The premium tablet for work, entertainment and all things creative

The Samsung Galaxy Tab S11 Ultra is a high-quality premium tablet equipped with a 14.6-inch AMOLED display that boasts enormous brightness and impressive image quality. Its aluminum unibody case, which features a thickness of only 5.05 millimeters, is IP68-certified for water and dust protection and has a high-quality finish, but it can be twisted a little too easily.

The tablet is powered by the MediaTek Dimensity 9400+ with 12 GB of RAM and fast UFS 4.0 storage, which ensures super high performance and smooth multitasking. Android 16 with One UI 8.0 and Galaxy AI runs stably on the device, and the new DeX mode allows for productive work with multiple windows directly on the tablet.

Thanks to its revised design, the new S Pen fits better in your hand and responds more precisely than before, but it doesn’t support Bluetooth and its magnetic connection is rather weak. The tablet’s 12 MP cameras deliver solid but not outstanding results, especially when it comes to their zoom and dynamics.

An 11,600 mAh battery provides decent runtimes and charges fully in around 90 minutes at 45 watts. Positive features of the device include the good sound quality of its four speakers, as well as its modern connectivity such as Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 5.4, and a microSD slot. Some points of criticism are its lack of a vibration function and the display’s less-than-optimal color calibration.

You can buy the Wi-Fi model of the Samsung Galaxy Tab S11 Ultra from Amazon for $1,199.99.

The Samsung Galaxy Tab S11 Ultra 5G unites a modern design with a huge AMOLED display, powerful performance, and versatile features. It is designed to impress during everyday use as well as for work and entertainment—a premium tablet that aims to meet high standards and comes with a price tag to match.

The Samsung tablet is available in three storage variants:

Note: The manufacturer may use components from different suppliers including display panels, drives or memory sticks with similar specifications.

The predecessor model’s already slim case has been made even thinner in the Samsung Galaxy Tab S11 Ultra, now with a specification of only 5.1 millimeters in thickness, while we actually measured a thickness of just 5.05 millimeters. The two cameras protrude by 2.15 millimeters each, but the device hardly wobbles when lying flat on a table.

The tablet features a unibody case, which is only interrupted by recesses for the antennas. Buyers can choose between gray and silver. Despite its slim design, the device’s Armor Aluminum appears to be very robust, yet it creaks audibly when twisted. Its finish is impressive—with gaps that are tight and even—and despite its hard edges, the Tab S11 Ultra feels nice to hold.

The Galaxy tablet is once again IP68 certified, making it both water- and dust-resistant. On our gray model, the card slot isn’t the same color as the rest of the frame. It has space for a nano-SIM card as well as a microSD card.

      Teclast T70       Samsung Galaxy Tab S11 Ultra       Oppo Pad 4 Pro       Huawei MatePad Pro 13.2 (2025)       Apple iPad Pro 13 2024       DIN A4 325 mm / 12.8 in 214 mm / 8.43 in 8.6 mm / 0.3386 in 960 g2.12 lbs326.3 mm / 12.8 in 208.5 mm / 8.21 in 5.1 mm / 0.2008 in 695 g1.532 lbs289.6 mm / 11.4 in 209.6 mm / 8.25 in 5.97 mm / 0.235 in 675 g1.488 lbs289.1 mm / 11.4 in 196.1 mm / 7.72 in 5.5 mm / 0.2165 in 580 g1.279 lbs281.6 mm / 11.1 in 215.5 mm / 8.48 in 5.1 mm / 0.2008 in 579 g1.276 lbs297 mm / 11.7 in 210 mm / 8.27 in 1 mm / 0.03937 in 5.7 g0.01257 lbs

Its features haven’t changed much compared to the Tab S10 Ultra and include a fast USB 3.2 port (Gen. 1), which managed high transfer rates of around 330 MB/s during our copying test using a Samsung Portable SSD T7. Connected storage devices must be formatted with FAT, FAT32, or exFAT; NTFS can only be read, but not written to.

The S Pen is also back on board, but its magnetic attachment surface is now located on the top edge instead of the back of the tablet. Since this is very narrow and therefore offers little grip, the pen has a tendency to fall out of pockets and backpacks. The metal contacts on the back serve as a connection for optional keyboard covers.

Bluetooth 5.4, Wi-Fi 7, and microSD support are also available.

In combination with our reference card, the Angelbird AV Pro V60, the Galaxy Tab S11 Ultra’s microSD card slot achieved a decent transfer rate during our copying test, but it wasn’t as fast as its predecessor.

