Samsung Galaxy Tab S11 Ultra: Display a Feast for the Eyes

Samsung’s Galaxy Tab S11 Ultra is a big tablet in every way: big in size, big in price, and big on ambition. But through all the muscle and its extras, there’s just one reason why it belongs in your bag at all: the screen. If you’re in the market for an Android slate because you want to see what the very best viewing experience looks like today, this is the one that makes you stop comparing and start watching.

The one reason to buy this tablet is the display

All that decision-making is ultimately on a 14.6-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X panel, the star of the show. It has a 90.8% screen-to-body ratio, 2960 x 1848 resolution (~239 ppi), 120 Hz refresh, and a peak brightness of up to a claimed 1,600 nits — all combine to make it perform less like a tablet screen and more as though you’re carrying around your own portable cinema. Colors pop without becoming over-saturated and blacks are appropriately inky as well, while motion handling is buttery enough to make sports (or games) feel immediate. Even the best LCD rivals have a difficult time competing with perceived contrast and shadow detail when matched side by side here.

It’s not just size — it’s what happens with the canvas to change how you’re using it. Picture-in-picture itself no longer feels like a compromise; running a YouTube TV game in the “you can make it small” window while you take turns playing a card battler is relatively comfortable to read. Split screen becomes more like desktop usefulness, and comic books, sheet music, or CAD markups get room to breathe. If your tablet time is heavy on movies, long-form TV, or cloud gaming, it continues working as a constantly-on ambient display that imparts a cool futuristic vibe.

Audio completes the theater effect. Quad AKG-tuned speakers with Dolby Atmos support create a wider, cleaner soundstage than the bulk of tablets out there — more like those astonishingly compact Bluetooth speakers you can buy these days, and far less like a slate. Dialogue remains clear at higher volumes, and there’s plenty of low end to give action scenes some weight without muddying the mids.

Performance that keeps up with you and a battery that lasts all day

For horsepower, there’s a 3 nm MediaTek Dimensity 9400+ and either 12 GB or 16 GB of RAM under the bonnet, to ensure running multiple apps at once and intense gameplay aren’t a squeeze. Results of the S11 Ultra in synthetic tests such as Geekbench 6 and the 3DMark Wild Life Stress Test are strong, long-lived, and with cooler temperatures than a lot of its competition, which translates to real-world consistency when gaming or editing for extended periods.

Big panel, big stamina: the have-a-movie-marathon-and-don’t-worry-about-it battery.

• The display features wide color, high peak brightness, and HDR support.
• A massive 11,600 mAh battery offers multiple runtimes — fast charge or reverse charge at any time.

Charges will last several days for conservative users; more avid streamers can easily anticipate full-day battery life without fear. In a mixed-use scenario that involved some streaming, simple games, maps, and overnight background audio, the tablet maintained single-digit days between plugs in testing. That is the difference between having a charger “just in case” (because as soon as you leave it at home, of course) and not.

Design reality check: size and ergonomics in use

Size remains the trade-off. Measuring 326 mm long and weighing 692 g, this is not a one-hander for the couch. You will want some kind of stand or keyboard case if only for comfort and the assurance that you can prop it up safely in cramped quarters like airplane tray tables. There’s also an S Pen in the box that magnetically mounts to the rear or can be used for quick doodles and scribbles, though its ergonomic shape still favours a life of sitting at a desk reading rather than browsing while out and about.

That bulk redefines when you’ll use it. Think “travel TV,” “second monitor,” or “portfolio screen” — not “bedtime scroller.” If you want a tablet to grasp for an hour each night while doomscrolling, a little sibling is the way to go.

Software strengths and a controversial shift

One UI is one of the best takes on Android for big screens. Up to three apps in split view plus a floating window might sound like overkill until you give it a shot on 14.6 inches of screen space. Samsung’s apps and Google’s core apps scale cleanly, and most third-party holdouts are no longer deal breakers.

The caveat is Samsung DeX. One UI 8 has removed DeX on the tablet’s display — the new option will require an external monitor. For those who relied on in-slate DeX to replicate a laptop-like environment, that’s a substantive downgrade. The other side of the coin is longevity: seven years of Android OS and security updates matches the longest time commitments in mobile, providing Samsung with a long runway to hone the experience.

Value and the competition in the premium tablet field

Starting at around $1,200, the Tab S11 Ultra is not a value play. Tablets such as the OnePlus Pad 3 deliver great power and a 144 Hz LCD for significantly less, while Samsung’s own Tab S11 provides a more manageable size but many of the same software benefits. On the premium end, the latest iPad Pro’s dual OLED is a benchmark for brightness and uniformity according to display testing labs but is smaller (13 inches) and operating on a different app ecosystem calculus.

And that gets us to the point. If you’re buying a tablet because you care about your movie, game, and media canvas more than anything else in Android today, the Galaxy Tab S11 Ultra just looks better and sounds better. If you’re looking for a tablet because it’s going to save you money, let you travel light, or replace a laptop, look elsewhere.

Bottom line: an exceptional display leads the package

It’s all about the display of the Galaxy Tab S11 Ultra. The performance is swift, the battery is huge, the pen is included, and the software set seems mature — but that 14.6-inch AMOLED sure steals the show. And if sleek cinematic picture quality is your main target, this is one of the rare gadgets that warrants indulgence. If it’s not, you can do better matching up with devices and prices across Samsung’s lineup and elsewhere.