It’s easy for the Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 Lite (fantastic name) to get lost in a sea of budget Android tablet competition. Samsung’s lineup even offers attractive alternatives for slightly more money. However, Samsung’s software prowess gives the Tab S6 Lite a well-rounded versatility that budget tablets often lack. If your needs aren’t as demanding, or you want to save money, the S6 Lite gets the basics right. It doesn’t dazzle me in any particular category, but seeing how it easily earns its modest price tag is not difficult.
Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 Lite (2024)
The Galaxy Tab S6 Lite (2024) is a modest upgrade over its predecessor. It features an Exynos 1280 chip, a big 10.4-inch LCD panel, a beefy 7,040mAh battery, and stereo speakers. This makes the tablet great for content consumption and note-taking, especially since Samsung bundles an S Pen in the box.
- Solid build quality
- Decent performance
- Excellent software
- Relatively slow 15W charging
- Dreadful camera app and shutter lag
Price, availability, and specs
The Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 Lite (2024) is available through Amazon starting at $270, although frequent sales bring that price down to around $200. It’s sold in three colors: Chiffon Pink, Mint, and Oxford Gray. The base model is Wi-Fi only, although a 4G LTE variant is offered for about $50 extra. You can choose between 64GB and 128GB of base storage, but a MicroSD card slot is included on the S6 Lite if you need extra space.
What’s good about the Galaxy Tab S6 Lite (2024)?
Solid performance and a vibrant display
If you’re familiar with the previous Galaxy S6 Lite from 2022, you won’t notice any design changes on 2024’s new model. Samsung isn’t in a hurry to change designs anymore, even with its most expensive flagships, adopting an “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” attitude toward hardware innovation. However, that’s not detrimental to the Tab S6 Lite, as I enjoy its solid feel and aluminum construction — it won’t fall apart after two trips in your messenger bag.
Samsung also didn’t change the display from the 2022 Tab S6. It’s still a 10.4-inch LCD with a 2000 x 1200 resolution. It’s crisp and saturated, with good contrast, despite being an LCD. Prime Video movies looked fantastic, and I also enjoyed watching YouTube videos. I wouldn’t recommend using the Tab S6 Lite in direct sunlight, but the panel is bright enough for pleasant indoor use. The device has a 5:3 aspect ratio, making it long and narrow. It didn’t bother me using the tablet in landscape orientation, but portrait mode is too tall for my liking.
I was concerned when I saw the Tab S6 Lite was powered by an Exynos 1280. I remember my first painful experience with the chipset two years ago in the Samsung Galaxy A53. It was a lag monster, and I hoped Samsung dialed in the experience better with the Tab S6 Lite. Overall, I’m pleased with the Tab S6 Lite’s performance. It’s not a speed demon, and I still noticed slowdowns when multitasking or receiving several notifications simultaneously, but nothing that would be a showstopper.
Balatro ran smoothly, and while that’s not an excellent example of gaming performance, it’s more in line with what you should expect a tablet in the S6 Lite’s price range to handle. You can play games like Asphalt and Genshin Impact; just don’t expect the highest frame rates with the best graphical settings.
I recently reviewed the Amazon Fire HD 8 (2024) and loved how much value it offered by being competent in several areas. I view the Galaxy Tab S6 Lite as an amped-up version of that, delivering a solid experience across the board, with content consumption and productivity tools at a reasonable price point. Samsung’s software is a significant piece of the puzzle. One UI is an excellent fit for tablets, and I could easily sync up my Galaxy S24 Ultra to the Tab S6 Lite, providing access to text messages and other features. Samsung DeX is also available, allowing desktop functionality on a larger display. The toolbar makes multitasking effortless, and it’s refreshing to have such a robust software package on a tablet for under $300.
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Samsung claims 14 hours of screen-on time from a single charge, but I found that it was closer to 10 to 11 hours in testing. It still has a decent battery life and will get you through an entire work or school day. Unfortunately, the Tab S6 Lite is only capable of 15W wired charging, so it takes a bit to replenish the 7,040mAh cell.
Tablet software support used to be a mixed bag, but Samsung promises four years of Android version upgrades and five years of security updates for the Tab S6 Lite, enough to give users peace of mind. You won’t get any Galaxy AI features, and while I enjoy things like Sketch to Image, Galaxy AI is far from mission-critical in its current state.
Samsung includes an S-pen in the Galaxy Tab S6 Lite’s box. It’s not a Bluetooth stylus, but it does the job of note-taking and marking documents. Palm rejection is good, and even though it’s not as impressive as the S-pen on the Galaxy S24 Ultra, the response time delay wasn’t excessive. I could easily take meeting notes in Microsoft OneNote, and drawing was a pleasant experience.
I love that Samsung kept the MicroSD card expansion slot and 3.5mm headphone jack on the Tab S6 Lite. A MicroSD card slot is helpful if you like taking media on the go, especially with the limited 64GB of base storage. I’m also a fan of 3.5mm headphone jacks on tablets, as they allow you to use a fantastic pair of wired headphones.
What’s bad about the Galaxy Tab S6 Lite?
Camera software desperately needs work
I don’t have a problem with the AKG tuning on the S6 Lite’s speakers, but the volume isn’t there. I needed to pump the stereo speakers up to 80 to 90% volume to hear dialogue clearly in a quiet room. Including a 3.5mm headphone jack makes this forgivable, but it’s still something I’d like to see improved on future models.
I don’t want to disparage the camera system on the Tab S6 Lite. I don’t take issue with image quality; in good lighting, you can get a decent image from its 8MP rear sensor — especially for a tablet. Unfortunately, despite mostly being eradicated from the company’s more expensive offerings, Samsung’s notorious shutter lag and camera app slowdowns plague the Tab S6 Lite. It makes the entire camera experience unpleasant, and while cameras aren’t a tablet’s main attraction for most, it’s still disappointing.
Should you buy it?
I appreciate what the Galaxy Tab S6 Lite offers at $270, and it becomes an even more attractive deal for $200. If you’re looking at an Amazon Fire HD 10 but want full Android with more horsepower, it’s worth stepping up to the Galaxy S6 Lite. I know Samsung’s lineup can be confusing, and the Galaxy Tab S9 FE can be purchased for less than $100 more. However, not everyone needs to spend more. If you want a high-quality tablet that offers a great viewing experience with added productivity tools, the Galaxy Tab S6 Lite does the job without breaking the bank.
Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 Lite (2024)
The Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 Lite (2024) does enough to justify its $270 (often $200) price tag. It offers a sharp display, decent performance from the Exynos 1280, and enough battery life to last you an entire work or school day. If you want a tablet that can do more than an Amazon Fire HD, but don’t want to spend iPad money, the Tab S6 Lite is a great choice.
