Samsung Galaxy Tab S11 Ultra Review: The Ultimate Android Tablet

Worth When Reviewed

From $1,159

Greatest Costs At present: Samsung Galaxy Tab S11 Extremely

$1,199.45

Samsung has been probably the most constant producers of Android tablets over the previous years, staying true to the phase whereas different manufacturers dropped out – and extra lately, rejoined the enjoyable.

It’s no shock, then, that Galaxy Tab fashions are amongst the best-selling Android tablets, following behind Apple’s dominance with the iPad. To problem Apple’s high pill, the iPad Professional, Samsung went massive, throwing all the things it might into this gadget. In 2025, that’s resulted within the Galaxy Tab S11 Extremely.

I’m going to place it on the market: it’s very a lot an iterative replace of the mannequin that got here earlier than. In case you had been anticipating a surprisingly new novelty right here, you may be out of luck. The query surrounding the Galaxy Tab S11 Extremely is as a lot about whether or not you should purchase this pill as whether or not it makes any sense in any respect.

Design, Construct & Equipment

• Gray or Silver color choices
• 5.1mm thick, 690g
• S Pen included

The bodily footprint of the Galaxy Tab S11 Extremely stays a lot the identical because it was beforehand, the most important notable distinction being a slimming down to five.1mm. Why 5.1mm? Most likely as a result of that’s what the 13-inch iPad Professional gives. Bear in mind Apple’s ill-conceived “Crush!” advert destroying all method of artwork, music and different inventive menagerie? That’s why.

That additionally follows the development in units that we’re seeing once more, the place slim is in. Definitely, it lends a premium really feel to issues, and with an IP68 score and luscious metallic end, there’s no questioning the Extremely high quality right here.

Chris Corridor / Foundry

There’s additionally no avoiding the sheer dimension of this pill. Whereas the discount within the waistline has led to a slight drop in weight, we’re no nearer to sensible handholdability right here. The Galaxy Tab S11 Extremely is simply too darn massive to virtually use with out some kind of stand.

Certain, it’s usable in a rest-on-your-knees kind of manner, however in comparison with a 10-inch pill, it’s onerous to make use of. That’s why the vary of equipment is vital. Within the field comes the S Pen, which has misplaced the BLE (Bluetooth Low Vitality) connection it as soon as provided, so it’s now only a pointy stick.

Sure, the writing expertise is nice and the texture of the S Pen is nice, lending itself to artists and creatives who worth that enter, nevertheless it’s barely much less helpful than it was.

That shouldn’t come as a shock: Samsung pulled the identical transfer with the Galaxy S25 Extremely earlier within the yr. Personally, I don’t discover it any nice loss, and earlier than you ask, no, you’ll be able to’t simply use an outdated S Pen.

Chris Corridor / Foundry

The Guide Cowl Keyboard Slim prices an additional £199/$199 however is sort of important for the Tab S11 Extremely to grasp its potential. You would possibly baulk at that value, nevertheless it’s a discount in comparison with the £349/$349 Apple Magic Keyboard for iPad.

It’s a neat case providing numerous keyboard house, however there’s no trackpad, leaving you to make use of contact as a substitute, although it’s straightforward sufficient so as to add a Bluetooth mouse if you’d like one. The keys have a pleasant motion, whereas it’s compact sufficient to not bulk the pill too a lot, offering safety all the way in which round and holding your pill free from scratches on the rear.

It additionally holds the display properly at an angle for utilizing it as a laptop computer alternative, and maybe extra importantly, so you should utilize it to look at motion pictures. Is that this what the Galaxy Tab S11 Extremely boils all the way down to, a large cell gadget for consuming media? Just about.

Display screen & Audio system

• 14.6-inch 2.9k 120Hz AMOLED show
• 1600 nits peak brightness
• Quad speaker system with Dolby Atmos

That 14.6-inch show will get a peak brightness increase over the earlier iteration, however sticks to the identical sharp decision. It’s a premium AMOLED show, one thing that Samsung does so nicely and finally, the show is the explanation to purchase the Galaxy Tab S11 Extremely. Premium OLED shows come at a excessive price, and much more so in bigger sizes.

The 120Hz refresh fee retains issues good and easy with scrolling, and as you’d predict, there’s no scarcity of punch from this display. Colors are nice, blacks are darkish, and it’s simply pleasant to take a look at.

I settled down to look at downloaded motion pictures on a 12-hour flight utilizing the Galaxy Tab S11 Extremely and felt very smug with the first-class expertise. Loads of individuals use the iPad for precisely the identical factor, however significantly, whenever you’re making up for the low high quality and poor execution of an airline’s in-flight leisure system, the Galaxy Tab S11 Extremely is a spectacular performer.

Chris Corridor / Foundry

There’s an anti-reflective coating on the Galaxy Tab S11 Extremely, which makes reflection tackle a little bit of a blue tinge, nevertheless it’s in any other case pretty efficient in ensuring that the worst of the reflections are saved beneath management.

