Samsung Galaxy Tab S12 Ultra Hands-On: Familiar Hardware, Smarter AI

Samsung isn’t messing with a formula that already worked with the Galaxy Tab S11 Ultra. I’ve recently gone hands-on with the new Galaxy Tab S12 Ultra to get a feel for the improved performance, the new speaker system, and the new AI features.

Truthfully, you’d be forgiven for wondering what’s actually changed. Samsung’s latest flagship tablet retains the enormous 14.6-inch Dynamic AMOLED display, 120Hz refresh rate and remarkably thin 5.1mm chassis of its predecessor. Even the 692g weight is unchanged. Just by looking at the Galaxy Tab S12 Ultra, most users would be hard-pressed to point out any cosmetic changes.

That’s because Samsung is focusing on what’s happening underneath the hood and, increasingly, what Galaxy AI can do with all that screen real estate. The most substantial hardware upgrade is performance. Compared to the Galaxy Tab S11 Ultra, Samsung says the S12 Ultra delivers a 19 percent faster CPU, 17 percent faster GPU and a substantial 61 percent improvement in NPU performance. That last point is an emphasized sign of how heavily Samsung is leaning into AI.

During my hands-on time, the 14.6-inch display remains the star of the show. It’s massive for a tablet, particularly when using multiple apps, watching video or drawing with the included S Pen. Samsung has slimmed the bezel to 5.2mm, but the panel itself maintains the same 120Hz refresh rate and 1,600-nit peak brightness as the S11 Ultra. Samsung’s new Galaxy Tab S12 Ultra is large, powerful, and productivity-focused, but that overlooks what I find most intriguing. The latest tablet seems built with players in mind. The 14.6-inch display is big enough for multitasking, whether for work or entertainment. However, the sizeable Dynamic AMOLED display begs to be used for gaming.

Galaxy Tab S12 Ultra is large enough and seemingly powerful enough to run games where performance matters. During my hands-on time, I imagined myself being compelled to play Balatro or the newly launched Amiino on the tablet due to its support for controllers and touchscreen controls. For many games, the devil is in the details, and a gorgeous screen like the one the Galaxy Tab S12 Ultra sports makes me hopeful that it’ll become a go-to when I have some downtime and want to play a game. Powered by the MediaTek Dimensity 9500 chip, the Galaxy Tab S12 Ultra delivers sizeable performance boosts across the NPU, CPU, and GPU, which will undoubtedly improve gameplay. This makes the already lauded Galaxy Tab S series a mobile-gaming powerhouse.

Samsung confirms battery life isn’t improving on paper. The company rates the S12 Ultra for up to 23 hours of video playback, matching the Galaxy Tab S11 Ultra. A full charge takes approximately 95 minutes.

Samsung has at least improved the audio experience. The S12 Ultra still has four speakers, but it now uses four-channel audio positioned across all four corners rather than the S11 Ultra’s side-focused arrangement. Spatial sound also helps give movies and music a wider presentation. After loading up some YouTube videos and Netflix, I found the sound quality a noticeable step up from last year. Adopting four-channel audio goes a long way toward a more immersive soundscape.

The bigger changes come through software. Samsung DeX has been refined with improved window flow and clearer drop zones, making it more intuitive to drag apps around the enormous display. Drawing Assist and Creative Studio similarly use the S Pen to generate and edit artwork. Adobe Photoshop is also available through Galaxy Picks, with Samsung including a four-month subscription.

Galaxy AI is becoming more proactive, too. Now Nudge uses agentic capabilities similar to Samsung’s Galaxy S26 series, surfacing contextual actions without forcing you to jump between apps. On the Tab S12 Ultra, Now Nudge can launch directly into multi-window rather than covering whatever you’re already doing. Now Brief adds Custom Cards for services including YouTube, Spotify and Netflix, while Dynamic AI Agents can be summoned by holding the side button or using a wake phrase with your selected AI assistant.

The hardware itself remains reassuringly durable. The S12 Ultra uses Armour Aluminum and carries an IP68 water- and dust-resistance rating.

Ultimately, the Galaxy Tab S12 Ultra feels more like Samsung refining its best tablet than reinventing it. S11 Ultra owners aren’t getting many reasons to immediately replace a tablet that’s only a year old. The more interesting improvements are the ones you can’t see. Faster processing, substantially greater NPU performance, improved audio and a more proactive version of Galaxy AI make the S12 Ultra feel smarter in use—even if Samsung has largely left an already excellent piece of hardware alone.

Samsung’s Galaxy Tab S12 Ultra is available starting October 7 in Canada in gray or silver.