Samsung is quietly redrawing the boundaries of what a premium Android tablet costs, retiring its entry-level offering and pushing its entire Galaxy Tab S12 lineup into territory once reserved for professional computing. The move reflects not merely inflation or component costs, but a deliberate repositioning — a company testing how much loyalty and desire it can convert into dollars in a market where it faces fewer rivals to keep it honest. For consumers who have long regarded Samsung's tablets as aspirational but attainable, the calculus is shifting in ways that feel less like evolution and m
Samsung Galaxy Tab S12 Ultra faces $100 price hike in leaked US pricing
The cheapest Galaxy Tab S12 will cost over $1,000
Mark
So Samsung is just raising prices across the board on tablets? That seems aggressive.
Mimi
Not quite across the board—it's more strategic than that. They're discontinuing their cheapest model entirely and replacing it with a more expensive one. The entry point moves from $800 to $1,200.
Luke
Right, but that's a choice, not a market force. They could have kept a base model at $800. This is Samsung deciding to abandon the budget tablet space.
Mimi
Exactly. They're repositioning upmarket. The Ultra gets a $100 bump, but the real story is that there's no cheap option anymore.
Mark
Why would they do that? Don't they lose customers?
Mimi
Maybe. But premium tablets have better margins. If they're betting that tablet buyers who can afford $1,200 are less price-sensitive than the $800 crowd, it could work.
Luke
Though we should note—the source is a leaker, not Samsung. These prices aren't confirmed. And we don't know if Samsung will actually discontinue the base model or if that's just what the leaker expects.
Mark
Fair point. So we're looking at leaked pricing for an unannounced product.
Mimi
Right. But the leaker, Roland Quandt, has a strong track record. And it does fit Samsung's recent pattern—they've been raising prices on flagships.
Luke
It fits the pattern, but pattern-matching isn't proof. We should be clear about what we know versus what we're inferring.
El Pulso
- Samsung's cheapest Galaxy Tab S12 will now cost $1,199.99 — a staggering $400 more than last year's entry point — because the company is eliminating its base model entirely.
- The flagship Ultra tops out at $1,999.99 for the 1TB variant, continuing a pattern of aggressive price hikes Samsung has been testing across its premium lineup since April.
- With minimal design changes expected — same 14-inch AMOLED, same notch, same battery — consumers are being asked to pay more for refinements they cannot easily see.
- Samsung's reduced competition in the Android tablet space appears to be giving the company confidence to push pricing higher without the same market pressure it faces in smartphones.
- Prospective buyers face a clear signal from the leaks: there is no discount horizon visible, and waiting for a better deal may simply mean waiting for a higher price.
Samsung is quietly redrawing the boundaries of what a premium Android tablet costs, retiring its entry-level offering and pushing its entire Galaxy Tab S12 lineup into territory once reserved for professional computing. The move reflects not merely inflation or component costs, but a deliberate repositioning — a company testing how much loyalty and desire it can convert into dollars in a market where it faces fewer rivals to keep it honest. For consumers who have long regarded Samsung's tablets as aspirational but attainable, the calculus is shifting in ways that feel less like evolution and more like a statement of intent.
Samsung is preparing to make its tablet lineup significantly more expensive. According to leaker Roland Quandt, the Galaxy Tab S12 series will carry steeper prices than its predecessor — and the most consequential change isn't at the top of the lineup, but at the bottom.
Rather than continuing to offer a standard base model, Samsung is retiring the Galaxy Tab S11 and replacing it with a Plus variant as the new entry point. That means the most affordable Galaxy Tab S12 will cost $1,199.99 — compared to $799.99 for last year's base Tab S11. It's a $400 leap that signals how aggressively Samsung is repositioning its tablet ambitions. Adding 5G or more storage pushes that figure higher still, toward $1,399.99.
At the top of the range, the Ultra model climbs to $1,999.99 for the 1TB configuration — a $100 increase across all variants that mirrors price hikes Samsung has already applied to the Tab S11 series. The pattern is consistent with moves the company has made across its premium devices, including the Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra.
What makes the increases harder to swallow is what isn't changing. Leaks suggest the Tab S12 Ultra will retain the same 14-inch AMOLED display, the same notch, the same dimensions, and the same 11,600mAh battery as its predecessor. Samsung appears to be selling internal performance gains rather than any visible reinvention.
The tablets are expected to arrive this summer, roughly following the Tab S11's early September launch timeline. Samsung has confirmed the series is coming but has not announced a date. For anyone eyeing a high-end Android tablet, the message from these leaks is unambiguous: the window for more accessible pricing may already be closing.
Samsung is about to make its tablet lineup considerably more expensive. According to leaker Roland Quandt, the company's upcoming Galaxy Tab S12 series will carry a steeper price tag than its predecessor, with the Ultra model seeing a $100 bump across the board and the entry-level option climbing above the $1,000 threshold for the first time.
The shift stems from a strategic change in Samsung's tablet portfolio. Rather than offering a traditional base model, the company is retiring the standard Galaxy Tab S11 and replacing it with a Plus variant. This means the cheapest Galaxy Tab S12 tablet consumers can buy will be the Plus model with 256GB of storage and 12GB of RAM, priced at $1,199.99. Adding 5G connectivity pushes that to $1,349.99, while the 512GB version reaches $1,399.99. Last year's entry point, by contrast, was the base Galaxy Tab S11 at $799.99—a $400 difference that reflects how aggressively Samsung is repositioning its tablet strategy.
The Ultra model, Samsung's flagship tablet, carries even steeper pricing. The 256GB variant with 12GB of RAM will cost $1,399.99, the 512GB model $1,599.99, and the top-tier configuration with 16GB of RAM and 1TB of storage reaches $1,999.99. That $100 increase across all Ultra variants aligns with price hikes Samsung implemented on the Galaxy Tab S11 series itself—the company added $100 to some models in April, and the top-spec Tab S11 Ultra with 1TB storage saw a particularly aggressive $280 jump at that time.
These numbers fit a pattern Samsung has established with its recent flagship launches. The Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra, for instance, demonstrated the company's willingness to push pricing higher on its most premium devices. The tablet market, where Samsung faces less direct competition than in smartphones, may offer the company more room to test how far consumers will stretch their budgets.
Design-wise, the Tab S12 Ultra appears unlikely to justify the price increase through visual overhaul. Leaks suggest it will retain the dimensions, display notch, 14-inch AMOLED screen, and 11,600mAh battery from the Tab S11 Ultra. The Tab S12 Plus, which has appeared in certification databases, similarly shows minimal cosmetic evolution. What Samsung is selling, then, is presumably internal performance gains and refinements rather than a dramatic redesign.
With the Galaxy Tab S11 series having launched in early September last year, the Tab S12 tablets are expected to arrive this summer, likely following a similar timeline. Samsung has officially confirmed the series is coming, though the company has not announced a specific launch date. For anyone considering a high-end Android tablet, the pricing leak offers a clear signal: if you've been waiting for a deal, waiting longer may not help.
Citas Notables
The Galaxy Tab S12 Ultra is reportedly seeing a $100 price bump across all storage variants— Roland Quandt, leaker
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