Samsung Galaxy Tab S12 Ultra & S12+ Prices in Kenya Revealed

Samsung has launched its new generation of the Galaxy Tab S12+ and the S12 Ultra in the Kenyan market, the direct successor to the Galaxy Tab S11 series, and they don’t come cheap, starting at KES 176,000-KES 230,300.

With these price tiers, should you consider these tablets or an alternative lightweight laptop for the same price? Let’s find out.

Official Pricing and Configuration Breakdown in Kenya

Galaxy Tab S12+ (12 GB RAM / 256 GB): KES 176,000   

Galaxy Tab S12+ (12 GB RAM / 512 GB): KES 203,200   

Galaxy Tab S12 Ultra (12 GB RAM / 256 GB): KES 203,200   

Galaxy Tab S12 Ultra (12 GB RAM / 512 GB): KES 230,30

Looking at the prices, you will note that the Galaxy Tab S12+ with 12GB RAM and 512GB storage goes for the same price as the S12 Ultra with 12GB RAM and 256GB storage, essentially giving buyers a choice between double internal storage and a larger canvas.

Tab S12+ vs. S12 Ultra: Size, Display, and Everyday Portability

Choosing between these two tablets can be a hard choice for some people, but for a balanced choice for everyday hybrid work, coffee shop mobility, and one-handed use, I would definitely pick the S12+.

The Tab S12+ features a 12.6-inch dynamic AMOLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate for smooth scrolls and swipes, and the peak brightness is up to 1600 nits, great for sunny outdoor use.

The Tab S12 Ultra comes with a slightly bigger 14.6-inch Dynamic AMOLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate and up to 1600nits of peak brightness, and it supports HDR10+ streaming, and the resolution should be relatively crisp at 1848 by 2960.

For the Tab S12 Ultra: I would advise it strictly for stationary desk use, digital illustrations, and split-screen document workflows, and this particularly fits creators who work with many tabs open and do a lot of multitasking.

The only small caveat that I don’t like is that nipple notch on the Ultra at the top that Samsung still uses in 2026; it will not particularly affect your viewing experience, but it’s kinda old school at this point.

The Tab S12+ has a 10600mAh battery capacity while the Ultra packs a slightly bigger 11600mAh capacity, both of which support 45W fast charging.

Moving on to the cameras, both models have a 13MP main and a 12MP selfie shooter, but the Ultra adds an 8MP ultrawide. Both devices can record videos in up to 4K resolution, but since they are tablets, we don’t expect crisp shots like the S series smartphones.

On the durability side of things, they both have glass front aluminium frames and aluminium backs and an IP 68 dust and water resistant so durability is well catered for on both devices.

Under the hood, both tablets come with the MediaTek Dimensity 9500 processor, and Samsung claims a 61% NPU improvement compared to the Dimensity 9400, a 19% improvement on the CPU, and a 17% improvement on the GPU.

On the software front, both devices come with Android 17 on top of OneUI 9 out of the box, and Samsung is promising 7 years of software updates, which is great for those who intend to keep the tablets for a long time.

Both tablets also come with a generous selection of pro-grade app trials, which Samsung says are worth around $445 (about KES 57,805) in total. The bundle includes 12 months of Goodnotes, six months of Google AI Pro, six months of Notability, which comes pre-installed, and six months of Clip Studio Paint. You also get four months of Adobe Photoshop, which has been optimised for the S Pen, two months of Adobe Lightroom, and one month of LumaFusion.

For security, there is an under display  finger scanner; it’s only an optical fingerprint scanner, though.

The Productivity Angle: Can It Replace Your Work Laptop?

Both tablets come with an S Pen, which, for many creators, or if you are a student or researcher and want to take notes on the go, will get the job done with low latency. You can use it to take notes with Samsung's own Notes app or third-party apps; you can also draw, sketch, and just use the stylus to scroll through the tablet as well.

The S Pen that is included saves you the extra money of buying the S Pen separately, but keep in mind that the stylus isn’t a Bluetooth stylus, so you can't use it for air gestures like snapping a photo.

There’s also a keyboard for typing documents, the Pro Keyboard, which has a trackpad and makes either one feel closer to a laptop, while the book cover keyboard is slimmer, thinner, lighter, and is more of a protective cover, and they support backlighting, which is useful if you often work in the evening or late at night. Whether these tablets can replace your primary laptop depends largely on what you do and which ecosystem you already use.

If your work mainly involves typing documents, browsing the web, handling emails, or doing light creative work, these tablets can get the job done when you don’t necessarily need a laptop. But for more demanding workflows, a traditional laptop will still be the better option.

Also keep in mind, unlike the stylus pen, you will need to buy the keyboard separately.

The Local Context: The KES 200,000 Dilemma

For the asking price of KES 176,000-230,000, it sits directly against an M-series MacBook Air; you will also get a laptop with the Intel Core Ultra series or AMD Ryzen.

The big question is, who should actually buy this? It is best suited for creatives and executives who want a sleek digital signature and power users who are already deep inside the Samsung ecosystem.

Availability and Purchase Guidance in Kenya

The Tab S12 series is available across all Samsung experience stores, carrier outlets like Safaricom, and authorised local retailers.

Samsung is giving a 24-month warranty, so ensure official local dealer warranty registration for devices in this price bracket rather than grey market imports