any tablets have the latter these days, so we have the old design to thank for that.

Unfortunately, there is no fingerprint reader, but it can be unlocked using facial recognition via the front camera. It has a resolution of 5 megapixels and is located on one of the short sides, as the manufacturers were not yet thinking about video meetings in 2020. Nevertheless, the quality is okay and this also applies to the 8-megapixel main camera.

Read: The Best Samsung Tablets In Our Big Comparison

Software: Android 14

The Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 Lite 2024 comes with Android 14 out of the box. This means that the tablet runs the same software as other current tablets fromm Samsung. And also the same as on the previous versions. Samsung is pretty good with updates and I assume that the 2024 edition will be getting major updates for at least another two years.

As I said, it’s pre-installed with the same features for the S Pen as the more expensive tablets and the software is almost the same. It even supports the Samsung DeX desktop mode, which transforms Android into a kind of desktop operating system with freely movable windows. However, it’s slightly slimmed down here. Nevertheless, it’s useful when using a mouse and keyboard, both of which you can connect via Bluetooth or USB. Unfortunately, there is no official keyboard cover.

Battery Life

In my battery test, the S6 Lite 2024 achieved a battery life of 7.5 hours. For this test, I always run an HD YouTube video at maximum brightness in an endless loop.

Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 Lite 2024 Review: Final Verdict

So, can I recommend the Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 Lite 2024 Edition? No, at least not for everyone. I think many people should steer clear of this tablet. This is because it has a weak display for today’s standards, just 64GB of storage and there is no 5G option. Samsung doesn’t even offer a good keyboard cover.

But it’s getting interesting if you’re looking for the cheapest possible tablet with a stylus. As I said, the S Pen is excellent and I recently sat in my office again with 15 tablets with a pen, writing and comparing. And it’s still the case that the S Pen is significantly better in this price range than what Lenovo or Amazon have to offer.

Read: The Best Tablets You Can Buy This Year Based On Real Reviews

I wouldn’t buy the S6 Lite 2024 at the recommended retail price. But some stores have already lowered the prices and then it gets more exciting. I think it’s a good choice if you’re looking for a tablet with a stylus and the Galaxy Tab S9 FE is too expensive for you.

I would like to emphasize that again. The S6 Lite 2024 is only a good choice if the S9 FE is too expensive for you. Prices change all the time, so I can’t say anything general. But I also reviewed the S9 FE, which offers a better display, a faster processor, a higher-quality design, optional keyboard covers and more storage space. If prices are similar, the S9 FE is clearly the better choice. But if the S9 FE is too expensive for you and you’re looking for a tablet with a good stylus, the S6 Lite 2024 is a good alternative. But again, really only if it’s a good deal cheaper than the S9 FE.