Samsung Galaxy S26

Last updated
Samsung Galaxy S26 series
Typologo Galaxy S26.svg
20260227 samseong gaelreogsi S26 sirijeu.jpg
Galaxy S26 series
Brand Samsung
Manufacturer Samsung Electronics
Type Smartphone
Series Galaxy S
Family Samsung Galaxy
First releasedS26, S26+ and S26 Ultra: March 11, 2026;32 days ago (2026-03-11)
Availability by regionS26, S26+ and S26 Ultra: March 11, 2026;32 days ago (2026-03-11)
Predecessor Samsung Galaxy S25
Compatible networks 2G, 3G, 4G LTE, 5G
Form factor Slate
Colors
  • Cobalt Violet
  • Sky Blue
  • Black
  • White
  • Silver Shadow
  • Pink Gold
DimensionsS26: H: 149.6 mm (5.89 in), W: 71.7 mm (2.82 in), D: 7.2 mm (0.28 in)
S26+: H: 158.4 mm (6.24 in), W: 75.8 mm (2.98 in), D: 7.3 mm (0.29 in)
S26 Ultra: H: 163.6 mm (6.44 in), W: 78.1 mm (3.07 in), D: 7.9 mm (0.31 in)
WeightS26: 167 g (5.9 oz)
S26+: 190 g (6.7 oz)
S26 Ultra: 214 g (7.5 oz)
Operating system Original: Android 16, up to 7 major Android upgrades, One UI 8.5
System-on-chip S26 & S26+ (USA/China) & S26 Ultra: Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 (3 nm)
S26 & S26+ (Worldwide): Samsung Exynos 2600 (2 nm)
GPU S26 & S26+(USA/China) & S26 Ultra (Worldwide): Adreno 840
S26 & S26+ (Worldwide): Xclipse 960
StorageS26 & S26+: 256/512 GB
S26 Ultra: 256/512 GB/1TB
UFS 4.0
BatteryS26: 4300 mAh
S26+: 4900 mAh
S26 Ultra: 5000 mAh
ChargingS26:
25W Super Fast Charging
15W Fast Wireless Charging
S26+:
45W Super Fast Charging
20W Fast Wireless Charging
S26 Ultra:
60W Super Fast Charging
25W Fast Wireless Charging
All:
4.5W Reverse Wireless Charging
Connectivity Wi-Fi 7, NFC
Data inputs S Pen (S26 Ultra)
Website Galaxy S26 & S26+
Galaxy S26 Ultra

The Samsung Galaxy S26 is a series of high-end Android-based smartphones manufactured, developed, and marketed by Samsung Electronics as part of its flagship Galaxy S series. They collectively serve as the successor to the Galaxy S25 series. The S26, S26+, and S26 Ultra were announced on February 25, 2026 at Samsung's Galaxy Unpacked event, alongside the Galaxy Buds 4 series, and were released on March 11, 2026. [1] [2] [3] [4]

Contents

The Galaxy S26 Ultra introduces Privacy Display, the first phone in the world to have a feature that decreases screen visibility from certain angles for enhanced privacy. [5] [6]

Lineup

The Galaxy S26 series currently includes three models: the Galaxy S26, Galaxy S26+, and the Galaxy S26 Ultra.

The Galaxy S26 features a flat 6.3 in (160 mm) display (a slight increase from its predecessor). The Galaxy S26+ and Galaxy S26 Ultra offers similar internal hardware and screen sizes from its predecessor, at 6.7 in (170 mm) and 6.9 in (180 mm), respectively. [7]

Galaxy S26 series dimensions [7] [8]
ModelThicknessWeight
Galaxy S267.2 mm167 g
Galaxy S26+7.3 mm190 g
Galaxy S26 Ultra7.9 mm214 g

The Galaxy S26 series reintroduces chipset split: the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 for Galaxy powers the S26 and S26+ in North America, China, and Japan, while the Exynos 2600 for the rest of the global markets. The S26 Ultra, however, will use the same Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 for Galaxy chipset as standard worldwide. [9]

Design

The S26 and S26+ smartphones continue to have an aluminum body and a glass back, similar to the design of their predecessors. Both devices use Gorilla Glass Victus 3 for both the front display and rear glass panel. [10]

The S26 Ultra, on the other hand, reverts to an aluminum frame (which was last used on the Galaxy S23), but still features a glass back; [11] however, the phone now features more rounded corners. [12] It still has the Gorilla Glass Armor 2 for its front display and rear panel. [13]

