Galaxy Tab S12 Ultra vs Tab S11 Ultra: Is the Upgrade Worth It?

Is a faster chip and preloaded Photoshop enough reason to pay $200 more for a tablet that looks almost exactly like last year’s? That’s the big question Samsung has handed us with the new Galaxy Tab S12 Ultra.

I’ve been a fan of Samsung’s Ultra tablets for a while now, mostly because nobody else in the Android world gives you a 14.6-inch AMOLED screen and an S Pen in the box. Samsung announced the Galaxy Tab S12 Ultra on September 30, 2026, starting at $1,399.99, and it goes on sale from October 7 in select markets. The Galaxy Tab S11 Ultra, on the other hand, launched in September 2025 at $1,199.99. In today’s post, we’ll be looking at the Tab S12 Ultra side by side with the Tab S11 Ultra to see whether the new one is worth the upgrade, or whether last year’s model is the smarter buy. Here’s what we’ll cover: design, display, performance, battery life, cameras, software and S Pen, and price in Nigeria.

Design

First off, if you put these two tablets on a table, you’d struggle to tell them apart. Both are 5.1mm thin, both weigh 692g for the Wi-Fi model, and both come in Gray and Silver. Both also carry an IP68 rating, which means they’re built to survive dust and a dip in water, so a spilled drink during a long Lagos traffic session is not the end of the world.

To be honest, that’s not a bad thing. The Tab S11 Ultra already had one of the thinnest designs you could get on a big tablet, and Samsung has simply kept it. Either way, if you were hoping for a fresh look, the Tab S12 Ultra is not it.

Display

The screen story is the same. You get a 14.6-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X panel on both, with a 2960 x 1848 resolution, a 120Hz refresh rate (how many times per second the screen refreshes, which makes scrolling look smoother), and up to 1,600 nits of peak brightness. That’s plenty bright for using the tablet near a window or outdoors.

Of course, AMOLED means deep blacks and punchy colors, which is superb for Netflix, YouTube and drawing. Since the panel hasn’t changed, there’s no display reason to upgrade here.

Performance

This is where the real difference is. The Tab S12 Ultra runs on MediaTek’s Dimensity 9500, a 3nm chip (3 nanometers, a newer and more efficient way of building chips). The Tab S11 Ultra uses the Dimensity 9400+.

Samsung says the new chip gives the Tab S12 Ultra up to 19% faster CPU performance, 17% better GPU (graphics) performance, and up to 61% faster NPU processing compared to the Tab S11 Ultra. The NPU (Neural Processing Unit) is the part of the chip that handles AI tasks like summarizing notes, so that 61% jump is mostly about Galaxy AI features running faster.

Samsung also added what it calls a newly designed 3D vapor chamber, a cooling system that spreads heat away from the chip, so the tablet can hold its speed during long video edits or design sessions.

Now, I’d like to be honest here. The Dimensity 9400+ in the Tab S11 Ultra is still a flagship chip, and for Netflix, browsing, notes and even heavy games, most people won’t feel a big difference day to day. The upgrade matters more if you’re a creator pushing video exports or big Photoshop files.

RAM and storage are unchanged: 12GB with 256GB or 512GB, or 16GB with 1TB, and both take a microSD card of up to 2TB.

Battery Life

Both tablets pack an 11,600mAh battery with 45W charging, and Samsung quotes up to 23 hours of video playback on each. On the Tab S12 Ultra, Samsung says a full 0 to 100% charge takes about 95 minutes with a 45W charger.

In a nutshell, battery life is a tie on paper. That’s great for anyone dealing with NEPA wahala, because a battery this big should carry you through a day of power cuts. Just note that the 45W adapter was sold separately on the Tab S11 Ultra in the US, so check what’s in the box before you buy.

Cameras

Nothing new here either. Both have a 13MP main camera plus an 8MP ultra-wide on the back, and a 12MP ultra-wide selfie camera on the front. For Zoom calls, Google Meet and scanning documents, that’s more than enough. Regardless, nobody should buy a 14.6-inch tablet for photography.

Software and S Pen

The Tab S12 Ultra ships with Android 17 and One UI 9, while the Tab S11 Ultra launched with Android 16 and One UI 8. Samsung promises seven OS upgrades and security updates on the new one, and the Tab S11 Ultra was also sold with seven years of updates, so both will be supported for a long time.

The biggest software news is that Adobe Photoshop comes pre-loaded on the Tab S12 series, which Samsung calls a first for Android tablets, with four months of free premium access. You also get Notability free for six months, plus trials of Goodnotes, LumaFusion, Notion and Clip Studio Paint. That’s a nice bundle if you design flyers, edit thumbnails or take class notes.

That aside, the S Pen is included with both, and neither S Pen supports Bluetooth, so there are no Air Actions (the old wave-to-control gestures) on either model.

Pros and cons

Pros

• Up to 19% faster CPU, 17% faster GPU and 61% faster NPU than the Tab S11 Ultra, per Samsung
• New 3D vapor chamber for steadier performance during long tasks
• Photoshop pre-loaded, plus a bundle of creative app trials
• Same superb 14.6-inch AMOLED screen and huge 11,600mAh battery
• Seven OS upgrades and IP68 protection

Cons

• Design, display, cameras and battery are basically unchanged from the Tab S11 Ultra
• $200 more expensive at launch than the Tab S11 Ultra
• No Bluetooth on the S Pen, so no Air Actions
• 45W charging is fine, but a full charge still takes about 95 minutes

Price in Nigeria

The Galaxy Tab S12 Ultra starts at $1,399.99 in the US, which is around ₦1,939,000 at today’s rate of ₦1,385 to the dollar. Once import duties and dealer margins come in, expect the Nigerian shelf price to be higher than that. Samsung hasn’t announced a Nigerian price yet, and it goes on sale in select markets from October 7.

The Tab S11 Ultra, on the other hand, is already in Nigerian stores. SES Nigeria lists the 12GB + 256GB 5G model at ₦1,953,300 and the 512GB model at ₦2,219,900, while a seller on Jumia lists the 256GB 5G model at ₦1,900,000. So in naira terms, the older model is currently selling at roughly what the new one converts to before import costs.

Finally, which one should you get? Here’s my verdict.

If you already own a Tab S11 Ultra, I’d skip this one. You’d be paying for the same screen, the same battery and the same body, just with a faster chip and a Photoshop bundle. On the other hand, if you’re still on a Tab S9 Ultra or older and you edit videos or do serious design work, the Tab S12 Ultra is a solid long-term buy, especially with seven years of updates.

For everyone else, the Tab S11 Ultra is the smarter pick right now, especially as its price drops once the new model lands in Computer Village and on Jumia. You get nearly the same tablet for less, and to be honest, that’s hard to argue with.