Galaxy Tab S9 Ultra vs Galaxy Tab S12 Ultra
72
out of 100
VS
93
out of 100
Here we compared two flagship tablets: the 14.6-inch Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 Ultra (with Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2) that was released on July 26, 2023, against the Samsung Galaxy Tab S12 Ultra, which is powered by MediaTek Dimensity 9500 and came out 3 years and 3 months after. On this page, you will find tests, full specs, strengths, and weaknesses of each of the devices.
Select the amount of RAM to evaluate performance and value for money more precisely
Key differences
Reasons to consider the Samsung Galaxy Tab S12 Ultra
- 2.1x better performance in AnTuTu Benchmark (3598K versus 1750K)
- Newer Bluetooth version (v6.0)
- More recent OS version: Android 17 versus 14
- Compatible with Wi-Fi 7 wireless networks
- 56% faster in single-core GeekBench 6 test: 3311 and 2127 points
Review
Display
Screen quality, color accuracy, brightness
Camera
Photo and video recording quality
Performance
CPU and memory performance (apps, system)
Gaming
Capabilities for playing modern games
Battery
Battery life, charging type and speed
Connectivity
Networks, ports, data transmission
Scores with a red asterisk (*) are approximate and may change in the future as we gather more data.
Select your primary usage scenario to get a more accurate NanoReview Score
Value for money (Beta)
Tests and specifications
Comparison table of technical specifications and testsDisplay
| Type | Dynamic AMOLED | Dynamic AMOLED |
| Size | 14.6 inches | 14.6 inches |
| Resolution | 1848 x 2960 pixels | 1848 x 2960 pixels |
| Aspect ratio | 16:10 | 16:10 |
| PPI | 239 ppi | 239 ppi |
| Refresh rate | 120 Hz | 120 Hz |
| Adaptive refresh rate | Yes (30-120 Hz) | Yes (30-120 Hz) |
| Max rated brightness | 930 nits | 1000 nits |
| Max rated brightness in HDR | - | 1600 nits |
| HDR support | Yes, HDR10+ | Yes, HDR10+ |
| Screen protection | Corning Gorilla Glass 5 | Tempered glass |
| Screen-to-body ratio | 90.8% | 90.8% |
| Display features | - DCI-P3 | - DCI-P3 |
| RGB color space | 98.2% | - |
| PWM | 240 Hz | - |
| Response time | 3 ms | - |
| Contrast | ∞ Infinity | - |
Peak brightness test (auto)
Design and build
| Height | 326.4 mm (12.85 inches) | 326.3 mm (12.85 inches) |
| Width | 208.6 mm (8.21 inches) | 208.5 mm (8.21 inches) |
| Thickness | 5.5 mm (0.22 inches) | 5.1 mm (0.2 inches) |
| Weight | 732 g (25.82 oz) | 692 g (24.41 oz) |
| Waterproof | IP68 | IP68 |
| Advanced cooling | Vapor chamber | Vapor chamber |
| Rear material | Metal | Metal |
| Frame material | Metal | Metal |
| Colors | Gray, Yellow | Silver, Gray |
| Fingerprint scanner | Yes, in-display | Yes, in-display |
| Area | 681 cm2 (105.5 inches2) | 680 cm2 (105.5 inches2) |
Screen-to-body ratio
Tablet Ranking (60th and 3rd place)
Android Tablet Ranking (44th and 2nd place)
Performance
| Chipset | Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 | MediaTek Dimensity 9500 |
| Max clock | 3360 MHz | 4210 MHz |
| CPU cores | 8 (1 + 2 + 2 + 3) | 8 (1 + 3 + 4) |
| Architecture | - 3 cores at 2 GHz: Cortex-A510 - 2 cores at 2.8 GHz: Cortex-A710 - 2 cores at 2.8 GHz: Cortex-A715 - 1 core at 3.2 GHz: Cortex-X3 |
- 4 cores at 2.7 GHz: C1-Pro - 3 cores at 3.5 GHz: C1-Premium - 1 core at 4.21 GHz: C1-Ultra |
| L3 cache | 8 MB | 16 MB |
| Manufacturing | TSMC | TSMC |
| Lithography process | 4 nanometers | 3 nanometers |
| Neural processor (NPU) | Hexagon | MediaTek NPU 990 |
| Graphics | Adreno 740 | Mali-G1 Ultra MP12 |
| GPU shading units | 1536 | 1536 |
| GPU clock | 680 MHz | 1716 MHz |
| FLOPS | ~2089 GFLOPS | ~5271.5 GFLOPS |
Benchmarks
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
Compute Score (GPU)
| Compute Score (GPU) | 9753 | 22504 |
| Single-core score | 2127 | 3311 |
| Multi-core score | 5667 | 10075 |
AnTuTu Benchmark 11
| CPU | 605896 | 1104256 |
| GPU | 452910 | 1365142 |
| Memory | 229430 | 360975 |
| UX | 462701 | 768558 |
| Total score | 1750937 | 3598931 |
| Samples | [134 tests] | Less than 3 |
3DMark Steel Nomad Light
| Stability | 98% | - |
| Graphics test | 9 FPS | - |
| Graphics score | 1153 | - |
3DMark Solar Bay
| Stability | 96% | - |
| Graphics test | 21 FPS | - |