There are 4 audio system across the chassis of the Tab S11 Extremely, aiming to present you immersive virtualised Dolby Atmos encompass sound. The sound from the Tab S11 Extremely is fairly wealthy and full-bodied, making it perfect for video calls and advert hoc video watching. It’s nice for watching Netflix whereas in a resort room, or belting out some Spotify tracks at max quantity, which ensures room-filling audio with out the distortion.

You may join a speaker or headphones, in fact, however this is among the few cell units the place it’s actually not vital.

Specs & Efficiency

• MediaTek Dimensity 9400+ chipset
• 12GB RAM, 16GB on 1TB mannequin
• 256/512GB/1TB storage + as much as 2TB Micro-SD enlargement

As Samsung’s flagship pill, I’m glad to see that the Tab S11 Extremely has a chipset to match. This time, it’s MediaTek’s top-of-the-line Dimensity 9400+. It’s a transparent improve in comparison with the Dimensity 9300+ within the Tab S10 Extremely, with a barely larger clock pace and a transfer to 3nm structure, so it’s notionally extra energy environment friendly because of this.

This MediaTek {hardware} has proved itself to be a reliable rival to the Snapdragon 8 Elite, making for a slick and quick pill expertise. All the pieces occurs with easy ease: opening apps, operating a number of apps concurrently, and quickly switching between them. Once more, it’s a pleasure to make use of, a lot because the earlier gadget was.

Chris Corridor / Foundry

There are many choices for storage, together with Micro-SD card enlargement as much as 2TB, so you’ll be able to significantly increase the dimensions of information you’re carrying round with you. That may appear to be an outdated factor to consider, however contemplating the fee that Apple levies for rising storage, it has real attraction.

I’ve discovered the efficiency to be wonderful, however whereas there’s some attraction in big-screen gaming, I battle with transferring cell video games to a display so giant.

Excessive-performance video games optimised for contact are nearly unattainable to play on a pill this big, and I can’t assist feeling that informal players will benefit from the expertise far more. I did discover that the pill stayed cool whereas gaming, although, which is one other tick within the efficiency field.

Samsung Galaxy Tab S11 Extremely benchmarks

Cameras

• 13Mp f/2.0 important – 4K 30fps video
• 8Mp f/2.2 ultrawide
• 12Mp selfie with ultrawide

Cameras on tablets don’t want to supply the identical kind of expertise that you just get from a smartphone: you’d need to be a psychopath to drag out the Tab S11 Extremely’s expanse and begin taking pictures your vacation snaps.

It occurs, although, so the 13Mp digicam, backed by an 8Mp ultrawide, has one thing to supply. In actuality, these cameras get used for a variety of enterprise capabilities, from my native property agent snapping room images whereas form-filling, to scanning paperwork for annotation.

Chris Corridor / Foundry

The efficiency of the rear cameras is common at finest. You’ll get a pointy shot with respectable colors, however any kind of advanced taking pictures scenario will present limitations – indoors, harsh vivid lights, HDR scenes. Principally, use your cellphone. There’s help for 4K 60fps video, however once more, with limitations to the cameras, the outcomes are underwhelming.

The entrance cameras on the pill, nevertheless, are extra vital. From an ease-of-use perspective, face unlocking makes issues simpler than reaching for the fingerprint scanner (in my view, that is the most important improve that iPad Professional gives over the iPad Air), whereas these entrance cameras additionally provide nice high quality for video calling – and we’re all nonetheless doing loads of that.

The entrance digicam has a neat trick, providing an everyday view after which an ultrawide view you could pinch to. The latter is absolutely vast, which means you’ll be able to match much more into the scene, making it perfect if in case you have a number of individuals on a video name. It seems to be nice, and all of it comes from one lens, quite than having two separate cameras just like the Tab S10 Extremely.

It’s additionally true that these cameras are usually higher than you’d get from a laptop computer’s webcam, which maybe says extra concerning the poor high quality of laptop computer cameras than it does about these on this pill.

Battery Life & Charging

• 11,600mAh
• 45W wired charging
• Charger not equipped

Regardless of slimming down the body, there’s now a barely bigger battery – 11,600mAh. Let’s be honest, it’s colossal, with 45W wired charging additionally supported, though there’s no charger within the field. That’s par for the course nowadays, with rules driving to chop down on e-waste. It’s seemingly that you just’ll have already got a charger that can energy the Tab S11 Extremely, anyway, even when it could’t hit the utmost speeds.

Samsung’s official determine for battery life runs as much as 23 hours of video playback. That’s a little bit of a push primarily based alone testing, however that efficiency will very a lot rely on what else the pill is doing and the way vivid the display is. However in blended utilization, getting over 12 hours of screen-on time from the pill was not an issue.

That included numerous internet shopping and emails, plus some mild productiveness duties similar to internet shopping. Having the peace of thoughts of a battery that’s nearly assured to final the complete working day with cost to spare is a good feeling. Whereas we’re not fairly on the stage the place an Android pill will change a laptop computer for anybody with critical calls for, battery life isn’t a limiting issue.

