Every flagship Galaxy Tab S tablet comes with an S Pen, giving you a great tool for sketching, note-taking, and efficient browsing without smudging up the display with fingerprints. Not everyone can afford a flagship tablet, but thankfully, the list of Galaxy tablets that support the S Pen includes cheaper or rugged Galaxy Tabs, too.
Samsung makes some of the best Android tablets, premium or cheap, but not every model comes with a stylus. Below is the list of every Galaxy Tab still available for purchase that either gives you an S Pen in the box or at least supports it if you buy one separately.
These Samsung Galaxy Tabs support or bundle an S Pen
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Thin is in
To be clear, we're not talking about the original Galaxy Tab S6 Lite, which had a sleek design and colorful 2K display but woeful performance that made our reviewer say, "Just buy an iPad." Samsung released a 2022 revamped version with a faster Snapdragon 720G chip, a better S Pen with more sensitivity points, and Android 12 instead of 10, modernizing this affordable tablet and making it easier to recommend.
A lot left in the tank
Samsung's flagship tablet from 2019 may not have the perks of the latest generations, but our review did call it "the best Android tablet ever," with later Tabs building on that foundation. Graphically "vibrant" and pleasantly compact at 10.5-inches, the AMOLED display was one of the first to be S Pen-compatible. Best of all, its last update was One UI 4.1.1 based on Android 12, so it gets the core multitasking software (plus Dex Mode) needed to make it properly useable for work.
Beginning of the tablet renaissance
Jump up a generation to the Galaxy Tab S7, and the display gets that vital modern leap to 120Hz, as well as a shorter S Pen latency between your taps and reaction time — though the dip to LCD makes it a bit less colorful. Otherwise, the gap between the Snapdragon 865+ and 855 is enough to make it more "fast and responsive" than before, and its fourth and final Android update (14) will keep it feeling modern. This is where Samsung's tablet skills really began to shine.
Top performer of yester-year
If you need a tablet that can handle any task you need, then the Galaxy Tab S7 Plus is your kind of tablet. It is packed with a high-end last-gen processor, has a phenomenal display, and makes the best use of all that the S Pen offers. Even if it's two generations behind in performance, the beautiful display, rich audio, dependable battery, and other perks remain unchanged and available at a lower price than the Tab S9 Plus.
For thrifty Samsung fans
This fan edition tablet launched as an affordable alternative to the Tab S7 Plus, and it still has promised support through Android 14, making it worth buying today if the Tab S8 Plus or S9 Plus costs too much for you. The Galaxy Tab S7 FE comes with an S Pen and gives you a spacious 12.4 inches of display space for multitasking. Though as our review noted, take care to find a version with at least 6GB if you can; the 4GB version tends to get overloaded fairly quickly.
Last-gen powerhouse
The Galaxy Tab S8 hasn't lost a step, even though the Tab S9 has supplanted it. Like others on this list, Samsung includes an S Pen in the box, with a slightly higher latency (6.2ms) compared to the S8 Ultra (2.8ms) because of its LCD display. But this difference is still negligible in everyday use. This model is best to use comfortably on the go with the stylus in one hand, whereas the massive S8 Plus and Ultra do better sitting on a desk with a kickstand.
The middle child
Samsung's Galaxy Tab S8 Plus was our pick for the best Android tablet on the market until the Tab S9 arrived. It's not over-sized like its Ultra counterpart, while still offering all of the same features you could want. And yes, there's an S Pen in the box here too, so you don't need to go and grab one after the fact. Compared to the smaller LCD model, you get the benefit of an AMOLED visual upgrade, which our reviewer said "makes a world of difference for color fidelity" with "rich colors and deeper blacks."
Massive and reliable
Without a doubt, the Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra is a behemoth of a tablet. It features a massive 14.6-inch display, and the included S Pen provides just 2.6ms of latency. It's really the complete flagship package, with the option to jump to 16GB of RAM if you want the best possible Android productivity tablet. It's too big for portability, but as a desk companion, it gives you a laptop-sized touchscreen that'll let you take full advantage of its multitasking software (via the S Pen).
Rugged and ready
Like the Tab S6 Lite, Samsung refreshed the 2019 Galaxy Tab Active Pro three years later, keeping the same rugged specs while adding a newer processor and the latest Android updates. The Galaxy Tab Active4 Pro has a solid Snapdragon 778G processor with up to 6GB of RAM, a 550-nit display ready for the outdoors, and a removable battery. It comes with a case with built-in S Pen slot so you'll never lose it, and it can withstand being dropped 5 feet or crazy weather conditions. Plus, the S Pen itself has an IP68 rating.