The Samsung Galaxy Tab S11 Ultra comes with Google Android 16 and the in-house user interface One UI 8.0. It is set to receive updates for seven years (until September 30, 2032). Users also get full access to Galaxy AI and AI agents.

Samsung has significantly revamped the DeX mode. It can still be projected onto an external display via cable or wirelessly, but it can now also be used to its full extent directly on the tablet. Switching between conventional tablet mode and DeX mode can be done with a simple swipe gesture, allowing windows and apps to be resized and positioned as desired. This is complemented by the support of up to four desktops. 

The tablet comes in super slim and plastic-free packaging. At the time of testing, a detailed sustainability report was not yet available, but the aluminum used for the tablet is made from 100% recycled sources. However, this only accounts for 11.53% of the device, and its recyclability rate is 8.9%.

Spare parts and repair manuals are already listed by Samsung but are not yet in stock, which should change in the coming weeks.

The 5G version of the Samsung Galaxy Tab S11 Ultra boasts support for an impressive range of frequency bands and consistently demonstrated stable reception during our tests. The latest Wi-Fi 7 standard is available for Wi-Fi connectivity, which resulted in high and stable transfer rates in combination with our reference router, the Asus ROG Rapture GT-AXE11000.

Its large display, four speakers and good triple microphone setup all contribute to creating a powerful video calling and conferencing experience. Its sound is good in quiet environments, and its front camera can track people in the picture quite well.

Its location services only use single-band GNSS, meaning it takes longer to locate indoors and stabilize on the user’s location. This happens much faster outdoors, but even so, its positioning capabilities were still quite inaccurate using GPS Test.

We additionally compared our Samsung tablet with the Garmin Venu 2 fitness smartwatch on a bike trip. It tracked our route accurately and only deviated slightly from the path we took. It should be noted that this probably applies primarily to the 5G version which we tested, as the Wi-Fi version of the smaller Tab S11 we tested showed significantly poorer positioning capabilities.

The front of the tablet now only has a 12 MP camera, which is an ultra-wide-angle lens. The wide angle is achieved via a crop section, so its functionality isn’t limited compared to its predecessors. This makes no visible difference for video calls, and we noted a good picture during our test.

The main camera on the back reproduces colors fairly naturally, but its dynamic range is low. Still, it takes decent photos in daylight. When zooming, the tablet quickly reaches its limits; more than a twofold magnification results in a significant loss of quality. Its ultra-wide angle allows for decent shots, but shows low depth of field and aberrations at the edges.

Videos can be recorded in HD, Full HD, or Ultra HD at best. Only 30 FPS is available for all resolutions, and this applies to all cameras. You can’t use the ultra-wide-angle lens on the back for video recording.

Image comparison

Choose a scene and navigate within the first image. One click changes the position on touchscreens. One click on the zoomed-in image opens the original in a new window. The first image shows the scaled photograph of the test device.

Main cameraMain cameraUltra-wide angle5x zoomLow-light

In controlled lighting conditions, our test chart was captured accurately by the tablet, but even in the center of the image, details weren’t well preserved and appeared slightly blurred.

The colors showed no major deviations in the ColorChecker chart, but as in our test photos, the red tones appeared pretty weak. 

The Samsung Galaxy Tab S11 Ultra 5G comes with a limited range of accessories, including a USB-C cable, a SIM tool, and the S Pen. Optional extras available from the Samsung Store include a Book Cover, a Keyboard Cover, an anti-glare screen protector, and a replacement S Pen.

The Samsung Care+ insurance package is also available for this tablet. Accident protection alone costs a one-time fee of around $40 or just under $10 per month. Those who want to include theft protection must pay around $260 or around $13 per month. In the United States, the device is covered by a standard 12-month warranty.

The Samsung Galaxy Tab S11 Ultra 5G’s capacitive touchscreen feels nice and smooth to touch, while implementing inputs reliably and quickly in all areas. The S Pen—an active stylus—is also included in the tablet’s scope of delivery, but it now lacks Bluetooth functionality. The pen now features a hexagonal design and fits comfortably in your hand. The tip has additionally been redesigned, now handling flatter angles of inclination much better. As a result, this opens up lots more possibilities, especially when drawing. Its quick functions have also been optimized, and the most important options are now directly accessible at the touch of a button. All in all, we really like the new S Pen, which is an ideal addition to the device and contributes to a natural writing feel. 

