Samsung’s new flagship tablets arrive with a twist: there’s no Galaxy Tab S11 Plus. The lineup now jumps from an 11-inch Galaxy Tab S11 straight to a 14.6-inch Galaxy Tab S11 Ultra, erasing the 12.4-inch “Goldilocks” option that many power users considered the sweet spot. It’s a puzzling omission that leaves a conspicuous gap between portability and productivity.
On paper, both surviving models are solid advances — brighter displays, faster silicon, deeper Galaxy AI hooks, and a refined S Pen. In practice, the absence of a Plus model changes how the whole series fits into real life. For a lot of people who work, read, and multitask on the same slab, that middle size wasn’t a compromise; it was the point.
Why the missing Plus model mattered
The 12.4-inch Plus has long been the balance between couch-friendly and desk-ready. An 11-inch tablet slips into any bag and feels featherlight for streaming, browsing, or reading, but the screen can feel tight once you start stacking apps and floating windows. The 14.6-inch Ultra is a productivity canvas, no doubt, yet it can be unwieldy the moment you leave a stand or keyboard dock.
That middle diagonal aligned with how many people actually use premium Android tablets: notes in one pane, research in another, communication on top. It’s not just about inches; it’s about posture, reach, and whether you can hold the thing for 30 minutes without wishing for ibuprofen.
The gap in size and weight is huge
The jump from the 11-inch Tab S11 to the 14.6-inch Ultra isn’t incremental — it’s a cliff. The Tab S11 is listed at roughly 469g, while the Ultra stretches near 692g. That extra quarter kilo changes how and where you use it: hand-held reading becomes a workout, and thumb-reach across the display becomes a dance.
Software doesn’t bridge the delta, either. Samsung’s Multi Window and DeX are powerful, but the maximum split-screen app counts and window management rules don’t truly scale with the Ultra’s acreage. You get more screen, not dramatically more simultaneous work. The Plus model historically offered enough canvas to multitask without the ergonomic penalty.
Portfolio math likely drove the decision
There’s a strategic angle here. Last generation, Samsung skipped the base model and offered a Plus and Ultra up top. This time, it’s flipped: keep the mass-market 11-inch, push an aspirational Ultra, and leave the middle lane to existing inventory. Company representatives at the launch briefings indicated the Tab S10 Plus will remain on sale, which helps, but it’s a stopgap rather than a true S11-era successor.
It also reduces internal overlap. Samsung already sells multiple 10- to 11-inch tablets, from FE to midrange A-series, where the volume is. Industry trackers like IDC and Canalys consistently place Samsung as the No. 2 tablet brand globally behind Apple, with most shipments concentrated in the mainstream sizes. Eliminating the Plus may sharpen price bands — but it also abandons a loyal niche that paid extra for that 12.4-inch sweet spot.
The one upgrade the Plus faithful really wanted
What stings is that the S11 generation quietly fixes a long-standing gripe. The new displays can sustain around 1,000 nits in high-brightness mode, a big step up from the roughly 650-nit ceiling on the Tab S10 Plus. In bright rooms or on a sunny patio, that delta is the difference between squinting and getting things done.
The 11-inch Tab S11 reportedly omits the anti-reflective treatment seen on the S10 Plus, but the extra luminance still helps in harsh light. Imagine a hypothetical S11 Plus pairing that brighter panel with an AR coating, updated Snapdragon-class performance, lower S Pen latency, and the latest DeX and Galaxy AI features. That would have been the ultimate do-everything Android tablet for people who live in split-screen.
So where should buyers turn now?
If you want the middle size today, the Tab S10 Plus remains the obvious choice while it lasts. It’s not the newest, but the ergonomics and 12.4-inch canvas still shine for productivity. Casual users are well served by the 11-inch tier — especially the FE models — which deliver excellent value for video, browsing, and reading without overpaying for horsepower you won’t tap.
If you crave top specs and mostly work docked, the Ultra is the beast — just be honest about how often you hold your tablet versus prop it up. For everyone else who loved the “just right” formula, Samsung’s decision leaves a gap that specs alone can’t fill. Killing the S11 Plus didn’t only cut a model; it cut the silhouette that made the Tab S series effortlessly versatile.