Samsung has officially introduced the Galaxy Tab S12 series, bringing its latest flagship tablets together with Android 17, One UI 9, Galaxy AI, and a much deeper integration with Google’s AI tools.

The new lineup includes the Galaxy Tab S12 Ultra and Galaxy Tab S12+, with Samsung skipping a standard Galaxy Tab S12 model this time around. Both tablets are built around large Dynamic AMOLED 2X displays, MediaTek’s 3nm Dimensity 9500 processor, an included S Pen, and a software experience designed to make the tablets feel more like productivity machines than oversized phones.

The Galaxy Tab S12 Ultra is the headline model. At just 5.1mm thick, Samsung calls it the thinnest Galaxy Tab it has made. It packs a 14.6-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X display with a 120Hz refresh rate and up to 1,600 nits of peak brightness. The Galaxy Tab S12+, meanwhile, has a 12.6-inch 120Hz Dynamic AMOLED 2X display and is 5.3mm thick. Both models support Samsung’s Vision Booster technology, which automatically adjusts brightness based on surrounding lighting conditions.

Underneath, both tablets use MediaTek’s Dimensity 9500. Samsung says the new processor delivers up to 61% faster NPU performance, 19% faster CPU performance, and 17% faster GPU performance compared with the Galaxy Tab S11 Ultra. There is also a redesigned 3D vapor chamber intended to keep temperatures under control during longer, more demanding workloads.

That extra performance is paired with large batteries. Samsung rates the Galaxy Tab S12 Ultra for up to 23 hours of battery life and the Tab S12+ for up to 21 hours, although those figures come from Samsung’s specific testing conditions. Both support 45W wired charging, with Samsung claiming a full charge in roughly 95 minutes using a compatible 45W adapter.

But hardware is only half of the story here. The Galaxy Tab S12 series ships with Android 17 and One UI 9, bringing Samsung’s latest software experience to its largest screens.

One UI 9 makes better use of the tablets’ enormous displays with Multi Window support for up to three sections. Samsung’s own example is particularly tablet-like: you can have a lecture playing in one area, Samsung Notes open in another, and an AI assistant beside them. The bundled S Pen can then be used to write notes while Note Assist summarizes them.

The bigger change, however, is how many AI assistants Samsung is putting within reach.

The Galaxy Tab S12 series comes with a six-month trial of Google AI Pro, giving owners access to Google’s more advanced AI capabilities. Gemini can be used to answer questions or dig deeper into information, while Gemini Notebook can combine notes, images, recordings, and files into a single workspace. It can then generate summaries, podcasts, and quizzes from that material.

Samsung is even making the AI assistant situation unusually flexible. The optional Pro Keyboard has a dedicated Galaxy AI Key, and Samsung says users can switch between Bixby, Gemini, and Perplexity using the keyboard shortcut. In other words, Samsung isn’t pretending there is only one AI assistant worth using.

Samsung Browser also gets a more AI-heavy role. The company says it can understand webpage content, context across multiple open tabs, and browsing history, allowing it to summarize information across pages or surface a relevant source that you looked at days earlier. For anyone who regularly ends up with 47 browser tabs open during research, that could be a surprisingly useful feature.

The S12 series is also getting a serious push toward creative work. Adobe Photoshop comes pre-installed, marking what Samsung describes as the first launch of Photoshop for tablets on Android. The tablet-optimized app supports the S Pen and includes AI features such as Adobe’s Generative Fill and Image to Video tools. Buyers also get four months of the Photoshop mobile premium plan.

Samsung is throwing plenty of other software perks into the package, too. Notability comes preloaded with a six-month trial, Goodnotes includes one year of free access, LumaFusion gets a 66% discount, Notion offers a month of its Plus plan, and Clip Studio Paint comes with a six-month trial in supported markets. Samsung says the total package of benefits is worth approximately $600, although availability and value can vary by market.

The Galaxy Tab S12 Ultra comes with up to 16GB of RAM and 1TB of storage, while the Tab S12+ tops out at 12GB of RAM and 512GB of storage. Both support microSD cards up to 2TB, and both include an S Pen in the box. The Ultra also gets 5G, Wi-Fi 7, and a larger 11,600mAh battery, while the S12+ has a 10,600mAh battery and Wi-Fi 6E.

There is also IP68 water and dust resistance for both tablets and their included S Pens, adding some welcome durability to what are otherwise very thin devices.

As for pricing, the Galaxy Tab S12+ starts at $1,199.99, while the Galaxy Tab S12 Ultra starts at $1,399.99 in the U.S. Samsung says both models will go on sale starting October 7 in select markets. They will be available in Gray and Silver, with exact configurations and availability varying by market.

Samsung is also promising up to seven generations of OS upgrades and security updates, giving the tablets a particularly long software runway.

With the Galaxy Tab S12 series, Samsung isn’t simply chasing faster tablet hardware. The company is trying to build a tablet around an increasingly crowded AI ecosystem, with Galaxy AI, Gemini, Gemini Notebook, Bixby, and even Perplexity all playing a role.

And honestly, that may be the more interesting part of this generation. The screen is still huge, the S Pen is still there, and the tablet is somehow even thinner. But Samsung’s real pitch is that the Galaxy Tab S12 can now help you research something, understand it, write about it, edit the resulting images, and organize everything without constantly bouncing between apps. That’s a much more ambitious idea of what an Android tablet can be.