The Galaxy S26 is faster, more expensive, and even more chock-full of AI
There were once countless companies making flagship Android phones, but a combination of factors narrowed the field over time. Today, Samsung is the undisputed king of the Android device ecosystem with its Galaxy S line. So we can assume that today’s Unpacked revealed the most popular Android phones for next year: the Galaxy S26 Ultra, Galaxy S26+, and Galaxy S26.
Samsung hasn’t broken the barriers this time around, producing phones with some cosmetic tweaks and improved internals. Meanwhile, Samsung is investing even more in AI, saying the S26 series includes the first “Agentic AI phones.” Despite limited hardware upgrades, component prices in the AI era mean prices for the two cheapest models have increased by $100 this year. The Ultra remains at an already exorbitant price of $1,300.
Faster and more private
Looking at the Galaxy S26 family, you’d be hard-pressed to tell them apart from last year’s phones. The camera surround is different and the measurements of the smaller and larger phone are very slightly different. You probably won’t be able to tell just by looking, but the S26 Ultra has regressed from titanium to aluminum, a reversion that Apple has also achieved with its latest high-end phones. This phone also retains its S Pen stylus.
| Specs at a glance: Samsung Galaxy S26 series | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Galaxy S26 ($900) | Galaxy S26+ ($1,100) | Galaxy S26 Ultra ($1,300) | |
| SoC | Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 (3nm) | Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 (3nm) | Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 (3nm) |
| Memory | 12 GB | 12 GB | 12 GB, 16 GB |
| Storage | 256 GB, 512 GB | 256 GB, 512 GB | 256 GB, 512 GB, 1 TB |
| Display | 6.3-inch OLED, 10-bit color, 2340 × 1080, 1-120 Hz | 6.7-inch OLED, 10-bit color, 3120 × 1440, 1-120 Hz | 6.9-inch OLED, 10-bit color, 3120 × 1440, 1-120 Hz, S Pen support |
| Cameras | 50MP primary, f/1.8, 1.0 μm; 12MP Ultra Wide Angle, f/2.2, 1.4 μm, 10MP 3x Telephoto, f/2.4, 1.0 μm; Selfie 12MP, f/2.2, 1.12 μm | 50MP primary, f/1.8, 1.0 μm; 12MP Ultra Wide Angle, f/2.2, 1.4 μm, 10MP 3x Telephoto, f/2.4, 1.0 μm; Selfie 12MP, f/2.2, 1.12 μm | 200MP primary, f/1.4, 0.6 μm; 50MP ultra-wide, f/1.9, 0.7 μm; 10MP 3x telephoto lens, f/2.4, 1.12 μm; 50MP 5x telephoto lens, f/2.9, 0.7 μm; Selfie 12MP, f/2.2, 1.12 μm |
| Software | Android 16 | Android 16 | Android 16 |
| Battery | 4,300mAh | 4,900mAh | 5000mAh |
| Connectivity | Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 5.4, USB-C 3.2, Sub6 5G | Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 5.4, USB-C 3.2, Sub6 and mmWave 5G | Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 5.4, USB-C 3.2, Sub6 and mmWave 5G |
| Measures | 71.7 × 149.6 × 7.2mm, 167g | 75.8 × 158.4 × 7.3mm, 190g | 78.1 × 163.6 × 7.9mm, 214g |
These phones will once again feature the latest flagship Snapdragon processor (in North America, Japan and China) with customizations exclusive to Samsung. The Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 for Galaxy is a 3nm chip with third-generation Oryon CPU cores, an Adreno 840 GPU, and a powerful Hexagon NPU for on-device AI processing. Samsung promises double-digit performance gains across the board, something we hear every year.
Samsung’s flagship phones have extremely fast hardware, so they compare well. However, they also tend to heat up and choke quickly during prolonged use. This might not be as much of a problem with the S26 series. Samsung says it has implemented its largest ever vapor chamber to better control temperatures.
