Galaxy Tab S12 Is On Sale. Can a $1,400 Android Tablet Replace Your Laptop Yet?

Samsung's Galaxy Tab S12 Ultra and Tab S12+ went on sale in the US on Wednesday, October 7, the same day Microsoft spent its keynote on a $2,600 laptop. The tablets got less attention, and they deserve a closer look, because Samsung is pitching them at exactly the person who might otherwise buy a mid-range laptop.

We have not used either tablet. What follows comes from Samsung's launch announcement and spec sheet, its on-sale notice, and the early hands-on and review coverage linked below.

What you get

Both tablets run MediaTek's 3nm Dimensity 9500 with Android 17 and One UI 9, and both ship with an S Pen in the box. Both are IP68 rated, which Samsung defines as surviving up to 5 feet (1.5 m) of water for 30 minutes.

The Tab S12 Ultra has a 14.6-inch, 2960 x 1848 Dynamic AMOLED 2X panel at 120Hz with a quoted 1,600-nit peak. It is 5.1mm (0.2 inches) thick, which Samsung says makes it the thinnest Galaxy Tab yet, and weighs 1.53 lbs (692 g) in Wi-Fi form. Configurations are 12GB of RAM with 256GB or 512GB, or 16GB with 1TB, all with microSD expansion up to 2TB. It gets Wi-Fi 7, an in-display fingerprint reader, an 11,600mAh battery and two rear cameras. Price: from $1,399.99.

The Tab S12+ has a 12.6-inch, 2800 x 1752 panel with the same refresh rate and brightness claims. It is 5.3mm thick and 1.22 lbs (553 g), with 12GB of RAM, 256GB or 512GB, Wi-Fi 6E and a 10,600mAh battery. Price: from $1,199.99, and per Gizmodo's launch coverage it is the only one of the two offered with 5G in the US, at $1,349.99.

Samsung quotes up to 23 hours of video playback for the Ultra and 21 for the Plus, measured with local 720p video at 162 nits with wireless off. That is a best-case number. Both charge at 45W, 0 to 100% in about 95 minutes, and the footnote says the 45W charger is sold separately.

Samsung also promises seven generations of OS upgrades and seven years of security updates, which is a long runway and the right promise to make on a device at this price.

What changed from last year

Less than the price change suggests. Samsung's own comparison against the Tab S11 Ultra is 19% faster CPU, 17% faster GPU and 61% faster NPU, plus a redesigned vapor chamber and four-channel speakers.

Price did change. Gizmodo puts the Tab S11 Ultra's launch price at $1,199.99, so the S12 Ultra is $200 more. The S12+ looks like a $400 jump over the 11-inch Tab S11's $799.99, but that comparison is not quite fair, since Samsung's own footnotes name the Tab S10+ as the S12+'s predecessor. It is a bigger tablet in a different class, not a pricier version of the small one.

The first independent numbers back up Samsung's claims more than they undercut them. Expert Reviews measured Geekbench 6 gains over the S11 Ultra of 23% single-core and 21% multi-core, and 19 hours 44 minutes in its local video test, more than two and a half hours longer than the S11 Ultra managed. It also measured the screen beyond Samsung's own brightness claim, at around 1,700 nits with HDR content.

The laptop question

This is where it gets harder. Samsung's pitch for the S12 series is productivity: three-app split screen, DeX desktop mode with windowed apps and external monitor support, and a Galaxy AI key on the Pro Keyboard. Expert Reviews called the Ultra usable as a laptop in DeX mode and liked the keyboard, but its headline complaint was the same one Samsung tablets have carried for years. Most Android apps still are not built for a 14.6-inch screen.

There is also the keyboard bill. Samsung sells the Pro Keyboard and the cheaper Book Cover Keyboard Slim separately and is offering 30% off either with a tablet purchase for a limited time. We could not find a published US price for either keyboard at the time of writing. In the UK, Expert Reviews priced the Pro Keyboard at £399, and says the Ultra with stylus and keyboard together weighs 3 lbs (1.36 kg). That is laptop weight, and the keyboard's viewing angle is fixed.

So run the honest comparison. Add a keyboard, even at 30% off, to the S12 Ultra's $1,399.99 and look at the total. For that money you can buy a capable laptop with a full desktop operating system and a keyboard you never have to think about. What the tablet gives you in return is a much better screen, a pen in the box, a battery that lasts a long flight, and the option to take the keyboard off.

Who should buy one

If you take handwritten notes, sketch, mark up PDFs or edit photos with a stylus, and your heavy work already happens in a browser, the Tab S12 Ultra is a strong single device. Samsung bundles trial time on Goodnotes, Notability and the Photoshop mobile plan, which tells you who it thinks the buyer is.

If you mostly type, a laptop is still the better tool. The Android app gap is real, and it is the reason Google is betting on Googlebooks rather than on tablets to bring Android to work. Expert Reviews made the same connection: the Tab S12's prospects as a laptop may depend on what Googlebook does for Android's desktop apps over the next year.

If you own a Tab S11 Ultra, skip this one. The gains are measurable, and not $1,400 measurable.

And if you were considering the S11 Ultra anyway, check whether retailers are clearing remaining stock now that its replacement is out. You lose some speed and some battery, and you keep the difference. For a note-taking and media tablet, that is a trade most people will not regret.

Specifications, prices and dates come from Samsung's US newsroom posts of September 30 and October 7, 2026, with comparisons and test results from Gizmodo and Expert Reviews, as read on October 8, 2026. Prices, promotions and availability may change after publication, and nothing here is based on hands-on testing.