Samsung tablet buyers avoid a strange catch in Apple’s new iPad mini

TL;DR

Apple’s new iPad mini gives lower-storage models a weaker A20 Pro variant, with 128GB and 256GB versions missing one CPU core versus the 512GB model.

The iPad mini is the first in its line where storage choice changes chip performance, so buyers need to check more than price and capacity.

Samsung’s Galaxy Tab S12+ and S12 Ultra keep the same processor across storage tiers, and both support microSD expansion up to 2TB.

Choosing between the different storage versions of the Galaxy Tab S12+ and Galaxy Tab S12 Ultra, Samsung's flagship tablets for 2026, is fairly straightforward. Work out how much space you need, check the price, and pick the one that suits you.

Whichever version you choose, you get the same MediaTek Dimensity 9500 processor. Samsung doesn’t give the cheaper models fewer CPU cores just because you don’t need as much storage.

Apple’s new iPad mini makes that decision a little more complicated.

Less storage comes with a weaker Apple A20 Pro chip

The new iPad mini uses Apple’s A20 Pro chip, but there’s a difference between the storage options that buyers could easily miss.

The 128GB and 256GB models have a five-core CPU and a 16-core Neural Engine. Choose the 512GB version, and you get a six-core CPU and dual 16-core Neural Engine instead.

Apple has done something similar with the iPad Pro before. The M4 and M5 models give buyers an extra CPU core when they choose the higher storage options.

But this is a first for the iPad mini. Previous generations offered the same processor configuration regardless of storage, so returning mini buyers now have another detail to check before choosing a model.

The extra CPU core is an efficiency core. All versions still have two high-performance CPU cores and a seven-core GPU.

Still, someone who wants the most capable version of the chip has to buy 512GB of storage, whether they need that space or not.

Samsung keeps the processor choice simple

Both the Galaxy Tab S12+ and Tab S12 Ultra use the Dimensity 9500 across their storage options. The Ultra offers more RAM with 1TB of storage — 16GB instead of 12GB — but its processor stays the same.

That distinction is worth keeping in mind. Samsung isn’t offering identical RAM in every configuration, but buying the 256GB version still gets you the same CPU and GPU as the more expensive versions.

Samsung's tablets also offer the benefit of expandable storage. Both Galaxy Tab S12 models also support microSD cards up to 2TB, giving you another way to store photos, videos, and files before you have to turn to cloud storage.

Read our Galaxy Tab S12 Ultra review.

Browse the latest Galaxy Tab S12 offers

Samsung Shop

Abhijeet Mishra - Editor-in-Chief

[email protected]

First Samsung device: SGH-D500

Abhijeet's writing career started with guides for custom firmware for Samsung devices (including the original Galaxy S), and he moved to SamMobile in mid-2013 and worked up the ranks to Editor-in-chief. In addition to phones and mobile devices, his interests include gaming on both PC and console, PC hardware, and spending countless hours on YouTube watching videos on tech, movies, games, politics, and internet dramas.

Tablet Apple Galaxy Tab S12 Plus Galaxy Tab S12 Ultra iPad Mini