Samsung’s Galaxy Tab S12 Ultra and Tab S12+, announced September 30th, are rolling into Asian stores this week. In the Philippines, every launch order comes with a free keyboard cover and charger. That makes a Tab S12 Ultra setup ₱54,080 (about $860) cheaper than a 13-inch iPad Pro with a keyboard and pencil.
The Ultra has a 14.6-inch AMOLED screen and is 5.1mm thin, which Samsung said makes it the thinnest Galaxy Tab yet. It’s also exactly as thin as the 13-inch iPad Pro, according to Apple’s own spec sheet, so call that one a tie. The Tab S12+ gets a 12.6-inch screen. Both run on the Dimensity 9500, MediaTek’s top-end chip, and both have an S Pen in the box, 45W charging, IP68 water resistance and Android 17. Samsung promises up to seven OS upgrades and up to 23 hours of battery on the Ultra (a video-playback figure from Samsung’s own lab, so treat it like a car’s highway mileage).
Singapore went first: the tablets went on sale October 1st from S$1,698 (about $1,330). Malaysia and India start October 7th, the same day as the US, where the Ultra starts at $1,399.99 and the S12+ at $1,199.99.
The Philippines waits longer. Pre-orders run October 9th to 20th, only on Shopee. Online sales open October 21st, and stores get stock October 28th. Local prices (subject to change):
- Tab S12 Ultra: ₱87,590 (about $1,400) for 256GB Wi-Fi, ₱99,590 for 256GB 5G, ₱109,590 for 512GB 5G
- Tab S12+: ₱76,590 (about $1,220) for 256GB Wi-Fi, ₱85,590 for 256GB 5G
Every Philippine launch purchase includes a Book Cover Keyboard Slim, an S Pen and a 45W charger, a bundle Samsung values at up to ₱18,279 (about $290). That charger is normally sold separately, per Samsung’s global spec sheet. Malaysia also throws in a keyboard cover. Singapore charges S$12 (about $9) for one. In the US and India, you get 30% off a keyboard instead.
Now the Apple side. On Apple’s Philippine store, the 13-inch iPad Pro with M5 and 256GB is ₱109,990. Add the Magic Keyboard (₱22,990) and Apple Pencil Pro (₱8,690), and you’re at ₱141,670 (about $2,260). The smaller pair works the same way: an 11-inch iPad Pro with both accessories is ₱118,670, or ₱42,080 more than the Tab S12+.
The take
Here’s the part we didn’t expect. At ₱87,590, the Ultra’s peso price lands within a couple of dollars of its US price, and the US price doesn’t include sales tax or a keyboard. Philippine buyers rarely get that kind of math on a flagship anything.
The math flatters Samsung a little, though. The free keyboard is the slim book cover, not Samsung’s aluminum Pro Keyboard, which is its real answer to the Magic Keyboard. The bundled S Pen skips Bluetooth, so it’s a pen, not a remote. And the iPad Pro’s edge was never thickness or price. It’s the apps. Hence Photoshop coming preloaded, a first for Android tablets, Samsung said.
Samsung has been chasing the iPad since the first Galaxy Tab in 2010, and it has never won on apps. This year, in this market, it’s winning on price by a mile. If it has you convinced, the Galaxy Tab S12 series goes up for pre-order exclusively on Shopee from October 9th to October 20th, before also being made available online through Samsung.com, Lazada, TikTok Shop, MemoX.com, and Abenson.com on October 21st. In official Samsung Experience stores and authorized retail outlets, you can expect it to arrive on October 28th.
