Samsung’s next-gen Galaxy S26 series smartphones broke cover at the first Galaxy Unpacked event of the year on February 25, 2026. Despite early rumors about a rejigged lineup with new names for the existing models, Samsung settled on the familiar naming scheme.
Three models make up the lineup — Galaxy S26, Galaxy S26 Plus, Galaxy S26 Ultra — featuring One UI 8.5 based on Android 16. Besides the flagships, the Korean giant also took the wraps off two wireless earbuds: the Galaxy Buds 4 and the Buds 4 Pro. There’s plenty of ground to cover, so let’s dive right in.
Release Date And Price
Samsung’s first 2026 Galaxy Unpacked event took place on February 25, 2026, in San Francisco. The event was livestreamed on the company’s official YouTube channel, and the corresponding press releases appeared on Samsung Newsroom.
Following the announcement, the handsets have been available to purchase (globally) since March 11, 2026. Due to the ongoing memory crisis, the baseline Galaxy S26 and the Galaxy S26 Plus are now a $100 more expensive than their corresponding predecessors.
However, to soften the impact, the company has removed the 128GB variant from the lineup, making 256GB the new standard. The Galaxy S26 Ultra, meanwhile, retained its starting price of $1,299 for the baseline variant with 256GB of storage.
Below is the variant-wise pricing for all Galaxy S26 models.
| Storage | Galaxy S26 | Galaxy S26+ | Galaxy S26 Ultra |
| 256GB | $899.99 | $1,099.99 | $1,299.99 |
| 512GB | $1,099.99 | $1,299.99 | $1,499.99 |
| 1TB | — | — | $1,799.99 |
- Colors: Cobalt Violet, Sky Blue, Black, White, Silver Shadow, Pink Gold
Samsung Galaxy S26 Series: Latest News
Most recently, Samsung has announced AirDrop support with Quick Share for the Galaxy S26 series. The feature rolls out on March 23, 2026, beginning with Korea and expanding to North America, Latin America, Europe, Japan, and Southeast Asia in the coming days.
- The Galaxy S26 series supports a native USB webcam mode. It allows users to connect their phones to a computer or laptop and use the phone’s high-quality cameras as a webcam, improving users’ video call experience.
- Samsung has launched a new “Galaxy Forever” program for buyers in India. It allows them to purchase a new Galaxy S26 Plus or Galaxy S26 Ultra at half the sticker price (spread over 12 interest-free monthly installments), use it for a year, then either return it to Samsung or exchange it against a new phone (and get half the sticker price as a discount).
- A Samsung statement clarifies that the Galaxy S26 Ultra’s screen appears slightly dimmer than the Galaxy S25 Ultra, especially at maximum brightness and viewed at an angle. This, apparently, is a byproduct of the new Privacy Display feature.
- We’ve compiled a Galaxy S26 accessories buying list, in case you’ve got a new phone and you’re looking for the best cases, chargers, power banks, and storage drives on the market.
Samsung Galaxy S26 and Galaxy S26 Plus
As seen in the renders, the Galaxy S26 and the Galaxy S26 Plus feature a subtle change in the design, primarily on the back panel. Instead of individual floating lenses on the Galaxy S25, you get a unified camera island that houses all the sensors.
There are slight changes in the dimensions as well. Instead of 146.9 x 70.5 x 7.2 mm, the Galaxy S26 measures 149.6 x 71.7 x 7.2 mm, making it a tad taller and wider. The device’s weight has gone up from 162 grams to 167 grams.
The S26 Plus shares its dimensions and weight with the S25 Plus: 158.4 x 75.8 x 7.3 mm and 190 grams. So, no changes there.
Regarding materials, Samsung uses the same tried-and-tested Gorilla Glass Victus 2 on the front and back, along with aluminum frames on the sides. The phones, like the others in the series, carry an official IP68 dust- and water-resistance rating (1.5 meters for 30 minutes).
The additional length and width of the base Galaxy S26 make room for a slightly larger 6.3-inch FHD+ Dynamic AMOLED 2x LTPO flat screen that supports a 120Hz refresh rate (similar to the baseline iPhone 17) and possibly the same peak brightness as the Galaxy S26 (2,600 nits).
The Galaxy S26 Plus comes with a familiar 6.7-inch QHD+ Dynamic AMOLED 2x LTPO screen, with a similar refresh rate and peak brightness.
This year, Samsung has removed the 128GB storage variant for both the non-Ultra models. Instead, they now begin with 256GB of storage, which is great news for buyers. In addition, 12GB of RAM is standard across all variants. Performance is taken care of by Qualcomm’s latest (and slightly overclocked) Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 for Galaxy.
