AndroidPad Android Tablet Processors Compared: 2026 Guide
Android Tablet Processors Compared: Snapdragon, MediaTek, and Tensor in 2026
The processor, or chipset, decides how quickly apps open, how many apps a tablet can juggle and how demanding a game it can run. Android tablets on sale in late 2026 use chips from four companies: Qualcomm (Snapdragon), MediaTek (Dimensity and Helio), Samsung (Exynos) and, in one older tablet, Google (Tensor).
We have not benchmarked these chips ourselves. The specifications below come from GSMArena’s spec sheets, and the performance results come from the published reviews of GSMArena, Tom’s Guide, Android Central and TechRadar. For the screen side of the hardware story, see our display technology guide.
Which Chip Is in Which Tablet
| Chip | Maker | Process | CPU cores | Found in |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 | Qualcomm | — | — | RedMagic Astra 2 |
| Dimensity 9500 | MediaTek | 3 nm | 1x C1-Ultra (4.21GHz), 3x C1-Premium, 4x C1-Pro | Galaxy Tab S12+, S12 Ultra |
| Snapdragon 8 Elite | Qualcomm | 3 nm | 2x Oryon V2 (4.32GHz), 6x Oryon V2 (3.53GHz) | OnePlus Pad 3, RedMagic Astra |
| Dimensity 9400+ | MediaTek | 3 nm | 1x Cortex-X925 (3.63GHz), 3x Cortex-X4, 4x Cortex-A720 | Galaxy Tab S11, S11 Ultra |
| Dimensity 9300+ | MediaTek | 4 nm | 1x Cortex-X4 (3.4GHz), 3x Cortex-X4, 4x Cortex-A720 | Galaxy Tab S10+, S10 Ultra |
| Exynos 1580 | Samsung | 4 nm | 1x Cortex-A720 (2.9GHz), 3x Cortex-A720, 4x Cortex-A520 | Galaxy Tab S10 FE, S10 FE+ |
| Dimensity 7400 | MediaTek | 4 nm | 4x Cortex-A78 (2.6GHz), 4x Cortex-A55 | Lenovo Tab Plus Gen 2 |
| Dimensity 7300 / MT8775 | MediaTek | 4 nm | 4x Cortex-A78 (2.5GHz), 4x Cortex-A55 | Galaxy Tab A11+ (MT8775 in the U.S.) |
| Exynos 1380 | Samsung | 5 nm | 4x Cortex-A78 (2.4GHz), 4x Cortex-A55 | Galaxy Tab S10 Lite |
| Helio G99 | MediaTek | 6 nm | 2x Cortex-A76 (2.2GHz), 6x Cortex-A55 | Galaxy Tab A11 |
| Tensor G2 | — | — | Pixel Tablet |
Specifications from GSMArena; dashes mark details we did not confirm. The RedMagic Astra 2’s chip is listed on RedMagic’s store.
Two patterns stand out. Samsung has used MediaTek’s flagship Dimensity chips for three tablet generations in a row (Tab S10, S11 and S12), while OnePlus and RedMagic use Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Elite family. And the mid-range and entry chips differ mostly in their CPU cores: the Exynos 1580 uses Arm’s newer Cortex-A720 and A520 designs, while the Dimensity 7300, 7400 and Exynos 1380 use the older Cortex-A78, and the Helio G99 has only two Cortex-A76 performance cores.
Flagship Chips: Close Together, Behind Apple
The two flagship chips that reviewers have compared directly, the Snapdragon 8 Elite in the OnePlus Pad 3 and the Dimensity 9400+ in the Galaxy Tab S11 Ultra, trade wins depending on the test:
| Test (source) | OnePlus Pad 3 (Snapdragon 8 Elite) | Galaxy Tab S11 Ultra (Dimensity 9400+) | iPad Pro M5 (Apple M5) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Geekbench 6 single/multi-core (GSMArena) | 3,125 / 9,553 | 2,741 / 8,861 | — |
| Geekbench 6 single/multi-core (Tom’s Guide) | 2,980 / 8,993 | 2,811 / 9,126 | 4,155 / 16,517 |
| 3DMark Wild Life Extreme (GSMArena) | 6,646 | 6,403 | — |
| 3DMark Wild Life Extreme Unlimited (Tom’s Guide) | 6,410 | 6,575 | 9,934 |
In GSMArena’s runs the Snapdragon tablet led every test; in Tom’s Guide’s runs the Samsung edged ahead in multi-core and graphics. The practical conclusion is that the two chips are close. Both are well behind Apple’s M5, which Tom’s Guide says “demolished both Android tablets.” Our Galaxy Tab S11 Ultra review and OnePlus Pad 3 review cover how those tablets perform in everyday use.
The chips also move forward quickly. Android Central’s Geekbench 6 results for the Dimensity 9300+ in the Tab S10 Ultra were 2,021 single-core and 6,855 multi-core, against 2,075 and 5,505 for the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 in the Tab S9 Ultra. TechRadar reports that Samsung claimed a 15% to 20% CPU gain for the Dimensity 9400+ over the 9300+.
For the newest chips, the Dimensity 9500 in Samsung’s Tab S12 series and the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 in the RedMagic Astra 2, we did not find tablet results directly comparable with the tests above, so they are left out of the table. Our Tab S12 Ultra and S12+ guide and RedMagic Astra review cover those product lines.
Snapdragon or MediaTek?
