Samsung pares Tab S12 to Plus and Ultra, raises prices $200

Samsung is shipping the Galaxy Tab S12 series as a two-model lineup consisting of the 12.6-inch Galaxy Tab S12 Plus and the 14.6-inch Galaxy Tab S12 Ultra. There is no standard Tab S12. Both tablets will hit shelves on October 7th, with the Plus starting at $1,199 and the Ultra starting at $1,399 The Verge.

The Plus is the larger change of the two. Samsung positions it as an overhaul of the two-year-old Galaxy Tab S10 Plus, and it arrives thinner and lighter than that machine. The silicon moves from a MediaTek Dimensity 9300 Plus to a MediaTek Dimensity 9500. Battery capacity is 10,600mAh. The increase in price is material. At $1,199, it costs $200 more than its predecessor.

For IT buyers and power users who spec memory up front, the base Plus configuration pairs 12GB of RAM with 256GB of storage PhoneArena. A 5G-enabled variant of the Plus is priced at $1,349.99. That cellular option matters for field work, shared data pools, and deployments where Wi-Fi cannot be assumed.

The Ultra is iterative by comparison. Samsung has made few changes relative to the Galaxy Tab S11 Ultra. The display remains 14.6 inches, the chassis is 5.1mm thick, and the battery is 11,600mAh. The starting price is $1,399, also $200 more than its predecessor. Earlier listings detailed higher Ultra configurations at 12GB of RAM with 512GB of storage for $1,599.99 and 16GB of RAM with 1TB of storage for $1,999.99 PhoneArena.

On cameras, the split is simple. The Ultra carries two cameras on the back. The Plus carries one AndroidHeadlines.

Much of the platform is shared. Both models use OLED displays with 1,600 nits of peak brightness. Both carry IP68 ratings. Both will receive seven years of Android updates. An S Pen ships in the box with both tablets. Both feature upgraded four-channel spatial audio.

The software note with the most practical consequence is Adobe Photoshop for Tablets. It will debut on Android on Galaxy tablets and remain a Galaxy Store exclusive for six months. For photo and design workflows on Android, native Photoshop has been a missing piece. A timed exclusive gives Samsung a short window where its tablets are the only Android option.

The broader context here is the cadence. Samsung has refreshed the Plus after two years while leaving the Ultra largely intact, which suggests the company sees the 12.6-inch tier as the volume productivity device that needed new silicon and a thinner enclosure. In my view, that is a sensible division. Ultra buyers already get screen area and battery that are difficult to improve without trade-offs in weight or cost.

Looking at what this means for professional use, the details that will matter day to day are less glamorous than the spec sheet. Seven years of updates changes lifecycle planning. It allows a fleet to stay in service through multiple OS cycles without the usual security cutoff forcing replacement. IP68 changes where a tablet can be used without a case or workaround. An included stylus changes the cost math for note-taking, markup, and review.

Worth flagging: the $200 price increases on both models raise the bar for justification. The Plus now starts where many laptops start. For readers who live in documents, terminals, and video calls, the question is whether pen input, OLED brightness, cellular, and portability offset that cost against a notebook. For readers who sketch, annotate, or review visual work with clients, the arrival of Photoshop on Android may answer that question faster than any hardware comparison.

I have watched my own children move from shared family PCs to phones to tablets and back again depending on the task, and the pattern holds for enterprise users as well. Form factor follows workflow. What Samsung is offering here is not a replacement for everything else, but a clearer choice: a lighter 12.6-inch system with current silicon for mobile work, and a large 14.6-inch canvas left largely unchanged because it already serves its niche. That clarity, plus long support and a real creative application at launch, is what makes this release useful.