| Section 1 | 24 FPS | - |
| Section 2 | 21 FPS | - |
| Section 3 | 18 FPS | - |
| Graphics score | 5622 | - |
3DMark Wild Life Extreme
| Stability | 79% | - |
| Graphics test | 22 FPS | - |
| Graphics score | 3829 | - |
Memory
Configuration
| RAM size | 12 GB | 12 GB |
| Memory type | LPDDR5X | LPDDR5X |
| Memory clock | 4200 MHz | 5333 MHz |
| Channels | 4 | 4 |
| Storage size | 256 GB | 256 GB |
| Storage type | UFS 4.0 | UFS 4.0 |
| Memory card | MicroSD | MicroSD |
| Memory card max size | Up to 1024 GB | Up to 2048 GB |
Software
| Operating system | Android 13 (Can be upgraded to Android 14) | Android 17 |
| ROM | One UI 6.1 | One UI 9 |
| OS size | 40 GB | - |
| OS updates | - | 7 years |
| Security updates | - | 7 years |
Battery
| Capacity | 11200 mAh | 11600 mAh |
| Max charge power | 45 W | 45 W |
| Battery type | Li-Ion | Li-Po |
| Replaceable | No | No |
| Wireless charging | No | No |
| Reverse charging | No | No |
| Bypass charging | - | No |
| Fast charging | Yes (32% in 30 min) | Yes (39% in 30 min) |
| Full charging time | 2:08 hr | 1:33 hr |
| Web browsing | 08:11 hr | - |
| Watching video | 12:20 hr | - |
| Gaming | 07:26 hr | - |
| Standby | 165 hr | - |
General battery life
Main camera
| Matrix | 13 megapixels | 13 megapixels |
| Image resolution | 4128 x 3096 | 4128 x 3096 |
| Zoom | Digital | Digital |
| Flash | LED | LED |
| Stabilization | Digital | Digital |
| 8K video recording | No | No |
| 4K video recording | Up to 30FPS | Up to 60FPS |
| 1080p video recording | Up to 60FPS | Up to 60FPS |
| Lenses | 1) Standard: 13 MP 2) Ultrawide: 8 MP |
1) Standard: 13 MP 2) Ultrawide: 8 MP |
| Camera features | - | - |
| Image resolution | 13 MP | 13 MP |
| Aperture | f/2.0 | f/2.0 |
| Focal length | 26 mm | 26 mm |
| Sensor size | - | 1/3.4" (≈ 0.29 inch) |
| Pixel size | - | 1 micron |
| Autofocus | Phase autofocus | Phase autofocus |
| Stabilization | Digital | Digital |
| Image resolution | 8 MP | 8 MP |
| Aperture | f/2.2 | f/2.2 |
| Stabilization | Digital | Digital |
Selfie camera
| Megapixels | 12 megapixels | 12 megapixels |
| Image resolution | 4000 x 3000 | 4000 x 3000 |
| Aperture | f/2.4 | f/2.4 |
| Focal length | 26 mm | - |
| Sensor | - | CMOS |
| Autofocus | No | No |
| Stabilization | Digital | Digital |
| Video resolution | 2160p (4K) at 30 FPS | 2160p (4K) at 30 FPS |
| Additional lens | 12 MP | - |
| Depth sensor (TOF 3D) | No | No |
Connectivity
| Wi-Fi standard | Wi-Fi 6E (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax) | Wi-Fi 7 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax/be) |
| Wi-Fi features | - Dual Band - Wi-Fi MiMO - Wi-Fi Direct - Wi-Fi Hotspot - Wi-Fi Display |
- Dual Band - Wi-Fi MiMO - Wi-Fi Direct - Wi-Fi Hotspot - Wi-Fi Display |
| Bluetooth version | 5.3 | 6.0 |
| Bluetooth features | LE | LE |
| USB type | USB Type-C | USB Type-C |
| USB version | 3.2 | 3.2 |
| USB features | - Charging - USB-Storage mode - OTG |
- Charging - USB-Storage mode - OTG |
| DisplayPort | Yes | Yes |
| GPS | GPS, GLONASS, Beidou, Galileo, QZSS | GPS, GLONASS, Beidou, Galileo, QZSS |
| NFC* | No | No |
| Infrared port | No | No |
| Number of SIM* | 1 | 1 |
| Type of SIM card | Nano | Nano |
| Multi SIM mode | - | Standby |
| eSIM support* | Yes | Yes |
| Hybrid slot | No | No |
| LTE Cat* | 20 | - |
| 5G support | Yes | Yes |
Sound
| Speakers | 4.0 | 4.0 |
| Headphone audio jack | No | No |
| FM radio | No | No |
| Dolby Atmos | Yes | Yes |
Speakers test
Max loudness
Other
| Category | Flagship | Flagship |
| Announced | July 2023 | September 2026 |
| Release date | August 2023 | October 2026 |
| Launch price (MSRP) | $1199 | $1399 |
| SAR (head) | 0.93 W/kg | - |
| Sensors | - Hall-effect sensor - Proximity sensor - Gyroscope - Accelerometer - Ambient light sensor - Compass - Fingerprint |
- Proximity sensor - Gyroscope - Accelerometer - Ambient light sensor - Compass - Fingerprint |
| Bundled charger | Not included | Not included |
*Disclaimer! NFC, GSM network support, and some other specs can be different depending on the country.
Conclusion
After analyzing all the data, we think that the Samsung Galaxy Tab S12 Ultra is definitely a better buy.
Cast your vote
Total votes: < 1