Samsung Galaxy Tab S12 Ultra Keeps Notch, Not Punch-Hole

Look at the front of the Tab S12 Ultra and you’ll feel something familiar: a vast slab of glass and a U-shaped notch staring back. Excitement about a centered punch-hole selfie camera? That dream just ran into reality.

A live image from Safety Korea’s certification files leaked this week and it’s the clearest look yet at Samsung’s next flagship tablet. Bezels are slimmer than the S12+ and the screen reads premium, but the front camera still sits in the same U-notch that debuted with Samsung’s first Ultra tablet.

Remember the One UI 9 beta animations earlier this year that teased centered punch-holes for tablets? Many of us assumed Samsung would follow through and give the Tab S12 Ultra a cleaner face. Instead, the certification snapshot suggests the company has elected to keep the existing design for another cycle.

Not a revolution in looks, but the specs still matter

So what did change beneath the glass? Expect a familiar formula tuned for power users. Rumors point to a 14.6-inch OLED panel with up to 120Hz refresh, driven by the MediaTek Dimensity 9500. Configurations should start at 12GB of RAM, scale to larger memory tiers, and include storage up to 1TB plus microSD expansion.

Battery capacity is tipped at around 11,600mAh with 45W wired charging, and the tablet is expected to ship on Android 17 with One UI 9, which brings the next wave of AI enhancements to Samsung’s tablet software.

Bottom line: Samsung is choosing refinement over a radical makeover.

That’s not necessarily bad news. The Tab S12 Ultra looks like an evolution: thinner bezels, higher performance, and software polish. If you own a Tab S8 Ultra or S11-series device, the visual change won’t be dramatic. For new buyers or users who prize power and a large OLED canvas, the S12 Ultra still promises to be one of the most capable Android tablets when it likely lands around IFA in September 2026.

Will that be enough to sway buyers who wanted a cleaner front-facing design? That’s the question Samsung will have to answer with the software and feature set that follow the hardware. For now, the notch stays.