Samsung Galaxy Tab S11 Ultra vs. iPad Pro M5 — which tablet should you buy?

It’s a battle of the premium tablets! I just tested the Samsung Galaxy Tab S11 Ultra and the iPad Pro M5, so it’s time I compare them to help you decide which of these large slates is right for you.

The Galaxy Tab S11 Ultra is one of the largest tablets available, thanks to its enormous 14.6-inch OLED display. The iPad Pro M5 also has an OLED panel, along with exceptional performance and battery life. Whether it’s for work or play, these slates are up to the task. They're certainly among the best tablets out there. But which one is right for you?

Below, I’ll detail everything you need to know about the Samsung Galaxy Tab S11 Ultra and iPad Pro M5 to help you decide which one to choose.

Samsung Galaxy Tab S11 Ultra vs. iPad Pro M5: Specs

Samsung Galaxy Tab S11 Ultra vs. iPad Pro M5: Price

The Samsung Galaxy Tab S11 Ultra starts at $1,199, while the 13-inch iPad Pro M5 starts at $1,399. They both get pricier when you add more storage, with a Tab S11 Ultra with 1TB of storage topping out at $1,619 and an iPad Pro M5 with 2TB costing $2,299.

The Tab S11 Ultra’s Book Cover Keyboard adds $209 to its cost, while the 13-inch iPad Pro M5’s Magic Keyboard bumps the price by $349. With their respective keyboards included, the starting models of the Tab S11 Ultra and 13-inch iPad Pro cost $1,408 and $1,748 (respectively).

Price-wise, the Galaxy Tab S11 Ultra has an advantage over the iPad Pro M5. But as we’ll see ahead, the extra cost for Apple’s tablet might be worth it for some folks.

Samsung Galaxy Tab S11 Ultra vs. iPad Pro M5: Design

The Galaxy Tab S11 Ultra and iPad Pro M5 are both thin and light tablets that are easy to travel with. They’re both sturdy pieces of aluminum that won’t easily bend.

The iPad Pro is actually thinner and lighter than the iPad Air M3. Thanks to that, even the large 13-inch iPad Pro is comfortable to hold for long periods of time. There’s a Thunderbolt/USB 4 port on the center right side, and four speakers flanking the tablet (two on the left, two on the right). And of course, there's also a 12MP camera on the back and another 12MP landscape-oriented camera on the front.

Samsung didn’t redesign the Galaxy Tab S11 Ultra. As before, it’s a tablet worthy of Moses thanks to its enormous 12.8 x 8.2 x 0.2 size. Despite that, it only weighs 1.6 pounds. Unfortunately, its size also makes the tablet difficult to hold for long, even with two hands. Since this slate is so cumbersome to hold, you’ll need to prop it up against something like a couch arm or a pillow.

The Galaxy Tab S11 Ultra’s imposing size is certainly impressive, but it’s also its biggest hindrance. The 13-inch iPad Pro is also large, but it’s thinner and lighter, thus easier to manage.

Samsung Galaxy Tab S11 Ultra vs. iPad Pro M5: Display

The Galaxy Tab S11 Ultra features a huge 14.6-inch OLED display, while the iPad Pro has a comparatively smaller 13-inch tandem OLED display. Videos look phenomenal, with great contrasts and vibrant hues. Their respective resolutions also help everything appear sharp and detailed. You won’t be disappointed with either tablet’s display, though you might still prefer one over the other.

Samsung’s slate generally delivers oversaturated colors over the iPad Pro, as you can see by its higher sRGB and DCI-P3 results (anything above 100% is oversaturated). However, the display on Apple’s slate is brighter when displaying SDR and HDR content. It also has more natural color reproduction.

The Galaxy Tab S11 Ultra’s OLED panel is no slouch, but the iPad Pro M5’s tandem OLED offers deeper contrast between darker and lighter elements to my eyes. It’s still the most beautiful OLED I’ve seen on any device. So while the Tab S11 Ultra offers a grand viewing experience, the iPad Pro’s starker contrast and stronger brightness give it an edge.

Samsung Galaxy Tab S11 Ultra vs. iPad Pro M5: Performance

The Galaxy Tab S11 Ultra runs on the MediaTek Dimensity 9400+ processor and packs 12GB of RAM. Meanwhile, our iPad Pro M5 review unit packs an M5 chip with a 10-core CPU, a 10-core GPU, 16GB of RAM and a 1TB SSD. Let’s see how these components help the tablets perform in our benchmark tests.

