Samsung's Galaxy Tab S12 gets Photoshop, and the new SmartTag3 works with iPhones. The catch is on Android.

Samsung announced two tablets and a tracker on September 30. The Galaxy Tab S12+ and Tab S12 Ultra are its new top tablets, and the Galaxy SmartTag3 is a smaller version of its item tracker. The tablets are the bigger product. The tracker is the more interesting story. (Samsung)

Galaxy Tab S12: the basics

• Two sizes: the Tab S12+ with a 12.6 inch screen, and the Tab S12 Ultra with a 14.6 inch screen. Both are 120Hz AMOLED and go up to 1,600 nits.
• Price: $1,199.99 for the S12+ and $1,399.99 for the Ultra, available October 7, in Gray and Silver.
• Thin: the Ultra is 5.1 mm, Samsung's thinnest Galaxy Tab yet.
• Chip: both use MediaTek's Dimensity 9500, with a new vapor chamber to keep heavy work from throttling.
• In the box: an S Pen. Both are IP68 rated and run Android 17 with One UI 9, and Samsung promises seven OS upgrades. (Samsung)

The real pitch is the apps

For years, the knock on Android tablets has not been the hardware. It has been the apps. Samsung is going straight at that. Adobe Photoshop is launching on an Android tablet for the first time on the Tab S12, with four months of free premium access. The tablets also come with trials for Notability, and Samsung lists Goodnotes, LumaFusion, Notion, and Clip Studio Paint among the partners, plus a six month Google AI Pro trial for Gemini. (Samsung)

That is a list aimed squarely at people who draw, edit video, and take handwritten notes, which is the crowd that usually buys an iPad Pro. Whether it works will depend on how good those apps feel on Android, not on the spec sheet. I build an iPad drawing and planning app myself, Libreto, so pen feel and the small details are the part I will be watching.

At $1,399.99, the Ultra is also Samsung's priciest tablet yet. Free trials are nice, but most of them turn into subscriptions, so do the math on what you would keep paying for after the trial ends.

SmartTag3: smaller, longer battery, works with iPhone

• Smaller: 35 percent smaller and 33 percent lighter than the last one, in White and Black.
• Battery: a replaceable CR2032 coin cell rated for up to 550 days, or up to 790 days in Power Saving Mode.
• Finding: Bluetooth 6.0 Channel Sounding with up to 60 meters of range, plus UWB for close-up precision finding.
• Tough: IP67 rated.
• When: Korea on October 7, the U.S. after that, and more markets in 2027. Samsung has not announced a price. (Samsung)

The iPhone part, and the catch

For the first time, Samsung's tag works on iPhones through SmartThings Find. On an iPhone you can check where the tag is and use Search Nearby. Some features are not available on iOS: Compass View, Ring Phone, and Left Behind Alert. (Samsung) iPhones also do not help find other people's tags the way Galaxy phones do. (9to5Google)

The odd part is on Android. The SmartTag3 still is not part of Google's Find Hub network, which works across Android phones from any brand. So a Galaxy owner and an iPhone owner can share it, but someone with a Pixel is still left out. (9to5Google)

Bottom line: the Tab S12 is Samsung's most serious attempt yet at the people who buy an iPad for creative work, and the apps are the reason to pay attention. The SmartTag3 is a good fit for a house with Galaxy phones and iPhones. A house with a Pixel should look at a Find Hub tracker instead.

Verified October 1, 2026. U.S. pricing is from Samsung's U.S. newsroom. SmartTag3 pricing was not announced. The studio's app lineup is at jcmobileappstudio.com/apps.

Sources: Samsung U.S., Samsung Global, Samsung SmartTag3, 9to5Google