ModelGalaxy S26 and S26+Galaxy S26 Ultra
Base colors
  • Black
  • Cobalt Violet
  • Sky Blue
  • White
Online exclusive colors
  • Silver Shadow
  • Pink Gold

Specifications

Display

The Galaxy S26 series features a Dynamic LTPO AMOLED 2X display across all models with HDR10+ support and a 120 Hz refresh rate, reaching up to 2600 nits. Each device also includes an ultrasonic in-screen fingerprint sensor. The S26 Ultra uses Corning’s latest Gorilla Armor 2 protection on the front, while the S26 and S26+ use Gorilla Glass Victus 3 on both the front and back. [14]

Privacy Display

The Galaxy S26 Ultra features Privacy Display, a display technology developed and supplied by Samsung Display. The technology was originally developed under the name Flex Magic Pixel. When the feature is enabled in device settings, the viewing angle of the screen becomes significantly narrower, making the display difficult to see from the side while appearing normal to the user. [15]

The feature serves a similar purpose as external privacy screen protectors used to prevent others from viewing a phone screen in public places. However, unlike privacy films that add an additional polarizing layer on top of the display and may reduce brightness or clarity, Privacy Display is implemented at the panel level during manufacturing by selectively applying polarization to specific display elements. [16]

It can also be enabled or disabled through software as needed. The feature can be applied only to specific areas of the display, such as notification pop-ups, or to certain applications where privacy protection is needed. [17] [18]

Galaxy S26 series display specifications
SpecificationGalaxy S26Galaxy S26+Galaxy S26 Ultra
Size6.3"6.7"6.9"
Resolution2340 × 1080 (FHD+)3120 × 1440 (QHD+)3120 × 1440 (QHD+)
PanelDynamic AMOLED 2X / LTPO
Refresh rate1–120 Hz
Brightness~2600 nits
GlassGorilla Glass Victus 2Gorilla Armor 2
Privacy display supportNoFlex Magic Pixel

Camera

The Galaxy S26 and S26+ use a triple rear camera system consisting of a 50 MP wide‑angle main camera, a 12 MP ultrawide camera, and a 10 MP telephoto camera with 3× optical zoom, alongside a 12 MP front‑facing camera. [19] The camera hardware specifications are unchanged from the Galaxy S25 and S25+. [20] [21]

The Galaxy S26 Ultra features a quad‑camera system comprising a 200 MP primary camera with an f/1.4 lens, a 50 MP ultrawide camera, a 10 MP 3× telephoto, and a 50 MP periscope telephoto with 5× optical zoom. Compared to the Galaxy S25 Ultra, the primary camera aperture widens from f/1.7 to f/1.4, and the 5× telephoto aperture widens from f/3.4 to f/2.9. [22] The Galaxy S Ultra series introduces the new All Lens On Prism (ALoP) mechanism powering its 5× telephoto camera, instead of the traditional periscope lens found in previous models. [23] [24]

On the software side, all models incorporate Samsung's ProVisual Engine for image processing and include a Horizon Lock option within the Super Steady video stabilization mode. Horizon Lock keeps the horizon level during video recording when the device is tilted or rotated, including rotations of up to 360 degrees. The mode supports recording at resolutions of up to 4K. [25] [26] [27]

Camera TypeGalaxy S26Galaxy S26+Galaxy S26 Ultra
Wide50 MP (f/1.8)200 MP (f/1.4)
Ultra-wide12 MP (120° FOV)50 MP (120° FOV)
Telephoto 10 MP (3×) (f/2.4)
Periscope telephoto -50 MP (5×) (f/2.9)
Front camera12 MP (f/2.2)
Additional featuresSensor-size & pixel-binning
Super Steady mode (with Horizon Lock)
Space Zoom (up to 100×)
Sensor-size & pixel-binning
Super Steady mode (with Horizon Lock)
All models support 8K video recording at up to 30 fps.

