Transcription
So, we've got five new updates on the Galaxy Tab S11 Ultra today, including our first real look at the tablet. So, let's get into it. What's up, guys? S here.
So, first up, we've already seen the official render of the Tab S11 Ultra, but now we finally have our first real image of the full Tab S11 lineup. Starting with the Ultra, the tablet has that water drop shaped notch again, this time with a single front camera. And the bezels pretty much the same as before. Here's the regular Tab S11. And honestly, nothing new. It looks like the Tab S9 all over again. Remember, there's no Tab S11 Plus this year, but they are launching the Tab S11 Lite, which has a very similar overall design language to the S11, but should be lowerend with a much cheaper price to match.
Now, what's funny is Samsung's camera decisions. The S11 Ultra no longer has the dual front camera setup that pass Ultras had. Meanwhile, Apple's doing the complete opposite with the 2025 iPad Pro. They're adding a second front camera and they're doing it in a smarter way. One lens will be in landscape and the other will be in portrait. That way, no matter how you hold the iPad, the camera is always pointing straight at you. Samsung never fixed this with previous Ultra models and this year they've just removed the second camera entirely.
Now, maybe Samsung made that one front camera wider and better to make up for the missing second lens. Could be. We don't know the exact camera specs yet, so I can't say for sure. What we do know are the colors. Both the Tab S11 and S11 Ultra will come in gray and silver, same as before. No surprises there. RAM and storage options are also unchanged. The base model still packs 12 GB, and the 1 TB variant comes with 16 GB. Pretty standard stuff.
Speaking of specs, we now know the exact charging speed and battery capacity for the Tab S11 Ultra. Charging is still 45 W, which is underwhelming, especially since the S26 Ultra is moving to 60 W. A battery this big would really benefit from that speed. On the bright side, the battery is bigger this year at 11,600 miamp, up 400 miamp from last year. That should give you a bit more screen on time between charges. For context, the Tab S10 Ultra takes about an hour and 40 minutes to go from 0 to 100. So, with S11 Ultra's larger battery and the same 45 watt charging, expect it to take a few minutes extra. Not a dealbreaker, but still a small letdown for a premium device in 2025.
Samsung also confirmed the launch window is coming in the second half of the year. That likely means this month or maybe September at the latest since that's when the S10 Ultra dropped. Now, here's another interesting change. The SPEN spot on the back is gone. They either kept the magnets and just removed the marking for a cleaner look or they moved the SPEN to the side Apple style. There's also a slim chance, and I hope I'm wrong, that they removed the Bluetooth features entirely, turning the SPEN into a simple stylus for writing and drawing. We don't have confirmation yet. So, this is one of those wait and see situations.
On the rear, the camera rings are gone, and the layout now looks closer to what we see on the full 7. Performance-wise, the Tab S11 Ultra is running the Dimensity 9400 Plus. Benchmark numbers are 2600 for single core and 8,000 for multi-core. For comparison, the Tab S10 Ultra was around 217200. So, yeah, it's faster, but it's still not touching the S25 Ultra with the Snapdragon 8 Elite. That chip is a generation ahead.
Now, in real world use, most people won't notice a huge difference between 8,000 and 10,000 multi-core scores. Opening apps, browsing, streaming, all that will feel smoother either way. But when you're spending $1,200 on a tablet, little things like this make it feel like Samsung is holding back just a bit. It's not a dealbreaker, but it's something buyers will notice on paper.
And finally, Samsung is shaking up its phone lineup, too. The regular S26 is gone and is being replaced by the S26 Pro, which is more than just a name change.