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Samsung Galaxy Tab S11 Ultra

Zit Seng

The Samsung Galaxy Tab S11 Ultra is a hardware masterpiece defined by its massive, anti-reflective screen and razor-thin profile. While DeX remains the best desktop experience on Android, it’s still not perfect to be a true laptop replacement, though not through the fault of Samsung. Here is my take on this behemoth.

The Hardware: Sleek, Powerful, and Enormous

When you first unbox the Galaxy Tab S11 Ultra, the immediate sensation is one of disbelief. Samsung has managed to engineer a device that is impossibly thin, measuring just around 5.1mm, yet it feels incredibly dense and rigid. It exudes a premium “sleek and powerful” aura that justifies its high price tag. However, this form factor comes with a significant caveat: it is massive.

Holding a 14.6-inch slate is an adjustment. In the world of tablets, we are used to devices we can casually toss on a couch cushion or hold in one hand while reading. The S11 Ultra is not that device. It is effectively a laptop screen detached from its keyboard. My own experience echoes the sentiment of many users: while the engineering is impressive, it is “a little large to use” as a traditional tablet. You aren’t going to be holding this up in bed to read an e-book for long without propping it up against something. It demands a surface, a lap, or a stand.  

The Display: A Masterclass in Visibility

The crown jewel of this tablet is undoubtedly the 14.6-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X display. With a resolution of 2960 x 1848 and a 120Hz refresh rate, everything looks fluid and sharp. But the real game-changer this year is the anti-reflective coating.  

Samsung has integrated the same “Gorilla Glass Armor” technology found on their Ultra smartphones. The difference this makes in real-world usage cannot be overstated. The anti-reflective screen is great and very effective, virtually eliminating the mirror-like glare that plagues the iPad Pro and previous Galaxy Tabs. Whether you are working under harsh office fluorescent lights or sitting near a window, the blacks remain inky deep, and the colors pop without being washed out. It’s a feature you don’t realize you need until you have it, and then you can’t go back.  

Performance: The MediaTek Shift

Under the hood, Samsung has made a controversial switch from Qualcomm Snapdragon chips to the MediaTek Dimensity 9400+. For years, “MediaTek” was synonymous with “budget,” but that era is over. In my testing, this 3nm chip screams. It handles multitasking in DeX, 4K video editing, and high-fidelity gaming without breaking a sweat. It runs cool and efficient, contributing to solid battery life from the 11,600 mAh cell. If you were worried about the silicon swap, don’t be. This tablet is a powerhouse.  

The S Pen: A Step Backward?

Included in the box is the S Pen, and while it remains the gold standard for writing latency and feel, there is a distinct regression this year: the stylus has no Bluetooth support.  

For pure writing and drawing, the S Pen is still fantastic. It uses Wacom EMR technology, meaning it never needs to be charged and works the instant it touches the glass. However, the removal of the battery and Bluetooth radio means we lose “Air Actions.” You can no longer use the pen as a remote shutter for the camera or a clicker to advance PowerPoint slides during a presentation.

While I admit I didn’t use Air Actions every day, losing them on a device labeled “Ultra” feels like a pity. It strips away that extra layer of utility that separated the Galaxy Tab from basic slates. It forces you to stay tethered to the screen, which contradicts the device’s potential as a presentation tool.

Samsung DeX: The Almost-Laptop

The software story is dominated by Samsung DeX. For the uninitiated, DeX transforms the Android interface into a Windows-like desktop environment with a taskbar, windowed apps, and mouse support.

My thoughts on this are clear: Samsung DeX is really wonderful. It enables the tablet to be used almost like a laptop, allowing you to run a browser, a document editor, and a chat app simultaneously on that expansive 14.6-inch canvas. It is lightyears ahead of the competition. When you compare it to what Google has achieved with the Pixel Tablet, the difference is night and day. The Pixel Tablet is designed as an ambient smart home hub—great for the kitchen, but useless for a workflow. DeX, conversely, is a legitimate productivity environment.  

However, it is “still not quite there.” The friction points are subtle but persistent, mostly due to various Android limitations.

  1. Browser Behavior: Even in desktop mode, browsers sometimes fight you, serving mobile sites or handling mouse hovers incorrectly.
  2. App Support: While Microsoft Office exists on Android, the apps are feature-stripped compared to their Windows counterparts. You can’t run full Excel macros or use advanced Word formatting tools. There are some limitations that hinder heavy productivity work. For example, you can’t open multiple Word documents. (Though you can cheat a little by opening one in Word, and another in the Microsoft 365 app, but that’s just a maximum of two that you can get.)
  3. The “Unified” DeX: With the move to Android 16, Samsung has unified DeX with Android’s native desktop mode. While this is good for the future, right now it feels buggy. Users have reported issues with windows not remembering their positions and sizes, a regression from previous versions that felt more rock-solid.  

The Accessory Frustration

To truly use this “almost like a laptop,” you need a keyboard. Unfortunately, the accessory situation at launch is baffling. The primary “Book Cover Keyboard Slim” available right now does not have a trackpad.

Let that sink in. A premium tablet that features a desktop interface (DeX) is being sold with a keyboard that forces you to reach up and touch the screen for every interaction. The touch part is fine, but you don’t want to have to touch the screen every time. You are effectively forced to carry a separate Bluetooth mouse.  

Conclusion

The Samsung Galaxy Tab S11 Ultra is a conflicting device. As a piece of hardware, it is undeniably “sleek and powerful.” The screen is the best I have ever seen on a portable device, and the anti-reflective coating makes it usable in places where other tablets fail.

But as a laptop replacement? It requires patience. The lack of Bluetooth in the S Pen, the missing trackpad on the official keyboard cover, and the lingering limitations of Android apps in a desktop environment prevent it from completely usurping your PC.

If you are a creative professional who wants a massive digital canvas, or a mobile executive who lives in web apps and wants the coolest tech in the boardroom, this is the device for you. For everyone else, it’s a beautiful, expensive glimpse into a future that isn’t quite evenly distributed yet.

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