Samsung Galaxy Tab S11 Ultra VS ZTE RedMagic Astra

These two devices occupy fundamentally different size categories. The Samsung Galaxy Tab S11 Ultra is a large-format tablet at 326.3 × 208.5 mm and 695 g, built for productivity on an expansive canvas. The ZTE RedMagic Astra, at 207 × 134.2 mm and 370 g, is nearly half the weight and occupies roughly half the volume — making it far more portable and one-hand-friendly. The Tab S11 Ultra's thinness of 5.1 mm versus the Astra's 6.9 mm partially offsets its bulk, giving it a sleeker profile despite its larger footprint, but it will still demand bag space and two-handed use in most scenarios.

A meaningful functional differentiator is the included stylus on the Tab S11 Ultra, which adds pen-input capability out of the box — a significant value-add for note-taking, drawing, or annotation workflows that the Astra simply does not offer. Neither device ships with a detachable or backlit keyboard, and neither supports tilt sensitivity, so those specs are a wash.

On durability, the Tab S11 Ultra holds a clear edge with its IP68 rating, meaning it can withstand submersion in water — a step above the Astra's IP54, which only guarantees protection against splashes and dust. For users who work in varied or unpredictable environments, this distinction matters. Overall, the Tab S11 Ultra has the design advantage in terms of features and ruggedness, but the Astra wins decisively on portability and everyday handleability.

Screen size is the most immediately obvious divide here: the Tab S11 Ultra's 14.6″ panel dwarfs the RedMagic Astra's 9.06″ display, which naturally shapes the entire viewing experience. Both use OLED/AMOLED technology, so contrast, black levels, and color vibrancy are strong on either device. Where they diverge is in how they optimize that panel. The Astra achieves a sharper 313 ppi pixel density versus the Tab S11 Ultra's 239 ppi — meaning individual pixels are more visible on Samsung's screen at close range, though at a 14.6″ viewing distance this gap is far less noticeable than it sounds.

Motion handling favors the Astra decisively. Its 165Hz refresh rate versus the Tab S11 Ultra's 120Hz translates to noticeably smoother scrolling and animations — particularly relevant given the Astra's gaming-oriented positioning. Brightness is nearly identical at 1100 nits versus 1000 nits, so neither holds a meaningful edge in outdoor legibility. However, the Tab S11 Ultra supports HDR10+, enabling dynamic tone-mapping for compatible video content — a real advantage for media consumption that the Astra cannot match, having no HDR10 support at all.

Physical display protection tells opposite stories: the Astra ships with branded damage-resistant glass while the Tab S11 Ultra does not, but Samsung counters with an anti-reflection coating that reduces glare — something the Astra lacks. These two trade-offs roughly cancel out. On balance, the Tab S11 Ultra edges ahead for content creators and media consumers thanks to its HDR10+ support and expansive canvas, while the RedMagic Astra suits users who prioritize sharpness and high-refresh fluidity in a compact form.

Both devices are built on a 3 nm process, but they bet on different silicon. The Tab S11 Ultra runs the MediaTek Dimensity 9400 Plus, while the RedMagic Astra deploys the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite — and the benchmarks reflect a consistent advantage for the Astra: a Geekbench 6 multi-core score of 10,059 versus 8,969, and a single-core score of 3,234 versus 2,874. That roughly 12% multi-core lead is meaningful for sustained heavy workloads like video rendering or gaming, though both chips are comfortably in flagship territory for everyday tasks.

RAM tells a nuanced story. The Astra ships with 24 GB versus the Tab S11 Ultra's 16 GB in their respective base configurations, which benefits aggressive multitasking and keeping more apps live in memory. Samsung counters with a significantly faster RAM speed of 10,667 MHz compared to the Astra's 5,300 MHz, and a larger 12 MB L3 cache versus 8 MB — factors that help reduce latency in compute-intensive tasks even if raw throughput is comparable, with both devices posting nearly identical memory bandwidth around 85 GB/s. The Astra also supports ECC memory, adding error-correction that matters for data-integrity-sensitive professional workloads. On GPU clock speed, the Tab S11 Ultra's Immortalis G925 at 1,300 MHz runs faster than the Astra's Adreno 830 at 1,100 MHz, though real-world graphics performance depends heavily on the full architecture and thermal envelope.

One practical differentiator is the Tab S11 Ultra's external memory slot, allowing storage expansion beyond the 1 TB base — something the Astra foregoes entirely. Taken together, the RedMagic Astra holds the edge in raw CPU benchmark performance and default RAM capacity, while the Tab S11 Ultra offers faster memory speeds, a larger cache, and expandable storage. Users prioritizing peak processing throughput will lean toward the Astra; those who value storage flexibility and memory responsiveness will find the Tab S11 Ultra more accommodating.

Camera systems are rarely a headline feature for tablets, and these specs reinforce that reality — but there are still meaningful differences to unpack. The Tab S11 Ultra fields a dual rear camera setup (13 MP + 8 MP), giving it a second lens for alternate framing or depth sensing, while the RedMagic Astra makes do with a single 13 MP rear shooter. The more striking gap is up front: Samsung offers dual 12 MP front cameras, a significant advantage for video calls on a large-screen device where a wider field of view or subject-tracking second lens adds practical value. The Astra's 9 MP single front camera is more modest by comparison.