Reviewers have questioned Samsung’s switch from Snapdragon to MediaTek after the Tab S9 series, and the published numbers explain why. TechRadar compared the Dimensity 9400+ in the Tab S11 Ultra with the Snapdragon 8 Elite in Samsung’s own Galaxy S25 Ultra phone: the phone scored higher in Geekbench single-core (2,847 against 2,633), multi-core (9,408 against 8,633) and the Vulkan GPU test (23,871 against 22,023), while the tablet won only the OpenCL GPU test (20,468 against 17,871). TechRadar’s verdict is that MediaTek’s chip “wins some benchmarks on the graphics side” but falls short on processing.
The picture is not one-sided. Android Central found the Dimensity 9300+ well ahead of the older Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 in multi-core and AI work, with a Geekbench AI quantized score of 2,859 against 1,672. Android Central attributes the switch to AI, noting that Samsung billed the S10+ and S10 Ultra as its “first tablets purpose-built for AI.” In everyday use, Android Central doubts most people could tell the S10 Ultra and S9 Ultra apart.
Cooling matters too. Benchmarks are short, but games run for hours, and a tablet’s ability to shed heat decides how long it holds its peak speed. RedMagic built its original Astra gaming tablet around active cooling with a built-in fan, while TechRadar’s S10 FE review points to cooling as that tablet’s limit in demanding games.
Mid-Range Chips: Good for Work, Limited for Games
The Exynos 1580 in the Galaxy Tab S10 FE is the best-documented mid-range tablet chip. TechRadar’s July 2026 review says it performs similarly to Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 7 Gen 3, handled productivity work with “zero noticeable slowdown,” and ran Call of Duty: Mobile steadily. Its limit was heat: Genshin Impact made the tablet warm within about 10 minutes, and TechRadar suspects the cooling more than the chip. Our Galaxy Tab S10 review has the details.
We did not find comparable published benchmarks for the Dimensity 7400 (Lenovo Tab Plus Gen 2), Dimensity 7300 (Galaxy Tab A11+) or Exynos 1380 (Galaxy Tab S10 Lite). Based on their specifications, all three use the same class of Cortex-A78 performance cores, so expect them to suit streaming, browsing, video calls and note-taking rather than demanding 3D games.
Entry-Level Chips
The MediaTek Helio G99 in the Galaxy Tab A11 is the oldest design in this guide, built on a 6 nm process with two Cortex-A76 performance cores. It is meant for video, reading and light apps.
Google’s Tensor G2 appears only in the Pixel Tablet. Google no longer sells the Pixel Tablet on its U.S. store, which now redirects visitors to the store’s home page, but it still guarantees updates for existing owners until June 2028.
How to Choose
- Gaming, video editing or heavy multitasking: pick a flagship chip. The Snapdragon 8 Elite and Dimensity 9400+ are close in published results; the Dimensity 9500 and Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 are newer.
- Notes, streaming, browsing and office apps: a mid-range chip such as the Exynos 1580 is enough, as TechRadar’s S10 FE review shows, and saves hundreds of dollars. Our tablet cost guide shows what each price level buys.
- Keeping the tablet for many years: check the update promise as well as the chip. Samsung promises seven years of OS and security updates for its Tab S10+, S10 Ultra, S11 and S12 flagships, and GSMArena lists up to seven major OS updates for the Tab A11+ and Tab S10 Lite, while Samsung’s policy for the S10 FE remains unclear. Our OS update guide covers each brand.
- Benchmarks are only part of the story: the same chip scored differently in GSMArena’s and Tom’s Guide’s runs, and cooling and software affect sustained performance.
For model recommendations, see our best Android tablets of 2026 and the Android tablet buying guide.
Sources
- GSMArena — Samsung Galaxy Tab S11 Ultra review: Software, performance (October 11, 2025) — accessed November 1, 2026
- Tom’s Guide — Samsung Galaxy Tab S11 Ultra review (Tony Polanco, November 1, 2025) — accessed November 1, 2026
- Android Central — Samsung Galaxy Tab S10 Ultra review (Andrew Myrick, March 9, 2025) — accessed November 1, 2026
- TechRadar — Samsung Galaxy Tab S11 Ultra review (Nico Arboleda, May 22, 2026) — accessed November 1, 2026
- TechRadar — Samsung Tab S10 FE review (Josh Russell, July 24, 2026) — accessed November 1, 2026
- GSMArena — OnePlus Pad 3 review: Introduction, specs, unboxing — accessed November 1, 2026
- GSMArena specifications: Galaxy Tab S12 Ultra, Galaxy Tab S11 Ultra, Galaxy Tab S10+, Galaxy Tab S10 FE, Galaxy Tab S10 Lite, Galaxy Tab A11+, Galaxy Tab A11 and Lenovo Tab Plus Gen 2 — accessed November 1, 2026
- RedMagic — REDMAGIC Astra 2 Gaming Tablet — accessed November 1, 2026
- Google Pixel Tablet Help — Learn when you’ll get software updates — accessed November 1, 2026
- SamMobile — How many years of updates will Galaxy Tab S10+ and Ultra get? — accessed November 1, 2026
- SamMobile — How many years of updates for Galaxy Tab S10 FE? It’s confusing — accessed November 1, 2026
- GSMArena — Samsung Galaxy Tab S12 Ultra and Galaxy Tab S12+ debut (September 30, 2026) — accessed November 1, 2026