Samsung’s $1,399 Tab S12 Ultra Reuses Last Year’s Body

Samsung priced the Galaxy Tab S12 Ultra at $1,399.99, $200 above the last Ultra, on a 5.1 mm body that already shipped as the Tab S11 Ultra. The Galaxy Tab S12+ starts at $1,199.99. Both go on sale October 7 in Gray and Silver, with an S Pen in the box and One UI 9 on Android 17.

The Ultra is the brochure flagship. The Plus is the tablet that actually changed size this round, and on Samsung’s US store it is also the one with a cellular radio.

Last Year’s 5.1 mm Measurements, New Price

Samsung unveiled the Galaxy Tab S12 series on September 30, 2026 and still calls the Ultra its thinnest Galaxy Tab. The spec sheet says 208.5 x 326.3 x 5.1 mm and 692 g for Wi-Fi, or 695 g with 5G. That is the same 5.1 mm claim Samsung made when the Tab S11 Ultra started at $1,199.99 in the US on September 4, 2025.

The 14.6-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X panel is still 2960 x 1848 at 120 Hz, with peak brightness of 1,600 nits. The battery is still 11,600 mAh. Samsung’s US tablet chart even repeats the same “up to 23 hours” video-playback line on both Ultras. Fingerprint unlock already sat on the display last year; it is not a new sensor placement.

THE CHIP AND CHASSIS RUN

1. Tab S10 series: MediaTek Dimensity 9300+ arrives in Samsung’s flagship tablets, including the 12.4-inch Tab S10+ still listed on the US site.
2. September 4, 2025: Tab S11 Ultra ships at 5.1 mm and 11,600 mAh with a Dimensity 9400+, and Samsung calls it the thinnest Galaxy Tab yet.
3. September 30, 2026: Tab S12 Ultra keeps that 5.1 mm shell, swaps in a Dimensity 9500, and lists $200 higher at $1,399.99.

Memory costs are the cleanest explanation for that list-price step, because the aluminum slab did not get thinner, lighter, or a larger cell. What moved is the chip, the software stack, the vapor chamber, and the speaker tuning.

Samsung Put the Mid-Size Plus Back on Sale

Last year’s flagship pair was an 11-inch Tab S11 and the 14.6-inch Ultra. There was no Plus. This year there is no 11-inch Tab S12. The mid-size slot returns as the Tab S12+, with a 12.6-inch 2800 x 1752 panel that Samsung says is larger, with slimmer bezels, than its predecessor.

That predecessor is the 12.4-inch Tab S10+, which is still on the US comparison grid. The new Plus is 187.8 x 289.5 x 5.3 mm and 553 g on Wi-Fi, or 555 g with 5G, so it is the model whose outline actually changed. It tops out at 12GB of RAM and 512GB of storage, plus a microSD slot up to 2TB. The rear camera is a single 13MP module, with no ultrawide.

If you want 16GB of RAM or 1TB inside the tablet, you are on the Ultra. If you want a slab you can hold in one hand on a train tray, the Plus is the product Samsung designed this year rather than repriced.

MediaTek’s Third Year Inside the Flagship Tab

Both tablets use the Dimensity 9500 platform powers both tablets on TSMC’s 3nm process. Samsung’s US chart already showed Dimensity silicon in the Tab S10+ and Tab S11 Ultra, so this is year three, not a surprise switch. Qualcomm is not on the board.

Samsung’s own delta versus the Tab S11 Ultra is the number that matters more than a bench screenshot from August.

SAMSUNG’S CLAIMED LIFT VS TAB S11 ULTRA

• NPU: Up to 61% faster processing, the largest jump on the slide, aimed at on-device Galaxy AI.
• CPU: Up to 19% faster, the everyday apps and DeX windowing figure.
• GPU: Up to 17% more graphics power for games and layered creative files.

MediaTek puts an NPU 990 and Mali-G1 Ultra GPU on that chip, with a 12-core GPU, hardware ray tracing, and Unreal Engine 5.5+ support. A new 3D vapor chamber is the other hardware change Samsung wants attached to long Photoshop or video sessions in a fanless 5.1 mm shell.

With the Dimensity 9500 powering the Galaxy Tab S12 series, we’re bringing together flagship performance and on-device Galaxy AI to unlock new possibilities across productivity, creativity and entertainment; all in a device that’s built to keep up with how people work and live today.

Drew Blackard, SVP of Product Management, Samsung, MediaTek launch statement

Jerry Yu, MediaTek’s head of Smart Life, said the 9500 is there for “flagship performance, on-device AI and power efficiency” in work, creation, and entertainment. That is the pitch for paying Ultra money for last year’s outline: sustained heat and the NPU, not a new silhouette.

A Six-Hundred-Dollar Software Stack With Expiry Dates

Samsung says Adobe Photoshop comes preloaded, a first for Android tablets, with a tablet layout, S Pen support, Firefly tools such as Generative Fill and Image to Video, and four months of the Photoshop mobile plan. Jay Kim, executive vice president and head of the Customer Experience Office in Samsung’s mobile business, said the series “is designed for people who are constantly exploring new ideas, developing new skills, and bringing their ambitions to life.”

The company values the bundled app benefits at about $600. Almost every item on that list is a trial or a discount, not a permanent license, so the sticker only holds if you would have paid for those apps anyway.

