In a market where the line between tool and toy has long defined how seriously a device is taken, Samsung has arrived in India with two tablets designed to argue that the creative professional's studio can now fit in a bag. The Galaxy Tab S12 Ultra and Tab S12+ — priced from Rs 1,29,999 — carry with them not just thinner frames and faster chips, but a philosophical claim: that Android tablets have finally earned a place alongside dedicated creative workstations. The inclusion of Adobe Photoshop as a pre-loaded application, a first for any Android device, marks a quiet but significant moment in
Samsung launches Galaxy Tab S12 series in India with 3nm chip, starting at Rs 1,29,999
Adobe Photoshop comes pre-loaded, a first for Android tablets
Mark
So Samsung is saying these are creative tools first. What makes them different from just any large tablet?
Mimi
The Photoshop integration is the headline—it's pre-loaded and free for four months. But it's really the whole stack: the processor is significantly faster at AI tasks, the screen splits into three windows, and there's Note Assist to summarize handwriting. It's built for people who actually work on tablets.
Luke
Right, but we should be clear: Samsung claims the processor is 61 percent faster at NPU tasks than the previous model. That's one company's benchmark. We don't have independent testing yet.
Mark
Fair point. What about the Galaxy Forever programme? That seems like a big shift.
Mimi
It's Samsung's first time offering it on tablets. You pay 75 percent of the price over 24 months, get Samsung Care+ included, and can trade it back for 40 percent of what you paid if you upgrade within a year. It's designed to make the Rs 1,49,999 entry price feel less steep.
Luke
Though it's worth noting that's 75 percent plus a Rs 12,499 fee. So the total cost over 24 months isn't just three-quarters of the sticker price—there's that additional charge built in.
Mark
When do people actually get these?
Mimi
October 7. Samsung Exclusive Stores, Samsung.com, and other online platforms. Gray and Silver.
Luke
And the software support commitment—seven OS upgrades—that's substantial if Samsung actually delivers it. That's a long tail of updates.
Mark
Does the price feel right for what you're getting?
Mimi
The Tab S12 Ultra at Rs 1,49,999 is expensive, but it's thinner and faster than the previous generation, and Photoshop pre-loaded is genuinely unusual for Android. The Tab S12+ at Rs 1,29,999 is more accessible if you don't need the absolute top specs.
Luke
The real test is whether creative professionals actually switch to these or whether they stick with iPad. Samsung's betting that Photoshop, the keyboard, and the stylus will be enough. We'll see.
Der Puls
- Samsung is staking its premium tablet reputation on the idea that Indian creative professionals are ready to pay laptop prices for a slate — a bold bet in a price-sensitive market.
- The Galaxy Tab S12 Ultra, at just 5.1mm thin and with a 14.6-inch AMOLED display peaking at 1,600 nits, raises the physical standard for what a portable screen can be.
- Pre-loading Adobe Photoshop on an Android tablet for the first time disrupts a long-standing assumption that serious creative software belongs only to desktops and MacBooks.
- Samsung's Galaxy Forever programme — asking buyers to pay only 75% upfront with a 40% buyback guarantee — attempts to reframe a Rs 1,49,999 purchase as a manageable, revolving commitment rather than a one-time leap.
- With seven OS upgrade generations promised and a suite of AI tools including a Gemini Pro trial, Samsung is signalling that this is a long-term platform investment, not a product cycle.
In a market where the line between tool and toy has long defined how seriously a device is taken, Samsung has arrived in India with two tablets designed to argue that the creative professional's studio can now fit in a bag. The Galaxy Tab S12 Ultra and Tab S12+ — priced from Rs 1,29,999 — carry with them not just thinner frames and faster chips, but a philosophical claim: that Android tablets have finally earned a place alongside dedicated creative workstations. The inclusion of Adobe Photoshop as a pre-loaded application, a first for any Android device, marks a quiet but significant moment in how the industry imagines the future of portable creative work.
Samsung has entered the Indian premium tablet market with two devices it wants to be taken seriously as creative instruments. The Galaxy Tab S12 Ultra, starting at Rs 1,49,999, and the Tab S12+, from Rs 1,29,999, both run on MediaTek's Dimensity 9500 chip built on a 3-nanometer process, include the S Pen, and carry an IP68 rating. Sales begin October 7 across Samsung stores, its website, and major online retailers.
The Ultra is Samsung's thinnest tablet yet at 5.1mm, built around a 14.6-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X display with a 120Hz refresh rate and an 11,600mAh battery rated for up to 23 hours. Samsung claims the new processor delivers meaningful gains over its predecessor — 19% faster on the CPU, 17% on the GPU, and up to 61% on neural tasks. The Tab S12+ offers a 12.6-inch display in a 5.3mm frame, with a 10,600mAh battery lasting up to 21 hours. Both charge fully in roughly 95 minutes via the included 45W adapter.
