Samsung’s Galaxy Tab S12 Reportedly Lands Oct. 7, and the Affordable Model Is Gone

Samsung’s next flagship tablets appear to have a date. A screenshot posted by tipster Evan Blass showed the Galaxy Tab S12 Ultra’s display with October 7 in the corner, and several outlets have since lined up behind that launch date. What they’ve also lined up behind is less welcome: if the leaks hold, these will be the priciest Galaxy Tab S models Samsung has ever sold in the U.S.

Two models, no entry point

Last year’s lineup was the Galaxy Tab S11 and Tab S11 Ultra. This year, Samsung reportedly drops the base model and ships a Galaxy Tab S12+ and Galaxy Tab S12 Ultra instead. That one change does most of the damage to the price of entry.

Here’s what the leaked spec sheets show, per Gagadget’s roundup:

• Tab S12+: 12.6-inch 2800 x 1752 Dynamic AMOLED 2X display at 120Hz, 10,600mAh battery, 555g.
• Tab S12 Ultra: 14.6-inch 2960 x 1848 display, 11,600mAh battery, 693g, and an extra 8MP ultrawide rear camera.
• Both: MediaTek Dimensity 9500, 12GB of RAM (16GB on the 1TB Ultra), UFS 4.0 storage, microSD up to 2TB, 45W charging, IP68 aluminum bodies and an S Pen in the box.

SamMobile adds that the S Pen itself is IP68-rated this time, the tablets run Android 17 with One UI 9, and Samsung is promising seven major OS updates.

The leaked U.S. prices

Leaker Roland Quandt posted U.S. pricing in August, as reported by SamMobile. Here’s how the Wi-Fi models compare with what Samsung charged for the Tab S11 series at launch last September.

Two caveats. These are leaks, not Samsung’s numbers, and the reports don’t fully agree. Android Headlines puts U.S. pricing “starting at $1,349.99,” which matches the Wi-Fi + cellular Tab S12+ in Quandt’s list rather than the Wi-Fi model. We’re using Quandt’s breakdown because it’s the most detailed. In Europe, the S12+ is expected at €1,299 and the Ultra at €1,539, roughly €180 to €200 more than the previous generation.

It’s also fair to note the cheapest row isn’t apples to apples: the S12+ starts at 256GB and has a bigger screen than the old base S11. But if you just want Samsung’s best tablet at the lowest price, that’s the number you’ll see at checkout.

Is the MediaTek chip a problem?

Probably not. The Dimensity 9500 is a 3nm chip with cores clocked up to 4.21GHz and a 12-core GPU, and SamMobile describes it as an upgrade over the Tab S11’s silicon. For drawing, note-taking, DeX-style multitasking and games, it should have headroom to spare. The harder question is whether Android tablet software has caught up enough to justify paying iPad Pro money, and that’s a question Samsung has been answering slowly for years.

Should you wait or buy a Tab S11 now?

If you were eyeing the regular-size Galaxy Tab S, the S12 generation effectively doesn’t have one for you. The Tab S11 at $799, and often less on sale, is likely the smarter buy through the holidays as retailers clear stock.

If you want the biggest screen and plan to keep it for years, the S12 Ultra’s IP68 S Pen, larger battery and seven-update promise are real upgrades. Just brace for the price, and hold out for launch-week preorder offers: Samsung sweetened Tab S11 preorders with free storage upgrades and accessory discounts, and a repeat would take some of the sting out. We’ll update with official pricing on October 7.

Sources: SamMobile, Android Headlines, Gagadget, SamMobile (Tab S11 pricing). Photo by Shawn Rain on Unsplash.