Samsung Galaxy Tab S12 Plus and Ultra leak: specs, price
Samsung hasn't announced anything yet, but a fast-moving pile of leaks says the Galaxy Tab S12 Plus and Ultra are close. Marketing renders, a benchmark listing, and what looks like EU regulatory paperwork all point to an October 7 launch, a switch to a new chipset, and a modest refresh rather than a redesign. None of it is official, so the real question for anyone eyeing an upgrade is whether the changes described in the Samsung Galaxy Tab S12 Plus and Ultra leak are worth planning around before Samsung confirms anything.
Here's the source picture worth keeping in mind before diving in. The renders and detailed spec sheets trace mainly back to WinFuture and leaker Evan Blass, a Geekbench listing under the model number SM-X940 backs up the chipset claim, and purported EU Energy Labels were relayed by leaker Roland Quandt rather than pulled from an official database. That's according to Android Authority's reporting today and Tech Advisor from three weeks ago. Treat these as layered leaks feeding off each other, not independent confirmations of the same fact.
What's changing on the Galaxy Tab S12 Plus and Ultra, and what's staying the same
Both tablets reportedly keep the aluminum unibody build and IP68 rating from prior generations (SamMobile, earlier this week), along with flat sides and a magnetic strip under the camera module that charges the S Pen, Android Authority reported today. That reads as continuity, not a redesign. The bigger change is under the hood.
Both models are said to move from Qualcomm to MediaTek's 3nm Dimensity 9500, paired with LPDDR5X RAM and UFS 4.0 storage (SamMobile, earlier this week). That's a real platform shift for the line, though it's still a leak until Samsung confirms it at launch.
Software and colors look similarly incremental. Both tablets are expected to ship with Android 17 and One UI 9 out of the box, in just Gray and Silver finishes (SamMobile, earlier this week).
Both are also expected to keep a microSD slot supporting up to 2TB of expandable storage, useful for anyone eyeing a lower base-storage config to save money. RAM reportedly starts at 12GB across the board, with the Ultra's top-tier 1TB configuration bumping up to 16GB (SamMobile, earlier this week).
Owners of a Tab S11 or S10 shouldn't treat the chipset switch as a settled upgrade case. A processor swap on paper doesn't tell you how it handles sustained load, DeX multitasking, or the actual One UI 9 feature set until independent reviewers get retail units in hand.
Galaxy Tab S12 Plus and Ultra renders: sizing up the two models
The size and weight gap looks like the clearest reason to pick one model over the other. The Plus is reportedly a 12.6-inch, 555g tablet, down from 571g on the Tab S10 Plus, while the Ultra holds at its 14.6-inch notched panel and 693g weight, Android Authority reported last week.
Audio and cameras split by tier too. The Plus reportedly gets dual speakers and a single 13MP rear camera, while the Ultra adds quad speakers and an 8MP ultrawide alongside its main 13MP sensor, differences that matter more for media playback and video calls than for daily productivity (SamMobile, earlier this week).
Storage tiers aren't fully settled across the reporting. One leak lists the Plus topping out at 512GB with the Ultra reaching 1TB (SamMobile, earlier this week), while a separate report from Android Authority last week suggests both start at 256GB before an Ultra-only 1TB option. Buyers should confirm the exact configuration once Samsung publishes real specs rather than shopping off a leaked chart.
Battery capacity favors the Plus on paper: a reported 10,600mAh cell, up from 10,090mAh, against an unchanged 11,600mAh on the larger, heavier Ultra, Android Authority reported last week. Given how much more screen the Ultra has to power, that flat capacity is a smaller relative gain than it looks.
Put simply, buyers who want a lighter large-screen Android tablet should lean Plus, and buyers who want maximum screen space, audio, and top-tier storage should plan around the Ultra, which is reportedly priced roughly $200 higher at launch, around $1,399 versus $1,199 in the US (SamMobile, earlier this month).
Galaxy Tab S12 Ultra specs leak: what the benchmark and EU labels do and don't show
A Geekbench listing under the code name SM-X940 shows a Dimensity 9500 tablet scoring 2,760 single-core and 9,291 multi-core, about a 10% gain over Tech Advisor's own Tab S11 Ultra result from last year (Tech Advisor, three weeks ago). That's one listing, not a verified retail benchmark run, so treat it as a data point rather than a spec sheet.
The same outlet found a Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 tablet, the RedMagic Astra 2, scoring roughly 25% higher in its own testing. That doesn't crown one chip overall; it's a single Geekbench comparison that says nothing about GPU performance, thermals, or how either chip holds up under sustained workloads (Tech Advisor, three weeks ago).
Purported EU Energy Labels claim 80 hours and 34 minutes of endurance for the Plus and 88 hours and 54 minutes for the Ultra, with batteries rated for 1,200 charge cycles. That's more specific than typical marketing copy, but it was relayed by a leaker rather than pulled from an official EU database, so it hasn't been independently verified, Android Authority reported today.
The same labels reportedly assign every configuration a G energy-efficiency grade, C repairability rating, and E drop-resistance rating, Android Authority reported today. Samsung hasn't made any durability claims to weigh those figures against yet, and the widely reported seven-year software support window is itself still a leak, not a confirmed policy (SamMobile, earlier this month).
None of this proves real-world battery life, repair costs, or drop resistance. It's worth watching once independent testers get hands-on units, but not worth building a purchase decision around yet.
Samsung Galaxy Tab S12 Ultra price, release date, and where reports disagree
The October 7 date traces back to a report from leaker "fireuniverse" more than a month ago, with Evan Blass repeating the date since and WinFuture separately supplying the detailed spec sheet (SamMobile, earlier this month; Tech Advisor, three weeks ago). That's a small cluster of sources pointing the same direction, not independent confirmation from Samsung.
Reported US pricing clusters around $1,199 to $1,200 for the base Plus and $1,399 to $1,400 for the base Ultra (SamMobile, earlier this month), with European starting prices listed at €1,299 and €1,539 (SamMobile, earlier this week). The figures shift slightly depending on the report and the storage or connectivity tier being described.
S Pen bundling is the one spot where reports genuinely diverge. Android Authority's report last week noted its source mentioned an included stylus only for the Plus, while multiple SamMobile reports state both models ship with an IP68-rated S Pen (SamMobile, earlier this week). The reports don't agree on the bundle listing, so buyers should wait for Samsung's retail-spec page before assuming either way.
Preorder windows, carrier availability, regional launch staggering, and trade-in offers aren't confirmed in the reports cited here. Price-sensitive buyers don't yet have a documented way to plan around those details.
What to do before Samsung's rumored October event
The design continuity, the Dimensity 9500 switch, the Plus's lighter build, and the two-model-only lineup show up consistently across Android Authority, SamMobile, and Tech Advisor, even though none of it comes from Samsung directly. What's still open is the exact storage tiers, final S Pen bundling, and real-world repairability and battery performance beyond the leaked labels. It's also unclear whether the renders match the retail design at all: Android Authority reported today that they appear to have been reproduced through Gemini rather than pulled from official press materials.
Current Tab S11 or S10 owners should hold off on upgrading until independent reviews test sustained performance and battery life rather than a single benchmark entry. Buyers deciding between models should weigh the Plus's portability against the Ultra's screen, audio, and top storage tier. Anyone tempted by the leaked pricing should hold off on any purchase commitment until Samsung confirms specs and pricing at the rumored October 7 event.
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