Today Samsung debuted a pair of new Tablets: the Samsung Galaxy Tab S12+ and the Samsung Galaxy Tab S12 Ultra. I’ve been taking the Ultra for a spin ahead of its October 7 launch and have been loving the massive display.
But the price hike, and minimal upgrades leave me questioning if it really needed it launch.
There’s a lot that’ll be familiar here for owners of the Samsung Galaxy Tab S11 Ultra when it comes to the S12 series. The AMOLED screen is still 14.6-inches with a 120Hz refresh rate and 1,600 nits peak brightness, the battery is still 11,600mAh with 45W charging (and boasts the same promised 23 hours of video playback as the S11 Ultra), and the S12 Ultra tablet is still IP68 rated meaning it could spend 30 minutes underwater at a depth of 1m and survive the experience.
The tablet is as thin (5.1mm) as it was before, with the same Silver and Gray color options to choose between as before. The only notable change is the chipset — the new 3nm processor boasts an up to 19% faster CPU, 17% better GPU performance, and a 51% improvement to its NPU processing for your AI needs — though there is also a new heat chamber for better heat dissipation, plus a new four-channel speaker setup for more immersive audio than last generation’s dual-speaker build.
I’ve been trying the Ultra model out and enjoying it so far — relying on it as a solid laptop alternative with the book keyboard cover attachment (sold separately), and also as a great mobile gaming and TV-watching device while I travel (a full review will be coming soon) — but considering how similar it is to the last generation, I am left wondering if Samsung should take a leaf out of Apple’s book and abandon its annual refresh approach to Galaxy Tab launches.
The Tab S12+ is an interesting beast. There was no S11+, so it’s a replacement for the S10+ from 2024, but there’s also no regular S12 launching alongside these models, so it's kind of the successor to the S11 too.
Samsung’s Galaxy Tab S12+ boasts a 12.6-inch AMOLED screen with the same 1,600 nits peak brightness as the Ultra. It also has the same chipset as the Ultra model, but there's a smaller 10,600mAh battery (unsurprising, since it's physically smaller).
Besides the lower battery capcaity and screen size it also lacks the Ultra’s 8MP ultra-wide rear camera — but otherwise has the same 13MP main on its back, and 12MP ultra-wide on its front.
Because the S12+ is billed as a step-up model, despite there not being a base S12 to step up from, it does mean Samsung’s cheapest 2026 model is a lot more pricey than its cheapest 2025 tablet (more on that in a second).
For someone on a budget thinking of upgrading, it’s a real shame the best option from Samsung might be a tablet that’s a year old, but unless we get a regular Tab S12 (I’m not holding my breath) that’s the position we find ourselves in.
Coming for the iPad Pro?
As we’ve come to expect in 2026 — though it still stings to see every single time — the tablets will cost more than what has come before. The Galaxy Tab S12 Ultra will set you back $1,399 / £1,399 (about AU$2,650) — up from $1,299 / £1,269 / AU$2,099 – meanwhile the S12+ costs $1,199 / £1,199 (about AU$2,270) for its cheapest model. (Australian pricing TBC for the new devices).
For both tablets the cheapest configuration comes with 256GB of storage and 12GB of RAM, with both also having a 512GB model, and the Ultra boasting a 1TB model that also ups the RAM to 16GB, though these configurations will cost more.
At these prices, Samsung is pitching its S12 lineup against Apple’s iPad Pro lines, but thankfully the prices are a little cheaper. Compared with the 2025 iPad Pro launch prices, Samsung’s tablets would be pricier — however Apple hiked its prices by up to $200 / £200 / AU$400, putting its 11-inch iPad Pro on-par with the S12+, and making its the 13-inch iPad Pro $100 / £100 pricier.
There are factors to consider beyond price, of course. The Samsung tablets have larger screens than their respective rivals and a longer quoted battery life, and come with the S Pen stylus in the box, while the Apple Pencil is sold separately.
But Apple’s tech is lighter — 444g and 579g compared with 553g and 692g — and while we need to do some more testing, Apple silicon tends to outperform its rivals.
All that aside, there’s plenty to still love about the S12-series Galaxy Tabs. I’ve been using the Ultra for a couple of weeks now and it’s genuinely a very useful machine. I’m currently writing this story using the tablet and its keyboard attachment (multitasking across documents, web pages, and my photos app with ease).
But again I’m left wondering if it really needed to exist considering the lackluster hardware upgrades and price increase. Right now I’m not sure, but let’s see how I feel when my review is ready
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