Beyond sensor counts, the two devices are remarkably evenly matched in capability. Both cap video recording at 4K at 30 fps, support slow-motion, HDR, touch autofocus, continuous autofocus during recording, and offer the same manual controls — ISO, white balance, focus, and exposure. Neither supports optical zoom or optical image stabilization, which limits versatility for both. The one feature the Astra holds exclusively is in-camera panorama mode, which the Tab S11 Ultra lacks — a minor but noteworthy omission for Samsung.

The verdict here is straightforward. The Tab S11 Ultra's advantage in lens count — particularly the dual front cameras — gives it a functional edge that matters most for video conferencing and creative selfie use cases. The panorama gap is a small mark against Samsung but does not offset the overall camera lead. For users who care about camera versatility on a tablet, the Tab S11 Ultra is the stronger option based solely on these specs.

Audio is the rare category where these two devices are in complete lockstep. Both the Tab S11 Ultra and the RedMagic Astra feature stereo speakers, drop the 3.5 mm headphone jack, and support none of the high-resolution Bluetooth audio codecs — no aptX, no LDAC, no aptX Adaptive. For wired audio enthusiasts, the absence of a headphone jack on both means a dongle or Bluetooth headphones are the only options.

The lack of any advanced wireless audio codec is a shared limitation worth noting. Codecs like LDAC or aptX Adaptive enable near-lossless audio transmission to compatible headphones — their absence means both devices are limited to standard Bluetooth audio quality (typically SBC or AAC), which is adequate for casual listening but falls short for audiophiles. Given that neither device compensates with a headphone jack, users who prioritize high-fidelity audio will need to rely on external DAC adapters regardless of which device they choose.

With every single spec in this category identical, this is an unambiguous tie. There is no audio-based reason to choose one device over the other.

Raw capacity is where this category is decided. The Tab S11 Ultra packs an 11,600 mAh battery against the RedMagic Astra's 8,200 mAh — a 41% larger reservoir that directly translates to more time between charges. That said, battery life is never determined by capacity alone; the Tab S11 Ultra's much larger 14.6″ OLED panel is a significant power draw, so the real-world gap in screen-on time will be narrower than the mAh difference suggests. The Astra's smaller display and chassis mean it has considerably less hardware to power, softening the impact of its smaller cell.

Both devices support fast charging and share the same structural limitations — no wireless charging, no removable battery. These are common trade-offs in this product category, so neither device gains or loses ground there.

On the specs provided, the Tab S11 Ultra holds the clear battery capacity advantage. Users who need the longest possible endurance between charges — particularly for travel or extended work sessions — will find the larger cell more reassuring, even accounting for the power demands of its bigger screen. The RedMagic Astra's 8,200 mAh is respectable for its size class, but on paper the Tab S11 Ultra wins this category.

Wireless connectivity is where these two devices diverge most sharply in practical terms. The Tab S11 Ultra supports Wi-Fi 7 (802.11be) and Wi-Fi 6E, placing it a full generation ahead of the RedMagic Astra, which tops out at Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax). Wi-Fi 7 brings meaningfully lower latency and higher theoretical throughput — particularly valuable on congested networks. Interestingly, the Astra posts a higher rated download speed of 10,000 Mbits/s versus 7,300 Mbits/s for the Tab S11 Ultra, though this figure reflects theoretical peak capacity and real-world gains will depend heavily on router and network conditions. Bluetooth is identical at version 5.4 on both, as is USB at 3.2.

The most consequential difference in this category is cellular connectivity. The Tab S11 Ultra includes a cellular module with 5G support, enabling internet access independent of Wi-Fi — a critical advantage for users who need connectivity on the go. The RedMagic Astra is Wi-Fi only, tethering it entirely to available networks. Compounding this, the Tab S11 Ultra includes GPS and Galileo satellite navigation support, while the Astra has neither — meaning it cannot reliably determine location without network assistance, significantly limiting its utility for navigation or location-aware apps in the field.

Software and privacy features are nearly identical across the board — both support split screen, PiP, dynamic theming, dark mode, fingerprint scanning, and a comparable suite of privacy controls. The Tab S11 Ultra's connectivity lead — 5G, GPS, and Wi-Fi 7 — is substantial and gives it a clear overall advantage in this category for users who need their tablet to function reliably beyond the reach of a known Wi-Fi network.

The Miscellaneous category offers only two data points, and both tell the same story: the Tab S11 Ultra and the RedMagic Astra are identical. Both run DDR5 memory and both support multithreading. DDR5 is the current flagship memory standard, delivering higher bandwidth and greater power efficiency than its DDR4 predecessor — a shared baseline that confirms neither device is cut short on memory architecture. Multithreading, meanwhile, allows each CPU core to handle multiple tasks simultaneously, contributing to the smooth parallel workload handling already reflected in their performance benchmarks.

With no differentiating data in this group, this is a straightforward tie. Neither device holds any advantage here, and users should weigh the other specification groups when making their decision.