Unfortunately, both the S26 and the S26 Plus borrow their camera arrays from their predecessors. Both smartphones feature a 50MP (f/1.8) primary camera, a 10MP (f/2.4) telephoto camera for 3x optical zoom, and a 12MP (f/2.2) ultrawide camera. Selfie shooter hasn’t been improved either — 12MP (f/2.2).
Even so, the smartphones get new camera-related features to improve your experience, including AI Photo Assist with Text Prompts, Horizon Lock for recording videos with excessive motion, a 24MP High-Res Mode for capturing pictures, and support for the new Advanced Professional Video (APV) codec.
However, where the Galaxy S26 gets a significant upgrade is battery life. The handset sports a 4,300 mAh battery (vs. 4,000 on the Galaxy S25), which, combined with the new chipset’s increased efficiency, results in a noticeable improvement in battery life. The S26 Plus, on the other hand, sports the same 4,900 mAh battery.
Wired charging speeds remain the same: 25W on the S26 and 45W on the S26 Plus. While wireless charging remains at 15W for the baseline flagship but jumps to 20W for the Plus variant. Connectivity options on the handsets include 5G (sub-6GHz and mmWave), Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth v5.4, and a USB-C port.
The base S26 lacks an ultra-wideband chip (UWB), while the S26 Plus has one, making it easier to locate via Google’s Find Hub.
Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra
The S26 Ultra also gets a unified camera island for three sensors on the back, but the fourth camera, along with the time-of-flight sensor and the LED flash module, is situated to its right. Dimensions, on this year’s Ultra, are slightly different — 163.6 x 78.1 x 7.9 mm — making the phone slightly taller and slimmer.
The S26 Ultra features noticeably more rounded corners than the S25 Ultra. Beyond that, the punch-hole camera, flat frames, and a tall-body design remain unchanged. The S-Pen is situated almost at the corner, unlike the S25 Ultra. To me, Samsung’s latest flagship also appears to have slightly thicker bezels.
Despite the increase in the length and width, the phone ships with the same 6.9-inch screen. It’s still the QHD+ Dynamic AMOLED 2x LTPO flat screen (1-120Hz, 2,600 nits), but with directional pixels that enable the Privacy Display feature.
The S26 Ultra is also based on the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 for Galaxy chipset in all markets. Alongside, it gets up to 16GB of LPDDR5X RAM and 1TB of storage. Out of the box, the handset runs on One UI 8.5. Samsung’s user interface offers plenty of new features, including Now Nudge, smarter call screening, Bixby with Perplexity integration, and several lock-screen upgrades.
Although the S26 Ultra doesn’t get a new primary camera, Samsung pairs the existing 200MP sensor with a bigger aperture (f/1.4 instead of f/1.7), which results in better low-light pictures. You also get a wider f/2.9 aperture on the 50MP 5x optical zoom sensor. The 10MP (f/2.4) 3x optical zoom camera and the 50MP ultrawide camera remain the same, and so does the disappointing 12MP selfie shooter.
The battery on the Ultra remains unchanged at 5,000 mAh, but its wired charging speed has increased from 45W to 60W, which can charge the battery up to 75% in just 30 minutes, while the wireless charging speed has been bumped up to 25W. However, with all the Galaxy S26 variants, you have to get a magnetic case first in order to unlock magnetic wireless charging.
Galaxy Buds 4 And Buds 4 Pro
Along with the Galaxy S26 series, Samsung unveiled the Galaxy Buds 4 and Galaxy Buds 4 Pro.
The Buds 4, to begin with, are open-ear earbuds, competing directly with the AirPods 4 (with ANC). The earbuds feature 11mm dynamic drivers for a balanced audio output, include active noise cancellation (ANC), Adaptive EQ, offer up to five hours of playback with ANC, and a total of 30 hours with the charging case.
The earbuds are rated IP54 for dust and splash resistance, which is a step down from the IP57 rating on the Galaxy Buds 3. Finally, they are available in two colors: Black and White.
On the Galaxy Buds 4 Pro, you get an advanced two-way speaker system with 11mm woofers and 5.5mm tweeters, taking care of the lows and the mids/highs, respectively. These provide Adaptive Noise Control 2.0, which intelligently adjusts noise cancellation based on your environment.
The Buds 4 Pro provide up to six hours with ANC (up to 30 hours with the charging case), and have a better IP57 rating. These also include bone conduction mics and are available in three colors: Black, White, and Pink Gold.
Common features available on both the earbuds include head gestures, Interpreter Mode, Siren & Voice Detect, and Super Clear Call. You can also access the Gemini AI assistant on both of them.
