It looks like Samsung is going with MediaTek for its next flagship tablet. A teardown of Samsung's AI Core app has revealed references to the MediaTek Dimensity 9500 chipset. While the code doesn't reveal the product name, all signs point to the upcoming Galaxy Tab S12 series.
Dimensity 9500 Shows Up in Samsung's AI Core App
According to Android Authority's teardown, the chip mentioned inside AI Core app files is the MT6993, which is MediaTek's internal model number for the Dimensity 9500. It appears Samsung is planning to ship a Dimensity 9500 device at some point.
Now, in the past, Samsung has picked flagship MediaTek chips for its Galaxy Tab S10 (Dimensity 9300+) and Galaxy Tab S11 (Dimensity 9400+) series devices, moving away from Snapdragon chips. With that context, it's very likely that the Galaxy Tab S12 series is powered by the Dimensity 9500 silicon.
Not to mention, multiple reports have earlier said that the Galaxy Tab S12+ and Galaxy Tab S12 Ultra may run the Dimensity 9500 or a Dimensity 9500+ variant. These tablets will also be paired with 12 GB of RAM and may launch around Q3 2026. Samsung is expected to skip a standard model this time like it did with the Tab S11 lineup.
Apart from that, the AI Core app file lists a number of AI capabilities which are linked to the chipset. The flags point to AI-generated wallpapers, image expansion and on-device generative editing. There is also a "harmonization" feature which could be about adjusting lighting, colour and contrast and blending subjects naturally.
As for the Dimensity 9500 chipset, it's indeed a flagship-grade SoC. In our Dimensity 9500 benchmark testing, we found that it's a GPU powerhouse, but also requires a proper cooling solution to deliver sustained performance. In CPU performance, it's not as powerful as the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5, but comes at a striking distance. Arm's new C1-series CPU cores are definitely competitive.
All in all, Samsung is not done with MediaTek and we should get the full picture when the Galaxy Tab S12 series arrives later this year.