Flagship ruggedness
Why upgrade to the latest generation of Galaxy Tab S9 models? Aside from the more powerful Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 and the switch back to AMOLED for the 11-inch model, the Tab S9 is the first Samsung tablet besides the Active lineup with an IP68 rating, both for the tablets and the S Pens. You can use it anywhere without fear of a wayward spill or rainfall ruining your device. Armed with the S Pen, this is a great compact option for work, school, or relaxing.
Middle sweet spot
As always, the Tab S9 Plus is for people who find 11-inch tablets too small but the 14.6-inch Ultra too ungainly to hold comfortably. It's also the only model with a 5G option as well as waterproofing; so if you tablet you can rely on when you're away from consistent Wi-Fi, this is the tablet to choose. It also gives you more RAM and storage than the Tab S9 by default.
The king of tablets
As our Galaxy Tab S9 Ultra review explained, this is "more than just a tablet." It's insanely powerful — especially if you get the pricey 16GB upgrade — with more than enough space for DeX Mode and productivity. Of course, this makes it more likely you'll use it with a keyboard trackpad or Bluetooth mouse instead of the S Pen, since it's not something you can easily hold one-handed while swiping with the other. But the option is still there if you want it.
Budget stylus support
Outside of the Tab S and Active series, you won't find too many budget Galaxy Tab A tablets that support S Pens. One is the Galaxy Tab A 10.1, which brings a big screen and big performance, thanks to the Samsung Exynos 7904A processor, at an affordable price. The 128GB of onboard storage, along with the ability to expand it with a microSD card, means that you'll never run out of room for your S Pen sketches and notes.
Old standby
Newer budget Samsung Tabs like the A8 (2022) and A7 Lite top our list of the best cheap Android tablets, but they also show an unfortunate trend: Samsung has stopped supporting the S Pen on its budget tablets. If you want the lowest possible price on a Samsung tablet with an S Pen, the Galaxy Tab A 8.0 can usually be found for about the price of a Fire Tablet (and with about the same middling display quality and lightweight performance).
Comfortably durable
If you need a tablet that offers solid performance, can take a beating, and still be comfortable to hold, then the 8-inch Samsung Galaxy Tab Active3 will get the job done. While it's not as new as the Galaxy Tab Active4 Pro, it updated to Android 12 and its Exynos chip gives you solid day-to-day performance. Plus, as a more compact tablet, it can actually handle higher falls than the Active4 Pro if ruggedness is your number one concern. Plus, it has a similar case with an S Pen slot in the box, keeping your stylus safe on the go.
Putting S Pen to screen
While it makes a lot of great tablets, only the best Samsung tablets support the popular S Pen — specifically its flagship Tab S series and its rugged Active series. A few of the older Tab A tablets supported it, but it seems Samsung has decided not to maintain S Pen support with its newest budget Tabs. With those, you'd have to use a non-smart capacitive stylus instead.
If you're looking for an affordable S pen experience, you can either buy an older Tab A 8.0 or 10.1 — though these are several years old at this point — or choose something like the Tab S6 Lite (2022) or Tab S7 FE at a mid-range price.
For the lowest possible latency, the Galaxy Tab S9 series, along with the Tab S8 Plus and Ultra, all give you an ultra-quick 2.4ms delay, followed by the Tab S8 at 6.2ms. Every other tablet has a delay of 9ms or higher; that still beats many tablets for responsiveness, but you'll want the newest available Galaxy Tabs for the best experience.
Specifically with the Galaxy Tab S9, you get an IP68 water-resistant rating for both the tablets and their bundled S Pens. This makes them somewhat rugged, but not as reliable as the Galaxy Tab Active4 Pro with its MIL-STD-810H rating for drops. At least you can close the gap with one of the best Galaxy Tab S9 cases, without having to sacrifice all of the other upgrades the Tab S9 has over the Active lineup.
Otherwise, if you like the S Pen for note-taking but don't necessarily need a Samsung "tablet," its phones and tablet-sized foldables like the Galaxy Z Fold 5 and Galaxy S23 Ultra also support the S Pen — though it uses a specific miniature-sized one designed for mobile.