Batteries

The Galaxy S26 models have similar battery capacities to the S25 series, except for the smaller model (which now has a slight increase of 300 mAh). For the first time in the series, each of the three devices now offers a distinct wired charging speed: the S26 supports up to 25 W, the S26+ delivers 45 W, and the S26 Ultra reaches 60 W, with the latter marking the highest wired charging speed ever featured on a Galaxy smartphone. [28] [29] [30] All three support Qi2.2 inductive charging up to 25 W, and can charge other Qi-compatible devices wirelessly using battery power. Although the devices support Qi 2.2, they lack built-in magnets (required by the Qi standard), due to potential interference with the vertical camera array (on the three devices) and the S Pen on the Galaxy S26 Ultra. [31] [32] [33]

Galaxy S26Galaxy S26+Galaxy S26 Ultra
Battery capacity4,300 mAh4,900 mAh5,000 mAh
Wired charging speed25 W45 W60 W
Qi2 wireless charging speed15 W20 W25 W
Reverse wireless charging speed4.5 W
Ref. [29]

Memory and storage

Similar to its predecessor, all Galaxy S26 models were launched with 12 GB of RAM. The three models now starts at 256 GB of storage, dropping the 128 GB option previously available for the base model. [34] The 1 TB version of the S26 Ultra has 16 GB of RAM, and is available worldwide. [1]

ModelMemoryStorage optionsStorage type
Galaxy S2612 GB256 GB / 512 GBUFS 4.0 [35]
Galaxy S26+
Galaxy S26 Ultra12 GB / 16 GB (For 1 TB version)256 GB / 512 GB / 1 TB

Connectivity

All models in the Galaxy S26 series, support 5G connectivity, Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 5.4, NFC, and USB Type-C 3.2 for data transfer and charging. Ultra-Wideband (UWB) is supported only on the S26+ and S26 Ultra models. [36]

ModelWi-FiBluetoothUWBUSBNFC
Galaxy S26Wi-Fi 75.4NoUSB-C 3.2
(5Gbps)
Yes
Galaxy S26+6.0Yes
Galaxy S26 Ultra
Ref. [36]

Software

One UI 8.5 on the S26 Ultra Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra 2026.jpg
One UI 8.5 on the S26 Ultra

The Galaxy S26 devices were released with Android 16 and One UI 8.5. Similar to its predecessor, Samsung has promised 7 years of OS and security updates to the S26 series of phones (support ending within 2033). [37]

