Samsung’s new Android tablets are priced to rival Apple’s iPad Pro

Samsung has unveiled two new Android tablets at a flashy event at the IFA tech trade show in Berlin that seem priced to compete directly with Apple’s iPad Pro range. The 11-inch Galaxy Tab S11 and huge 14.6-inch Galaxy Tab S11 Ultra cost from £949 and £1,199 respectively, teeing them up for a fight for consumers’ cash with the £999 11-inch iPad Pro and £1,299 13-inch iPad Pro.

Samsung’s Tab S11 and Tab S11 Ultra replace last year’s Tab S10 Plus and Tab S10 Ultra - there was no regular S10 last year, and now there is no S11 Plus. It’s all very confusing.

The bottom line is £999 is a lot to pay for a tablet, even if Samsung says the devices have software upgrades, shipping with One UI 8 based on Android 16 and with full Google Gemini AI integration.

You also get Samsung’s Galaxy AI, with tools such as drawing assist and writing assist to transform and improve your sketches and emails.

“Powered by the latest Galaxy AI, now enhanced by One UI 8 and new multimodal capabilities, the Galaxy Tab S11 Ultra is the thinnest Galaxy Tab to date, without compromising performance, going beyond a slim form factor to show what a premium tablet can be,” Samsung said.

“Together, the series is built for effortless productivity on the go, combining pro-grade hardware with experiences optimised for a large screen.”

Those words imply these high-end tablets are built for working on, which could well require a keyboard or stylus, depending on your profession. Thankfully, both Tab S11 models come with an S Pen stylus in the box, something Apple never offers with its iPads and Apple Pencil.

Samsung claims the S Pen has been redesigned to improve comfort, and is designed to work seamlessly with third party apps such as Goodnotes, Clip Studio Paint, LumaFusion and Notion, but you’ll still have to fork out extra for a keyboard case if you want to use either Tab S11 as a laptop replacement.

If you want to do that, you’ll also benefit from Samsung’s clever DeX software built into either tablet, which turns the Android operating system into a desktop-like experience suited to working with an external keyboard and mouse. Samsung says you can hook either tablet up to a monitor and run the whole setup with two screens, making these devices potentially more versatile than a laptop.

The Tab S11 Ultra has a whopping 14.6-inch OLED screen with smooth-scrolling 120Hz refresh rate and an anti-reflective coating similar to that seen on the Galaxy S24 Ultra and S25 Ultra. Its 5.1mm thickness is also, to be frank, ludicrously thin, and impressive for a tablet of this screen size.

It also has dual rear cameras but otherwise shares its main specs with the smaller 11-inch S11, which has a 120Hz OLED display without the fancy coating and only one rear camera.

Both slates run on the MediaTek Dimensity 9400+ and come with 12GB RAM as standard, pack in quad speakers, IP68 dust and water resistance, and the option to pay more for a 5G compatible model of either that comes with dual SIM capabilities (one physical, one eSIM).

If you go for Wi-Fi only versions, the Ultra gets Wi-Fi 7 compatibility while the regular S11 has to settle for Wi-Fi 6E, though most people won’t notice a tangible difference. Plus, you only get Wi-Fi 7 speeds if you have a Wi-Fi 7 router and a zippy enough fibre broadband plan.

Battery size could be a reason to opt for the larger S11 Ultra, as it has a huge 11,600mAh cell compared to the S11’s 8,400mAh.

The Galaxy Tab S11 and Tab S11 Ultra are available to pre-order from today from Samsung. The firm is initially offering a free Book Cover Keyboard Slim with every purchase, plus £200 off the Ultra when you trade in any tablet or Android phone in any condition.