Software program & Apps

• One UI 8, Android 16
• Galaxy AI and loads of bloatware
• Seven years of OS and safety updates

Of all of the pill producers, Samsung has performed probably the most to tackle Android’s deficiencies and seek for a extra helpful resolution. That’s been one thing of an ongoing mission, and lately, Google has began adopting a few of the issues that Samsung put into place to make Android on tablets extra usable.

The positioning of the Galaxy Tab S11 Extremely could be very a lot as a laptop computer alternative, with Samsung’s DeX (desktop expertise) software program permitting a window-based system to increase the multi-tasking alternatives by way of an exterior show. DeX will fireplace up as quickly as you begin dragging apps to make use of them in cut up display, whereas the dock will get smaller. It’s barely much less nicely optimised for contact use when in that state and higher suited to utilizing with a mouse, I really feel.

Chris Corridor / Foundry

DeX is nice, however there’s nonetheless a component of fiddliness to the entire thing in comparison with utilizing a Home windows PC. I’d prolong that to the iPad too – and whereas opening Workplace 365 and syncing paperwork is completely wonderful, permitting you to be inventive, I’d nonetheless say that pill use was one thing of a “computing lite” expertise.

It’s nonetheless true that the app expertise on Android isn’t pretty much as good as it’s on iPad, with notable “skilled” apps lacking (Affinity Photograph 2, for instance), however that argument stays about whether or not utilizing an costly pill over a laptop computer makes any sense.

For these utilizing the Tab S11 keyboards, there’s additionally an AI button which might be set to set off Gemini or Bixby – sure, the Samsung assistant nonetheless exists. Whereas Samsung spends loads of time speaking about Galaxy AI and the options it gives, Gemini from Google remains to be probably the most fascinating and helpful half.

Chris Corridor / Foundry

One of many issues that Galaxy AI faces is that it’s centred round Samsung’s apps. In case you keep on with native Google apps or third-party apps, you’ll by no means encounter Galaxy AI.

Whereas we’re speaking about Samsung’s apps, there’s no avoiding that there’s some duplication right here, with Galaxy Retailer alongside the Play Retailer, Samsung’s personal browser and gallery, and different apps you would possibly see as completely superfluous. This can be a Samsung pill in spite of everything, in order that’s to be anticipated, however not less than you’ll be able to delete nearly all of them.

One space the place the Tab S11 Extremely excels is software program help. Samsung has dedicated to a full seven years of each OS and safety patches, which is up there with the most effective you’ll discover on any pill.

Worth & Availability

The Samsung Galaxy Tab S11 Extremely is obtainable in lots of nations world wide, together with the UK and the US.

Within the UK, you should purchase it from Samsung immediately, in addition to a full run of outlets, together with Amazon, John Lewis, and extra.

Within the US, you may get it from Samsung immediately, Greatest Purchase and several other different retailers.

It begins at £1,199 / $1,199 for the Wi-Fi version with 256GB storage. There’s a 5G model that begins at £1,349 within the UK, however isn’t out there within the US.

The M5 iPad Professional is its most blatant rival, with most Android pill rivals getting nowhere shut when it comes to value. See our information to the most effective tablets you should purchase for extra options.

Chris Corridor / Foundry

Do you have to purchase the Samsung Galaxy Tab S11 Extremely?

There’s no doubting that the Galaxy Tab S11 Extremely is a really succesful pill. It gives a superb show, making for a unbelievable content material consumption platform, whereas it’s giant sufficient for all method of sunshine work duties too. I’ve been completely satisfied to browse, write and work by emails on the Tab S11 Extremely, however streaming video steals the present. As a journey companion, I’ve completely cherished it.

However separate it from the keyboard and it’s actually onerous to get on with. The discount in thickness and weight is welcomed, nevertheless it’s nonetheless too massive to carry one-handed, and propping it up is hard. The place you’ll casually maintain a 10-inch pill, at 14.6 inches, it’s simply too massive to make use of like that.

In that sense, nothing a lot has modified with Samsung’s Extremely pill. I like utilizing it, actually benefit from the efficiency, and may’t fault the standard of the show.

However at this value, you should purchase a laptop computer that’s simply as giant and quite a bit simpler to make use of. For all the nice factors of the Galaxy Tab S11 Extremely, it’s solely actually going to attraction to somebody who desires an enormous display, come hell or excessive water.

Specs

• MediaTek Dimensity 9400+
• 12GB / 16GB RAM
• 256GB / 512GB / 1TB (microSD expandable)
• 14.6-inch AMOLED show
• 2960 x 1848 decision, 1600 nits peak brightness
• 120Hz dynamic refresh fee
• 11600mAh battery
• 45W quick charging (no charger included)
• Twin front-facing 12Mp digicam ?
• Rear 13Mp important digicam + 8Mp ultrawide
• Quad audio system
• 326 x 208 x 5.1 mm
• 692g (pill solely)