Samsung Galaxy Tab S11 Ultra review

Design, build quality, handling

The Galaxy Tab S11 Ultra looks like most recent tablets on the market - an all-metal shell, flat sides, slim profile.

The Tab S11 Ultra has aluminum unibody with pretty much no distractions. You can get it in dark gray (ours) or silver. The Enhanced Armor Aluminum used for the body should give a certain drop resistance, which is important for such a large tablet.

And speaking of resistance, the Tab S11 Ultra is IP68-rated for dust and water resistance. Ingress protection on tablets is rare these days, and we do appreciate Samsung making the extra effort.

There are two upgrades in design terms since the Galaxy Tab S10 Ultra - an even slimmer profile (5.1mm vs. 5.4mm), and lighter weight (692g vs 718g).

There is no info on the screen glass brand, but we never had complaints about the previous models as far as scratch resistance is concerned.

Let's take closer look at the Galaxy Tab S11 Ultra.

The front is where you'd find the immersive 14.6-inch Dynamic AMOLED of high resolution and high refresh rate. The bezels are symmetrical all around.

The Galaxy Tab S10 Ultra had this large notch accommodating two front cameras, rather unnecessary in our opinion. This year Samsung retired the wide-angle camera and left the 12MP ultrawide, though apparently it still requires a notch, a droplet-shaped one. Well, we are not fans of this, but it is what it is.

There is an optical fingerprint reader placed around the bottom of the Tab S11 Ultra (if looked in portrait orientation). It works flawlessly. Even when the screen is turned off, the sensor will activate once you place your fingertip on top of it.

The back of the Tab S11 Ultra has the 13MP wide and the 8MP ultrawide cameras, which are surrounded by sticking out metal rings. Given the large size of the Ultra the slate does not wobble when used on a table or desk.

Also on the back is a LED flash.

Finally, you can spot the pogo pins, which are for the original keyboard covers sold separately by Samsung.

The sides of the Tab S11 Ultra are jam-packed with features.

The short sides have four incredibly powerful speakers, the USB-C port and a microphone.

One of the long sides has the power and volume keys, a bunch of microphones, and the SIM/microSD slot.

The other long side has holes for the keyboard cover/stand.

The S-Pen is attached magnetically to either of the long sides. It has a new octagonal design, which is comfortable, and the size is just right.

Unfortunately, Samsung has decided to retire the Bluetooth-enabled S-Pen, and now we are getting the older passive version of the pencil. It still supports low latency and plenty of cool features, but it cannot act as a long-range clicker for your presentations. Not a huge loss in our books.

The Galaxy Tab S11 Ultra is a well-built and well-protected tablet, with premium look and feel. It is comfortable to use, though its large size makes buying a keyboard stand a necessity.