For biometric security, an optical fingerprint sensor has been integrated into the display. This is located on the shorter right side of the Galaxy Tab S11 Ultra and is most easily accessible in landscape format. However, if you use the tablet upright, then you’ll have to adjust your grip. In addition or as an alternative, users can make use of facial recognition via the front camera, which is less secure but works super reliably in good lighting conditions.

Unlike its predecessor, the Galaxy Tab S11 Ultra no longer features a vibration motor.

* … smaller is better

Screen Flickering / PWM (Pulse-Width Modulation)

Screen flickering / PWM detected	480 Hz Amplitude: 16.95 %
The display backlight flickers at 480 Hz (worst case, e.g., utilizing PWM) . The frequency of 480 Hz is relatively high, so most users sensitive to PWM should not notice any flickering. However, there are reports that some users are still sensitive to PWM at 500 Hz and above, so be aware. In comparison: 53 % of all tested devices do not use PWM to dim the display. If PWM was detected, an average of 8208 (minimum: 5 – maximum: 343500) Hz was measured.

We selected the profile Natural for our Calman analysis of the tablet’s display, as this allows for the most accurate color representation. In general, the Galaxy Tab S11 Ultra performs well in this area, but shows slightly too much saturation, especially when depicting green tones. This leads to visible green tone deviations, with red also being affected. For a premium tablet, its calibration could be better, especially since it is advertised for creative work, among other things.

Display Response Times

↔    Response Time Black to White
0.73 ms … rise ↗ and fall ↘ combined	↗ 0.3655 ms rise
	↘ 0.364 ms fall
The screen shows very fast response rates in our tests and should be very well suited for fast-paced gaming. In comparison, all tested devices range from 0.1 (minimum) to 240 (maximum) ms. » 1 % of all devices are better. This means that the measured response time is better than the average of all tested devices (20.3 ms).
↔    Response Time 50% Grey to 80% Grey
3.51 ms … rise ↗ and fall ↘ combined	↗ 1.619 ms rise
	↘ 1.889 ms fall
The screen shows very fast response rates in our tests and should be very well suited for fast-paced gaming. In comparison, all tested devices range from 0.165 (minimum) to 636 (maximum) ms. » 12 % of all devices are better. This means that the measured response time is better than the average of all tested devices (31.8 ms).

Outdoors, the Galaxy Tab S11 Ultra remains much more readable in sunlight than the S10 Ultra, which is mainly due to the higher brightness of the new model’s panel. But its anti-reflective coating also makes a visible difference, even if it isn’t nearly as effective as the PaperMatte display of a MatePad Pro 13.2.

The Samsung tablet’s viewing angle stability is good; at flat viewing angles, it darkens slightly without distorting the colors. When held up to the light, a rainbow-colored shimmer is visible, but this doesn’t interfere with everyday use.

This year, the Samsung Galaxy Tab S11 Ultra again relies on a SoC from MediaTek—namely the Dimensity 9400+, which can draw on 12 GB of LPDDR5x RAM.

The chipset delivers high performance and came only slightly below the performance of a Snapdragon 8 Elite during our test; only the M4 from the iPad Pro was in a whole different league in our comparison field.

The integrated ARM Immortalis-G925 MC12 graphics unit supports hardware-based ray tracing and delivers awesome performance. It was on par with the Adreno 830 and even proved to be faster in some benchmarks.

The Galaxy Tab S11 Ultra navigates the web quickly, and it performed well during our benchmarks.

* … smaller is better

Samsung has equipped its top-of-the-range tablet with fast UFS 4.0 storage, which boasted high transfer rates during our test. Only when writing small data blocks did it prove to be a bit slow.

If you want maximum visibility when gaming, then the Tab S11 Ultra may be your perfect companion. Not only does it have a huge display, but it also features good speakers and plenty of GPU power. We tested the latter using GameBench.

The tablet performed flawlessly with both PUGB and Genshin Impact, running smoothly even at maximum detail settings.

During our test, the surface temperatures of the Samsung Galaxy Tab S11 Ultra remained safe at all times and only rose sporadically to values above 40 °C—even under continuous load.

The tablet was throttled in the stress test, but we couldn’t detect any limitations during everyday use.