On Geekbench 6, which tests overall CPU performance, the iPad Pro M5 handily crushed the Galaxy Tab S11 Ultra. Apple’s powerful tablet also did significantly better on the 3DMark graphics test.

While the iPad Pro M5 offers superior performance over the Galaxy Tab S11 Ultra, the latter can handle multiple apps simultaneously without noticeable slowdown. It’s even capable of smoothly running Android games like Genshin Impact. That said, the iPad Pro is much better for video editing and playing graphically demanding games like Cyberpunk 2077.

Samsung Galaxy Tab S11 Ultra vs. iPad Pro M5: Battery life

Cutting to the chase, the iPad Pro M5 can last longer than the Galaxy Tab S11 Ultra on a single charge. However, the difference isn’t as stark.

In our battery test, which involves continuous web-surfing over Wi-Fi with the display set to 150 nits of brightness, the iPad Pro lasted for 13 hours and 16 minutes. Conversely, the Galaxy Tab S11 Ultra lasted for 12 hours and 3 minutes. Basically, you get an extra hour of battery life with the iPad Pro.

While Apple’s slate wins this round, 12 hours and 3 minutes of battery life for the Tab S11 Ultra isn’t too shabby, especially when that’s over two hours longer than the Galaxy Tab S10 Ultra. Regardless, you won’t be disappointed by either tablet’s endurance.

Samsung Galaxy Tab S11 Ultra vs. iPad Pro M5: Peripherals

If you want to use these tablets for more than watching videos, you’ll need to purchase some of their respective peripherals. The Galaxy Tab S11 Ultra comes with the S Pen, so its associated peripheral is the new Book Cover Keyboard. Conversely, the Magic Keyboard and Apple Pencil Pro are optional accessories for the iPad Pro M5.

The Magic Keyboard’s palm rests and touchpad have an aluminum finish that’s reminiscent of a MacBook. The larger touchpad is also very MacBook-like, as is the Magic Keyboard’s flat hinge. Typing on this keyboard is pleasant thanks to how nice the aluminum feels against the palms. The touchpad is smooth and responsive.

The Apple Pencil Pro ($129) has features like a rollable barrel you can rotate to intelligently switch pen styles. It also has haptic feedback and squeeze functionality. The Apple Pencil Pro feels exactly like its predecessor, which is great since that’s my favorite stylus.

Moving over to the Galaxy Tab S11 Ultra’s accessories, the Book Cover Case improves on its predecessors thanks to its sturdiness. You can actually walk around with the tablet propped up, which is something you couldn’t do with the flimsy old covers. Since the new cover is thicker, typing on it is more comfortable and enjoyable.

Unfortunately, the Book Cover Keyboard does not have a touchpad! Sure, you can use the tablet’s touch controls to open apps and move them around. However, if you want to resize windows or move apps from the tablet to an external monitor (or vice versa), you’re going to have a difficult time.

Whereas the Book Cover Keyboard improves on its predecessor, the new S Pen does not. Instead of a rounded stylus like before, the S Pen is hexagonal like a pencil, which I don’t much care for. The new S Pen also feels lighter than previous versions, which makes it feel plasticky. That said, the stylus is as responsive as ever.

Samsung Galaxy Tab S11 Ultra vs. iPad Pro M5: Bottom line

Should you get the Samsung Galaxy Tab S11 Ultra or the iPad Pro M5? It might come down to your preferred ecosystem. Like Apple? Get the iPad Pro M5. If you’re into Samsung or Android devices, then get the Galaxy Tab S11 Ultra. However, if you’re not married to a specific ecosystem, then the choice becomes murkier, though not impossible.

For watching videos and movies, it’s hard to top the Galaxy Tab S11 Ultra’s enormous OLED panel. Samsung’s tablet is also the most affordable, even when you include the $200 keyboard cover. Though getting work done on this tablet isn’t that simple, the viewing experience is arguably second to none.

Conversely, the iPad Pro M5 is a better all-arounder thanks to its vivid tandem OLED panel, macOS-like iPadOS 26 operating system that destroys Dex Mode, powerful performance and user-friendly keyboard accessory. While it’s the more expensive option, its versatility and compatibility with Apple products are hard to match.

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