iPad Pro M5 vs Galaxy Tab S11 Ultra: Specs, Price and Which to Buy

Apple's 11-inch iPad Pro (M5) starts at $1,199 for the base 256GB Wi-Fi model, while Samsung's Galaxy Tab S11 Ultra starts at $1,299.99 for 256GB on Wi-Fi only, according to Apple's own iPad Pro store listing and Samsung's Galaxy Tab S11 Ultra store listing. Both are premium, stylus-first tablets with OLED-class displays and all-day battery claims, but they split hard on philosophy: Apple leans on raw M5 silicon and a tightly closed ecosystem, while Samsung leans on a bigger screen, a bundled S Pen, and desktop-style multitasking through DeX. One wrinkle worth knowing up front: Samsung has already replaced the Tab S11 Ultra as its flagship with the Galaxy Tab S12 Ultra, which went on sale October 7, 2026 — more on what that means for buyers later in this guide.

Price and configurations compared

Apple sells the M5 iPad Pro in 11-inch and 13-inch sizes, each in 256GB, 512GB, 1TB and 2TB storage tiers, with Wi-Fi-only and Wi-Fi+Cellular versions of every tier. The 1TB and 2TB models add an optional nano-texture glass finish for $100 more. Samsung sells the Galaxy Tab S11 Ultra in a single 14.6-inch size, with 256GB, 512GB and 1TB storage, and only a Wi-Fi configuration in the US store (a 5G variant exists in some other markets). Samsung pairs the 1TB tier with 16GB of RAM, while the 256GB and 512GB tiers get 12GB.

On paper the Tab S11 Ultra looks like the better value at the top end, since its maxed-out 1TB configuration costs hundreds less than a comparable iPad Pro. But the comparison isn't quite apples to apples: the iPad Pro's 13-inch screen is closer in size to the Tab S11 Ultra's 14.6-inch panel, and a 13-inch 256GB iPad Pro at $1,499 already lands above Samsung's starting price.

Design and displays

The Galaxy Tab S11 Ultra is 5.1mm thick — Samsung's thinnest tablet to date — and weighs about 692g in Wi-Fi form, spread across a single 14.6-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X panel running at 2960x1848 resolution, per Samsung's own features page, with a 120Hz refresh rate and up to 1600 nits of peak brightness. The iPad Pro comes in two sizes: an 11-inch model (2420x1668, 264ppi) and a 13-inch model (2752x2064, 264ppi), both using Apple's Tandem OLED construction, branded "Ultra Retina XDR" on Apple's own tech specs page, with ProMotion adaptive refresh up to 120Hz, 1000 nits of SDR brightness and 1600 nits of HDR peak brightness. Apple also offers a nano-texture glass option on the 1TB and 2TB tiers to cut glare, something Samsung doesn't offer on the Tab S11 Ultra.

Both tablets ship in two colors: Apple's iPad Pro comes in Silver and Space Black, while the Tab S11 Ultra comes in Gray and Silver. The Tab S11 Ultra is also IP68 rated for dust and water resistance, a spec Apple doesn't publish for the iPad Pro, and it packs a quad-speaker system plus an on-display fingerprint sensor for biometric unlock — the iPad Pro instead relies on Face ID, built into the front camera housing rather than a separate sensor.

Weight and footprint tell their own story about how each company prioritized size. The 11-inch iPad Pro weighs about 444g (Wi-Fi) and measures 9.83 x 6.99 x 0.21 inches; the 13-inch model weighs about 579g and measures 11.09 x 8.48 x 0.20 inches. The Galaxy Tab S11 Ultra weighs about 692g and measures 208.5 x 326.3 x 5.1mm (roughly 8.2 x 12.8 x 0.2 inches) — noticeably heavier than either iPad Pro size, which tracks with its larger 14.6-inch screen, but it's also marginally thinner than both iPad Pro models at just 5.1mm thick.

Storage, expansion and connectivity

Apple sells the iPad Pro in four fixed storage tiers — 256GB, 512GB, 1TB and 2TB — with no way to add storage later, so the right tier has to be picked at checkout. Samsung's Galaxy Tab S11 Ultra tops out at 1TB of built-in storage, but it also has a dedicated microSDXC card slot that accepts cards up to 2TB, which means a 256GB Tab S11 Ultra can realistically end up with more total storage than a 1TB iPad Pro, and for less money. Both tablets support Wi-Fi 7 for faster local networking. Apple's cellular iPad Pro models use an eSIM-only Apple C1X modem with 5G (sub-6GHz) and Gigabit LTE, while Samsung's Tab S11 Ultra uses a dual-SIM setup (one physical nano-SIM plus one eSIM) with 5G sub-6 support in markets where a cellular model is sold — though, as noted above, the US Samsung store currently lists Wi-Fi-only Tab S11 Ultra units.

Performance: Apple M5 vs MediaTek Dimensity 9400+

Apple's M5 chip powers every iPad Pro configuration, with a 9-core CPU and 12GB of unified memory on the 256GB/512GB tiers, stepping up to a 10-core CPU and 16GB of memory on the 1TB/2TB tiers. Every version gets a 10-core GPU with a Neural Accelerator in each core and a 16-core Neural Engine. Samsung's Galaxy Tab S11 Ultra runs MediaTek's Dimensity 9400+, built on a 3nm process — Samsung's first 3nm chip in the S11 lineup — which, according to Samsung's own Galaxy Tab S11 announcement, is 33% faster on NPU tasks, 24% faster on CPU tasks and 27% faster on GPU tasks than the chip in the previous-generation Tab S10 Ultra. Apple's and Samsung's performance claims are measured against their own previous models using different methodologies, so they aren't directly comparable, but the M5's larger die, Mac-grade software stack and the fact that Apple designs both the chip and the OS give the iPad Pro an edge in sustained, professional workloads like 4K video export.