(±) The average temperature for the upper side under maximal load is 33.5 °C / 92 F, compared to the average of 30 °C / 86 F for the devices in the class Tablet.
(-) The maximum temperature on the upper side is 46 °C / 115 F, compared to the average of 33.7 °C / 93 F, ranging from 20.7 to 53.2 °C for the class Tablet.
(±) The bottom heats up to a maximum of 43.4 °C / 110 F, compared to the average of 33.2 °C / 92 F
(+) In idle usage, the average temperature for the upper side is 24.4 °C / 76 F, compared to the device average of 30 °C / 86 F.

Despite the tablet’s slim design, the four speakers on the Galaxy Tab S11 Ultra deliver good sound quality—although they lack a little clarity in the higher frequencies. The low frequencies are surprisingly present, on the other hand.

Alternatively, sound can be output via USB or Bluetooth, although the latter features only limited codec support.

dB(A) 0102030405060708090Deep BassMiddle BassHigh BassLower RangeMidsHigher MidsLower HighsMid HighsUpper HighsSuper Highs2034.932.92524.325.93120.719.74018.126.85030.837.96321.7318014.845.310017.250.912514.358.716017.168.320014.369.625014.271.131514.571.74001369.350011.870.263013.275.480010.977.3100011.775.9125011.475.4160011.777200012.370.725001374.1315012.873400012.477.1500013.973.3630013.573.980001375.11000013.6681250013.762.7160001358.8SPL24.886.6N0.676.7median 13median 73Delta1.24.133.244.431.841.218.23623.433.332.437.119.429.618.839.817.653.913.862.715.967.5166516.466.615.169.913.871.312.977.113.878.513.576.713.17613.874.312.576.41372.713.271.414.567.713.464.71465.915.270.91569.513.664.41760.115.555.42685.30.767.1median 13.8median 69.514.3hearing rangehide median Pink Noise

The device’s power consumption is higher than that of its competitors due to its large display alone, but it is also disproportionately high at maximum brightness.

Its large battery can be charged at a maximum of 45 watts. A full battery charge took 94 minutes during our test (50%: 36 mins, 80%: 60 mins).

* … smaller is better

The Samsung Galaxy Tab S11 Ultra 5G’s runtimes are good, but not outstanding. Some competitors lasted even longer during our test.

Battery Runtime

The Galaxy Tab S11 Ultra impresses with its powerful display, high performance, and improved DeX mode. The new S Pen writes precisely but its magnetic connection isn’t the strongest. Weaknesses are evident in the tablet’s camera as well as its lack of a vibration motor. All-in-all, a top tablet with minor drawbacks.

Total Sustainability Score: 83.2%

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Transparency

The selection of devices to be reviewed is made by our editorial team. The test sample was provided to the author as a loan by the manufacturer or retailer for the purpose of this review. The lender had no influence on this review, nor did the manufacturer receive a copy of this review before publication. There was no obligation to publish this review. As an independent media company, Notebookcheck is not subjected to the authority of manufacturers, retailers or publishers.

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Every year, Notebookcheck independently reviews hundreds of laptops and smartphones using standardized procedures to ensure that all results are comparable. We have continuously developed our test methods for around 20 years and set industry standards in the process. In our test labs, high-quality measuring equipment is utilized by experienced technicians and editors. These tests involve a multi-stage validation process. Our complex rating system is based on hundreds of well-founded measurements and benchmarks, which maintains objectivity. Further information on our test methods can be found here.

Editor of the original article: Daniel Schmidt – Managing Editor Mobile – 729 articles published on Notebookcheck since 2013

As a child I was fascinated by my Commodore 16, and this sparked my enthusiasm for computers. Using my first modem, I surfed the BTX videotext system and later the World Wide Web. I have always been captivated by the latest technologies, and this is especially true for mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets. I’ve been part of the Notebookcheck team since 2013 and have also on occasion written for Notebookinfo.de, and I’m looking forward to testing new innovations for our readers. I like to spend my spare time indulging in photography and barbecues and being with my family.

Translator: Daisy Dickson – Translator – 460 articles published on Notebookcheck since 2023

Originally from Scotland, I grew up and lived in Germany until I completed my high school qualifications before moving back to Scotland to complete my university studies. Growing up bilingual led me to form a close relationship with the English and German languages, often working in the fields of teaching and translation. Most of my childhood was shaped by playing around on new consoles, computers and gadgets and getting to grips with the new craze of the internet and smartphones. This interest has stayed with me well into adulthood. Nowadays, I live in Glasgow and work as a freelance translator and digital media coordinator. I have been translating for Notebookcheck since early 2023.