THE BUNDLE ON THE CLOCK

• Adobe Photoshop: Preloaded, with four months of the mobile plan included.
• Goodnotes: One year of access.
• LumaFusion: 66% off the video editor.
• Notion: One month of the Plus plan.
• Clip Studio Paint: Six-month trial and 20% off the first subscription.
• Google AI Pro: Six-month trial, which includes Gemini and Gemini Notebook.

MyScript Math, MyScript Notes, Noteshelf 3, and ArcSite round out the productivity folder. Multi Window can split the 14.6-inch or 12.6-inch panel into three apps, which Samsung illustrates as Samsung Notes, a lecture, and an AI assistant at once, with Note Assist summarizing the page. The Pro Keyboard adds a Galaxy AI key and an aluminum finish; the Book Cover Keyboard Slim is the lighter typing cover. Both keyboards cost extra. A Book Cover Frame Cover is listed for the Ultra only.

Speakers move to 4-channel spatial audio, which Samsung says is twice as many channels as the previous generation. Vision Booster now tweaks brightness in real time. That does not change the pixel count on the Ultra.

5G Stays Off the US Ultra Listing

The global spec sheet gives the Ultra 5G, Wi-Fi 7, and Bluetooth 6.0, and it prints a 695 g 5G weight next to the 692 g Wi-Fi model. The Plus is 5G plus Wi-Fi 6E. Cellular units get dual SIM (a physical SIM plus eSIM).

Samsung’s US comparison chart lists Wi-Fi 7 for the Ultra and 5G plus Wi-Fi 6E for the Plus. Ultra weight on that page is 1.52 lb, Wi-Fi only. The Plus is 1.21 lb on Wi-Fi and 1.22 lb on 5G. If you shop the US store and you need a SIM, the $1,199.99 tablet is the one the chart actually wires for a carrier.

India’s Samsung store already shows a Galaxy Tab S12 Ultra 5G next to a Wi-Fi Ultra, which matches the global weight line the US grid omits. Check the SKU, not the word Ultra, before you assume the expensive slab has a radio.

How the Tab S12 Ultra Differs From the Plus

The Ultra is the 14.6-inch, Wi-Fi 7, extra-RAM machine with a dual rear camera. The Plus is the 12.6-inch, lighter, 5G-ready machine with one rear camera and no 1TB option. Both charge at 45W, both are IP68, both include the S Pen, and both run the same Dimensity 9500 and One UI 9 build.

S12 ULTRA VS S12+ VS S11 ULTRA

HBM brightness is 1,000 nits on the new pair. Charging is 45W on all three rows, with Samsung timing a 0% to 100% fill at about 95 minutes with a 45W adapter on the S12 series. Rear cameras stay 13MP plus 8MP ultrawide on the Ultra and 13MP on the Plus; the front camera is a 12MP ultrawide on both new models.

Seven Years of Updates With No 11-Inch S12

Samsung promises up to seven OS upgrades and seven years of security updates, which is the same long support window it has been using on flagship Galaxy phones. The tablets ship on Android 17. Care+ can be checked from a phone already on One UI 9, including repair requests and remote support for a paired Tab.

There is still no 11-inch Tab S12. The Tab S11 remains the 11-inch Dynamic AMOLED option on Samsung’s US tablet list, on Android 16, if you want that size. Colors for the new pair are Gray and Silver only.

IP68 on the US footnotes means water resistance in up to 5 feet of water for up to 30 minutes. The S Pen in the box does not add Bluetooth features; Samsung’s sheet marks BLE as not supported, the same limitation the last Ultra carried. DeX, three-app Multi Window, and the AI key on the optional Pro Keyboard are the laptop-replacement path, and they still ask you to buy the keyboard.

Sales start October 7 in select markets, including the United States. The Ultra is the 14.6-inch name people will search. The Plus is the SKU whose screen, weight, and US radio actually moved.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long does the Galaxy Tab S12 take to charge from empty?

Samsung times a 0% to 100% charge at about 95 minutes with a 45W adapter on both the Ultra and the Plus. The 11,600 mAh figure on the Ultra is a typical rating; the company’s India product footnotes list a rated minimum of 11,374 mAh for that cell, and they note the 45W travel adapter as a separate item.

Is Photoshop on the Tab S12 exclusive to Samsung?

Adobe Photoshop for Tablet is set to launch in the Galaxy Store on October 7, 2026 and stay exclusive there for at least six months, after which Adobe may put the app in other stores. The four-month mobile plan that ships with the Tab S12 series includes 100 monthly generative credits and is separate from that store window.

Did Samsung release an 11-inch Galaxy Tab S12?

No. The 2026 flagship pair is the 12.6-inch Tab S12+ and the 14.6-inch Tab S12 Ultra. The 11-inch Tab S11 stays on sale on Samsung’s US tablet page as the smaller AMOLED model, still on a Dimensity 9400+ and Android 16.

Which Tab S12 storage option includes 16GB of RAM?

Only the Ultra’s 1TB configuration is listed with 16GB of RAM. The 256GB and 512GB Ultras, and both Plus sizes, are 12GB. microSD expansion up to 2TB is on every S12 SKU, which is the cheaper way to add space if you do not need the extra RAM.

Does the included S Pen support Bluetooth on the Tab S12?

No. Samsung’s specification table lists the in-box S Pen as “BLE not supported” on both models, so air gestures that need a Bluetooth pen are out. Pressure and tilt for notes and Photoshop still work, and the pen is IP68-rated with the tablets.