To say that the Galaxy Tab S12 Ultra looks familiar in these leaked renders would probably be a huge understatement. | Image by Smartphone Checker
Do you remember Samsung's first-ever Galaxy Tab Ultra model? That's actually not as old as you might think, and to recall its design, all you have to do is look at last year's Galaxy Tab S11 Ultra.
Now, I'm not saying that the 2022-released Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra and Samsung's latest oversized iPad Pro rival are 100 percent identical, but they're definitely extremely similar, and it doesn't look like this year's Galaxy Tab S12 Ultra will bring many any significant cosmetic alterations to the table.
Same old notch, same screen size, same dimensions
Unless Steve Hemmerstoffer (aka @OnLeaks) is very wrong about the factory CAD-based renders made public in collaboration with Smartphone Checker today (which is almost never the case), the Galaxy Tab S12 Ultra is set to retain not only its predecessor's 14.6 inches of screen real estate but that rather distasteful display cutout and the overall product measurements as well.
Even if it doesn't look very... fresh, the Tab S12 Ultra's waist remains a marvelous thing to admire. | Image by Smartphone Checker
Every single Galaxy Tab Ultra edition has come with a gargantuan 14.6-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X panel, and if you ask me, a totally unnecessary notch, although the screen cutout was larger and arguably uglier on the Tab S8 Ultra, Tab S9 Ultra, and Tab S10 Ultra to accommodate two front-facing cameras.
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The Tab S11 Ultra then switched to a single 12MP selfie snapper, and while it appears that the Tab S12 Ultra will leave that unchanged, I can't help but wonder why Samsung can't just make the top bezel a little thicker to get rid of the notch altogether.
Does it make sense for Samsung to release an ultra-high-end tablet every year?
As far as dimensions go, it's obviously hard to hate on a paper-thin 5.1mm tablet, and with the Tab S8 Ultra measuring 5.5mm in thickness back in the day, I must admit Samsung has done everything physically possible to improve this particular aspect of its most premium slate over the years.
So what will actually be different from the Tab S11 Ultra?
To be perfectly honest, I have no idea. The 11,600mAh battery capacity is unlikely to change, especially if there are no tweaks expected in terms of product length, width, or depth (and, presumably, weight).
The Galaxy Tab S11 Ultra is already an undeniably gorgeous iPad Pro alternative. | Image by PhoneArena
The dual rear-facing cameras look the same on the Galaxy Tab S12 Ultra as they do on the Tab S11 Ultra, which almost certainly means no upgrade is in the pipeline in that department either. The same goes for the 45W charging support of the massive aforementioned battery, as well as the storage and memory options rumored to start at 256GB and 12GB again and go up to 1TB and 16GB... again.
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Unfortunately, that leaves only one key area virtually guaranteed for an upgrade, and I'm not sure it's going to be one you can feel in real-world use or the one you've been dreaming about. Yes, the Tab S11 Ultra's MediaTek Dimensity 9400+ processor is likely to be replaced with a Dimensity 9500 inside the Tab S12 Ultra, which obviously means the overall performance will be improved, but probably not at the level of an Apple M5-powered iPad Pro (2025) or a OnePlus Pad 4 with a Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 SoC under its hood.
Is the Galaxy Tab S12 Ultra a pointless release?
I probably wouldn't go so far as to call Samsung's "next big thing" pointless (even though I kind of already suggested that), but... let's say I wouldn't mind if the company cancelled the product and prolonged the Tab S11 Ultra's life instead.
Of course, that would only work if last year's Android giant scored a permanent discount, perhaps returning to its original starting price of $1,199 in the US, which we all know isn't going to happen.
The Tab S12 Ultra will probably pack a newer and faster processor than its predecessor and no other upgrades. | Image by Smartphone Checker
Instead, the Galaxy Tab S12 Ultra is very likely to make its commercial debut at some point this fall with a virtually identical design to its predecessor and an almost unchanged spec sheet at said predecessor's recently increased $1,299 retail price. And then Samsung will wonder why it can't catch up to Apple and why it's losing ground to Huawei and Lenovo all of a sudden in global tablet sales.
Have you seen how interesting and ingenious Lenovo's tablet portfolio looks nowadays? Maybe Samsung could learn a thing or two.
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Adrian, a mobile technology enthusiast since the Nokia 3310 era, has been a dynamic presence in the tech journalism field, contributing to Android Authority, Digital Trends, and Pocketnow before joining PhoneArena in 2018. His expertise spans across various platforms, with a particular fondness for the diversity of the Android ecosystem. Despite the challenges of balancing full-time parenthood with his work, Adrian's passion for tech trends, running, and movies keeps him energized. His commitment to mid-range smartphones has led to an eclectic collection of devices, saved from personal bankruptcy by his preference for 'adequate' over 'overpriced'.
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