Samsung Galaxy Tab S12 Ultra and Tab S12+ hands-on: upgraded battery, configuration, new keyboard design

This year Samsung still keeps two versions: Tab S12+ and Tab S12 Ultra, the regular version will not be sold. Of course, attention will focus on the Ultra version with a new keyboard design, more beautiful and in my opinion more convenient.

The Ultra version will still be the strongest and most amazing version, but it will be heavy and big, the Plus version will be for those who like to experience it like a pure tablet.

This year there is a surprise for those who order Tab S12 Series, which is a software gift set worth about 10 million VND, including 4 months of Adobe Photoshop Premium, 2 months of Lightroom Mobile, not to mention other applications such as Goodnotes, LumaFusion, Notability.... In addition, you will also receive a 6-month Google AI Pro package.

This new keyboard and cover set is not the same as the previous version, Samsung designed the new folding hinge of the keyboard to be more beautiful and sophisticated.

I find that the hinge of the new keyboard set of the Tab S12 Ultra is stiffer and the overall keyboard set is thinner.

The screen size of the Ultra version is 14.6-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X panel, 2960 x 1848 pixels, 120Hz refresh rate. The Tab S12+ version is 12.6-inch in size, also uses Dynamic AMOLED 2X technology, 2800 x 1752 pixels and 120Hz refresh rate.

Because of the wide screen ratio of the Tab S12 Ultra and Tab S12+, it will be extremely suitable if you use it as a laptop, for entertainment and content consumption, and working is also reasonable, but it will be a bit difficult to hold. For the Ultra version, I previously used the Tab S11 Ultra and it was not easy to hold at all.

The configuration on the Galaxy Tab S12 Ultra and Tab S12+ are both equipped with MediaTek Dimensity 9500. It's a pity that Samsung launched the Tab S12 Series before MediaTek introduced their new generation of SoC, Dimensity 9600 Pro. In fact, the difference and improvement between Dimensity 9500 and 9600 Pro is not too much, but the newer SoC will have an advantage.

Both devices will be equipped with 12GB of RAM for the base version, 256GB of UFS 4.1 storage. Regarding the battery, the Galaxy Tab S12+ will have a 10600mAh battery and the Tab S12 Ultra will have a 11600mAh battery. According to my experience with last year's Tab S11 Ultra, the device's battery lasts very well, so I expect the Tab S12 Series will be similar.

Tab S12+ and Tab S12 Ultra still support Samsung's S Pen for taking notes and writing, suitable for content creation. This year, both of these tablet models will be equipped with One UI 9.0. The interface will not be much different, but there are two features that I find useful in this new 9.0 version: Now Brief and Now Nudge.

With Now Brief, after more than 2 years since One UI 7.0, it has been usable, at least for me with general tracking features, Live Activities of matches via Google Sports, suggested content according to personal needs... Previously, Now Brief often had errors but now version 9.0 is good. That's basically it for now. When the device is officially sold, I will share with you more detailed experiences later.