The software story may matter more than the hardware. Adobe Photoshop comes pre-installed — a first for any Android tablet — alongside four free months of subscription. The tablets ship with Android 17 and One UI 9, and Samsung has committed to seven generations of OS and security updates. Creative extras include a year of Goodnotes, six months of Clip Studio Paint, and a six-month Google AI Pro trial granting access to Gemini tools capable of turning notes and recordings into summaries and podcasts. The interface now supports three simultaneous split windows, and a new Note Assist feature automatically summarises handwritten content.
To soften the price, Samsung is extending its Galaxy Forever programme to tablets for the first time. Buyers pay 75% of the device cost plus a Rs 12,499 fee spread over 24 months, with Samsung Care+ included and a guaranteed 40% buyback if the device is returned within 11 to 13 months. Launch offers add up to Rs 5,000 in cashback, Rs 15,000 off when bundled with select Galaxy flagships, and no-cost EMI for up to 24 months — a structured attempt to make flagship pricing feel less final.
Samsung has brought two new tablets to the Indian market, positioning them as tools for serious creative work rather than casual consumption. The Galaxy Tab S12 Ultra starts at Rs 1,49,999, while the Tab S12+ begins at Rs 1,29,999. Both devices run on MediaTek's Dimensity 9500 processor, built on a 3-nanometer process, and arrive with the S Pen included in the box. They carry an IP68 rating for water and dust resistance. Sales open on October 7 through Samsung Exclusive Stores, Samsung.com, and other online retailers, available in Gray and Silver finishes.
The Tab S12 Ultra is Samsung's thinnest tablet to date, measuring just 5.1mm thick and weighing 692 grams. Its 14.6-inch display uses Dynamic AMOLED 2X technology with a 120Hz refresh rate and peaks at 1,600 nits of brightness. An 11,600mAh battery is rated to last up to 23 hours on a single charge. The device supports Wi-Fi 7, with a 5G variant available. For storage, buyers can choose between base configurations and 512GB models, priced at Rs 1,64,999 (Wi-Fi 5G), Rs 1,69,999 (512GB Wi-Fi), and Rs 1,84,999 (512GB 5G). Samsung claims the new processor delivers a 19 percent speed increase on the CPU, 17 percent on the GPU, and up to 61 percent faster performance on neural processing tasks compared to the previous Tab S11 Ultra. A redesigned 3D vapor chamber helps maintain performance during extended creative work.
The Tab S12+ steps up to a 12.6-inch display with reduced bezels, housed in a 5.3mm frame weighing 553 grams. It maintains the same 1,600-nit peak brightness and includes a 10,600mAh battery rated for up to 21 hours of use. This model supports Wi-Fi 6E, with 5G pricing at Rs 1,44,999, 512GB Wi-Fi at Rs 1,49,999, and 512GB 5G at Rs 1,64,999. Both tablets charge fully in approximately 95 minutes using the included 45W adapter.
Software differentiation is central to Samsung's pitch. Adobe Photoshop comes pre-installed on both tablets—a first for Android devices—along with four months of free Photoshop mobile subscription. The tablets run Android 17 with One UI 9, and Samsung has committed to seven generations of operating system upgrades and security updates. Additional creative software includes a year of Goodnotes, a six-month trial of Clip Studio Paint, and 66 percent off LumaFusion. Audio has been upgraded to four-channel spatial sound, double the previous generation. A new Vision Booster feature adjusts screen brightness in real time based on ambient lighting. The interface now supports splitting the screen into three windows simultaneously, allowing users to view a lecture, take notes in Samsung Notes, and interact with an AI assistant side by side.
Samsung has introduced several software features aimed at productivity. Note Assist summarizes handwritten notes automatically. A six-month Google AI Pro trial brings access to Gemini and Gemini Notebook, tools that can transform notes, recordings, and files into summaries, podcasts, and quizzes. Samsung Browser can now summarize content across multiple open tabs and retrieve pages viewed days earlier. The Pro Keyboard Cover, which includes a dedicated Galaxy AI key, costs Rs 27,999 for the Ultra and Rs 26,499 for the S12+.
Launch offers include up to Rs 5,000 in bank cashback or upgrade bonuses, Rs 15,000 off when purchased alongside select Galaxy flagships like the S26 Ultra or Z Fold8, and 30 percent off the Pro Keyboard Cover. No-cost EMI is available for up to 24 months. Samsung is extending its Galaxy Forever programme to tablets for the first time. Under this scheme, buyers pay 75 percent of the device price plus a Rs 12,499 fee spread across 24 monthly installments. Samsung Care+ is included, and the company guarantees a 40 percent buyback value if customers return or upgrade within 11 to 13 months, dropping to 25 percent between 14 and 24 months. This approach attempts to lower the barrier to entry for high-priced devices while retaining customer loyalty through a structured upgrade path.
Bemerkenswerte Zitate
Samsung claims the new processor delivers 19 percent faster CPU performance, 17 percent faster GPU, and up to 61 percent faster neural processing compared to the previous Tab S11 Ultra— Samsung
Adobe Photoshop pre-loaded with four months of free subscription is a first for Android tablets— Samsung
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