Images of Samsung’s upcoming Galaxy Tab S12 lineup have leaked (via YTechB), but the new visuals haven’t emerged in a vacuum. Pricing details for the new premium Android tablet have also emerged via Europe, and the price tag doesn’t look pretty.
Part of this is Samsung reportedly discarding its base model tablet, with Tab S12+ and S12 Ultra units making it to retail this year. The rest of it is… well, you know the answer to that. The upshot is that you’ll pay thousands more to add one to your arsenal compared to a year ago.
Cost of exploring the Galaxy Tab S12
That’s not just because the R22,000 basic Galaxy S11 isn’t being replaced. WinFuture laid hands on European pricing information for the S12 range, and prices have also jumped across the board. The Galaxy Tab S10+ (which was the last Plus model released) entered Europe at €1,120 (R21,000). Its successor is pegged to start at €1,300 (R24,400). That’s a R3,400 price difference in South African terms. But it gets a little nastier.
The Galaxy Tab S10+ remains on sale in South Africa in its 12GB/256GB configuration. Despite being almost two years old, it’s still sitting at R27,600. Whack the European markup on that, and the entry-level price for Samsung’s Galaxy Tab S12 series is R31,000. Hardly cheap. We can expect a similar markup on the Ultra model, putting it closer to R35,000 at launch.
There might be visual and pricing info, but other specs are thin on the ground. The S12+ is expected to sport a 12.4in display and a 10,600mAh battery. The S12 Ultra will go with a 14.6in panel and an 11,600mAh battery. Odds are good that the screens will be slightly brighter, but otherwise identical to the Tab S10+ and the Tab S11 Ultra, respectively. There is one expected upgrade — a Dimensity 9500 chipset replacing older hardware in the lineup. Unless you’re coming to Samsung’s premium tablet lineup for the first (and, frankly, worst) time, the upcoming tablets might prove entirely skippable.