Stylus and keyboard accessories

This is one of the starkest differences between the two tablets. Samsung includes its redesigned S Pen in the box with every Galaxy Tab S11 Ultra — a hexagonal-bodied, cone-tipped stylus with Air Command shortcuts, Quick Tools and Sticky Note, and it never needs charging. Apple sells its Apple Pencil Pro and Apple Pencil (USB-C) separately; the iPad Pro supports both, plus Pencil hover for previewing marks before they land, but you're paying extra no matter which one you pick. Both tablets support keyboard accessories: Samsung's Book Cover Keyboard Slim adds a dedicated AI key and trackpad, while Apple's Magic Keyboard for iPad Pro adds a trackpad, function row and backlit keys — both are sold separately from the tablet itself.

Cameras and video

Neither tablet is built around photography, but there are real differences. The iPad Pro has a single 12MP f/1.8 rear camera with up to 5x digital zoom and 4K video at up to 60fps, plus a 12MP Center Stage front camera with Face ID support. The Galaxy Tab S11 Ultra adds a second rear lens — a 13MP main plus an 8MP ultra-wide — and a 12MP ultra-wide front camera, which gives it more framing flexibility for video calls and document scanning, even if neither tablet is anyone's primary camera.

Battery life and charging

Apple rates the 11-inch iPad Pro's 31.29Wh battery and the 13-inch's 38.99Wh battery for up to 10 hours of web browsing or video playback on Wi-Fi, dropping to about 9 hours on cellular data; a 60W+ USB-C charger gets either model to 50% in roughly 30 minutes. Samsung specifies an 11,600mAh battery for the Tab S11 Ultra with 45W Super Fast Charging 2.0 support but doesn't publish a comparable hours-of-use figure on its spec pages. The Tab S11 Ultra's larger physical battery and bigger screen roughly offset each other in practice, and Samsung includes quad speakers and Wi-Fi 7 on both the Tab S11 Ultra and the iPad Pro's full lineup.

Software and AI features

The Tab S11 Ultra ships on Android 16 with One UI 8, including Samsung DeX's Extended Mode (which turns an external monitor into a true second screen with up to four customizable workspaces), Circle to Search, and Gemini Live. The iPad Pro runs iPadOS 27, which brought a windowed multitasking overhaul and deeper Apple Intelligence features across supported iPads. Neither company sells these tablets as phone replacements, but both now push their large-screen devices as lightweight laptop alternatives for note-taking, drawing and split-screen work.

Samsung already has a Tab S12 Ultra — does that change the picture?

Here's the catch for anyone comparing these two tablets today: the Galaxy Tab S11 Ultra is no longer Samsung's newest "Ultra" tablet. Samsung's own US store lists the Galaxy Tab S12 Ultra as a "New" product, on sale since October 7, 2026, starting at $1,399.99 for 256GB — a step up from the Tab S11 Ultra's $1,299.99 starting price. The S12 Ultra carries over the same 14.6-inch, 2960x1848 Dynamic AMOLED 2X display, the same 11,600mAh battery and 45W charging, and an included S Pen, but moves to MediaTek's newer Dimensity 9500 chip.

That matters for shoppers: the Tab S11 Ultra is now a one-generation-old flagship that Samsung still sells at full list price directly, which means it's a reasonable target for retailer discounts as inventory clears, while the Tab S12 Ultra is the tablet to buy if you want Samsung's latest silicon and the longest runway of software updates. Either way, the iPad Pro (M5) remains the newer of the two Apple-vs-Samsung options by several weeks and is Apple's only current iPad Pro, so there's no equivalent "wait for the next one" caveat on the Apple side right now.

Bottom line: which should you buy?

• Pick the iPad Pro (M5) if: you're already on an iPhone or Mac, want the strongest raw chip performance for Pro-level creative apps, or plan to use the tablet for 4K video editing and don't mind buying the Pencil and keyboard separately.
• Pick the Galaxy Tab S11 Ultra if: you want a bundled S Pen with no extra purchase, a bigger 14.6-inch canvas for drawing and note-taking, expandable microSD storage, and Samsung DeX for plugging into a monitor — and you're fine buying what is now a one-generation-old Samsung flagship, likely at a discount.
• Pick the Galaxy Tab S12 Ultra instead if: you specifically want Samsung's newest chip and the longest stretch of future software support, and don't mind paying $100 more at the entry tier than the Tab S11 Ultra.

If you're already inside Apple's ecosystem, want the most powerful tablet chip available, and don't mind paying extra for a stylus and keyboard, the iPad Pro (M5) is the safer long-term buy — it's also, as of this writing, the newest tablet in this matchup. If you want a bundled S Pen, a bigger 14.6-inch screen, expandable storage and desktop-style multitasking out of the box, and you're comfortable buying what's now a previous-generation Samsung flagship (possibly at a discount), the Galaxy Tab S11 Ultra still delivers most of what made it compelling at launch. Buyers who specifically want Samsung's newest hardware should budget for the Galaxy Tab S12 Ultra instead, now that it has taken over as the current Ultra-tier model. For anyone also comparing Apple's and Samsung's wearables alongside their tablets, our breakdown of the Apple Watch Series 12, Galaxy Watch9 and Pixel Watch 5 covers the same two ecosystems on the wrist, and shoppers eyeing headsets instead of slates can see how the Samsung Galaxy XR compares with the Apple Vision Pro.

Written byNadia Osei

Nadia Osei covers mobile and consumer gadgets for Pandromeda: smartphones, tablets, smartwatches, earbuds and smart-home devices. She tracks launches, software updates and pricing across Apple, Google, Samsung and the rest, and builds comparisons from the manufacturers' published specifications.

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