Pre-installed OSOS Upgrades historyEnd of support
1st2nd3rd4th5th6th7th
S26
S26+
S26 Ultra
Android 16
(One UI 8.5)
Within 2033 [37]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Chokkattu, Julian. "Everything Samsung Announced at Galaxy Unpacked 2026". Wired. ISSN   1059-1028 . Retrieved 2026-02-25.
  2. "Samsung's Galaxy S26 Pro might get a little more screen real estate". The Verge. September 11, 2025. Archived from the original on September 11, 2025. Retrieved November 2, 2025.
  3. "Samsung's Galaxy S26 Edge might look like an iPhone 17 Pro". The Verge. September 5, 2025. Archived from the original on September 5, 2025. Retrieved November 2, 2025.
  4. "Samsung's Galaxy S26 series may ape the iPhone 17's biggest design change". The Verge. 4 September 2025. Archived from the original on September 4, 2025. Retrieved November 2, 2025.
  5. "Everything announced at Samsung Unpacked: The Galaxy S26 Ultra, Galaxy Buds 4 and more". Engadget. 2026-02-25. Retrieved 2026-02-26.
  6. Pritchard, Tom (February 26, 2026). "Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra has the world's first 'Privacy Display' — here's how it works". Tom's Guide.
  7. 1 2 Lee, Nicole (2026-02-25). "Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra vs. Galaxy S26 and S26 Plus: Flagship Specs Comparison". CNET. Retrieved 2026-02-26.
  8. "Compare Samsung Galaxy S26 vs. Samsung Galaxy S26+ vs. Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra". GSMArena. Retrieved 2026-02-26.
  9. Mishra, Abhijeet (2026-02-25). "Galaxy S26 chip split explained: Snapdragon vs Exynos by region". SamMobile. Retrieved 2026-02-26.
  10. "Samsung Galaxy S26 vs. Galaxy S25: What's changed and which one should you buy?". Engadget. 2026-02-25. Retrieved 2026-02-26.
  11. Shaik, Abid Iqbal (2026-02-26). "Here is why Galaxy S26 Ultra doesn't have a titanium frame". SamMobile. Retrieved 2026-02-26.
  12. Schoon, Ben (2026-02-25). "The Galaxy S26 Ultra is thinner and more rounded than ever, and I love it [Gallery]". 9to5Google. Retrieved 2026-02-26.
  13. Matei, Mihai (2026-02-02). "Galaxy S26 Ultra design: What's changing from the S25 Ultra?". SamMobile. Retrieved 2026-02-26.
  14. Siddiqui, Aamir (2026-01-22). "Forget tempered glass: The Galaxy S26 Ultra may debut a tougher new Gorilla Glass". Android Authority. Retrieved 2026-03-05.
  15. Martin, Roland Moore-Colyer (2026-02-25). "Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra has the world's first Privacy Display — here's how it works". Tom's Guide. Retrieved 2026-03-05.
  16. Siddiqui, Aamir; Brown, C. Scott (2026-02-26). "Is the Galaxy S26 Ultra's Privacy Display better than a privacy screen protector? We tested both". Android Authority. Retrieved 2026-03-06.
  17. Pandey, Rajesh (2026-02-25). "I tested the Galaxy S26 Ultra, and the Privacy Display has a major trade-off". Android Police. Retrieved 2026-03-05.
  18. Segan, Sascha (2026-02-26). "I Tested Samsung's Galaxy S26 Ultra Privacy Display — It Feels Like Spy Tech". PCMag. Retrieved 2026-03-06.
  19. published, DCW team (2026-02-28). "Samsung Galaxy S26 and S26 Plus hands-on: smarter cameras despite no hardware upgrades". Digital Camera World. Retrieved 2026-03-11.
  20. "Tested: The Galaxy S26+ is nice, but niche". Tech Advisor. Retrieved 2026-03-11.
  21. Anastasov, Aleksandar (2026-02-25). "Samsung Galaxy S26 camera: Everything you need to know". PhoneArena. Retrieved 2026-03-11.
  22. published, DCW team (2026-03-09). "Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra camera hands-on review: faster lenses, pro upgrades, same Samsung processing". Digital Camera World. Retrieved 2026-03-11.
  23. Peter (2026-03-05). "The Galaxy S26 Ultra doesn't use a periscope zoom lens - here's why that matters". GSMArena.com. Retrieved 2026-03-11.
  24. Shaik, Asif Iqbal (2026-03-07). "Galaxy S26 Ultra's zoom camera doesn't use a periscope lens". SamMobile. Retrieved 2026-03-11.
  25. "Samsung just made the 8K video on S26 worth it — for 4K capture". Android Authority. 2026-02-25. Retrieved 2026-03-11.
  26. Daily, Seoul Economic (2026-02-28). "Samsung Galaxy S26 Debuts Horizon Lock, Privacy Display Features". Seoul Economic Daily. Retrieved 2026-03-11.
  27. "Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra Super Steady Horizontal Lock really can handle a 360-degree turn and the results are shocking". TechRadar. 2026-02-26. Retrieved 2026-03-11.
  28. Mishra, Abhijeet (2026-02-25). "Galaxy S26 and S26+ charging speed upgrades: What's faster, what isn't?". SamMobile. Retrieved 2026-03-11.
  29. 1 2 Anastasov, Aleksandar (2026-02-25). "Samsung Galaxy S26 battery and charging: Everything you need to know". PhoneArena. Retrieved 2026-03-11.
  30. Farooqui, Adnan (2026-02-25). "Your new Galaxy S26 Ultra will charge faster than ever before". SamMobile. Retrieved 2026-03-11.
  31. Schoon, Ben (2026-02-28). "Samsung's excuse for skipping Qi2 magnets in Galaxy S26 ignores the big picture". 9to5Google. Archived from the original on 2026-03-04. Retrieved 2026-03-11.
  32. Zeman, Eric (2026-02-26). "Samsung's Galaxy S26 Is Missing This One Important Thing. Is It a Deal-Breaker?". PCMag. Retrieved 2026-03-11.
  33. Brecher, Hannes (2026-02-26). "Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra issues warning on MagSafe cases". Notebookcheck. Retrieved 2026-03-11.
  34. Shaik, Asif Iqbal (2026-02-25). "Galaxy S26 uses RAM from both Samsung and its rival". SamMobile. Retrieved 2026-03-11.
  35. Shaik, Asif Iqbal (2026-03-06). "What UFS version does the Galaxy S26 series use for storage?". SamMobile. Retrieved 2026-03-11.
  36. 1 2 "Samsung Unveils Galaxy S26 Series: The Most Intuitive Galaxy AI Phone Yet". Samsung Newsroom (Global). 2026-02-26. Retrieved 2026-03-11.
  37. 1 2 Mishra, Abhijeet (2026-02-25). "Galaxy S26, S26+, and S26 Ultra software update policy explained". SamMobile. Retrieved 2026-03-12.