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Galaxy S26 Plus in Black. | Image by PhoneArena
Galaxy S26 and S26 Plus are now official
What's changed vs Galaxy S25 and S25 Plus:
Bigger display on the Galaxy S26: 6.3-inch instead of 6.2-inch
Camera island redesign
Bigger 4,300mAh battery cell on the Galaxy S26
Exynos 2600/Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 regional split
New Galaxy AI features (upgraded Bixby, image generation)
Cameras largely the same, but AI features, including Nightography Video are available.
Release timeline:
The Galaxy S26 and S26 Plus were announced on February 25, 2026, and will be released on March 11.
Price:
Galaxy S26 now starts at $899, S26 Plus at $1,099, which is a $100 price increase.
Pre-order the Galaxy S26 and save up to $500
$399
99
$899
99
$500 off (56%)
The Galaxy S26 brings an improved design and more powerful processor and more optimized software. The best part? You can pre-order the device for up to $700 off with eligible trade-ins.
The Galaxy S26+ is here, bringing improved software and a more powerful processor. The device can now be available for up to $700 off at the official store with eligible device trade-ins.
The trio was officially announced on February 25. The phones will hit the shelves on March 11, 2026.
Device lineup
Announcement
Market release
Galaxy S26
February 25, 2026
March 11, 2026
Galaxy S25
January 22, 2025
February 7, 2025
Galaxy S24
January 17, 2024
January 31, 2024
Galaxy S23
February 1, 2023
February 17, 2023
Galaxy S26 price
Unfortunately, the rumors about a price increase have come to fruition and both phones’ starting price is now $100 up.
The Galaxy S26 is no longer available with 128 GB of storage, though.
Galaxy model
128GB of storage
256GB of storage
512GB of storage
1TB of storage
Galaxy S26
$899
$1099.99
-
Galaxy S26 Plus
-
$1,099.99
$1,299.99
Galaxy S25
$799
$859
-
-
Galaxy S25 Plus
-
$999
$1119
-
Galaxy S24
$799
$859
-
-
Galaxy S24 Plus
-
$999
$1119
-
Galaxy S26 camera
Galaxy S26 camera. | Image by PhoneArena
Galaxy S26 camera setup :
50 MP main camera
12 MP ultra-wide
10 MP telephoto (3x optical zoom)
12 MP selfie camera
Galaxy S26 Plus camera setup:
50MP main camera
12MP ultra-wide
10MP telephoto (3x optical zoom)
12MP selfie camera
The cameras on both the Galaxy S26 and S26 Plus are not getting upgraded this time around, at least not at the hardware level.
Despite that, we're getting plenty of nice Galaxy AI features on the phones, including improvements to Photo Assist and a new Creative Studio. The Super Steady Film is available on the S26 and S26 Plus as well. The feature allows your phone to take steady videos by locking the horizon.
The phones are also getting the new Nightography Video feature, powered by AI. The feature brightens scenes filmed in low-light environments and reduces noise.
Samsung has ditched the 128 GB storage version from the S26, and now the starting storage is 256 GB.
Galaxy S26 storage capacity:
256 GB
512 GB
Galaxy S26 Plus storage capacity:
256 GB
512 GB
Galaxy S26 design
Galaxy S26. | Image by PhoneArena
The two phones are getting a different corner radius so they could better match the Ultra in terms of looks. The rumored camera island look is also here.
The phones are sporting the same colors as the Galaxy S26 Ultra:
Black
White
Sky Blue
Cobalt Violet
Silver Shadow (exclusive)
Pink Gold (exclusive)
Overall, the design has not changed that much, though. We still have flat sides and glass, as well as an IP68 rating for water and dust protection.
Galaxy S26 from the side. | Image by PhoneArena
The long-rumored Qi2 support for magnetic wireless charging didn’t come to fruition, unfortunately.
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Galaxy S26 Plus. | Image by PhoneArena
Galaxy S26 display
Galaxy S26 display. | Image by PhoneArena
Samsung's premium phones are known for their top-notch screens, and that's not expected to change. The Galaxy S26 and S26+ will come with excellent displays.
The Galaxy S26’s screen is now growing from the 6.2-inch on the predecessor to a 6.3-inch one. The Galaxy S26 Plus retains the same 6.7-inch display. Both are again coming with 1-120Hz adaptive display refresh rate.
The two phones aren’t getting the Galaxy S26 Ultra’s fancy privacy display feature, unfortunately.
Galaxy S26 battery
It's about time for Samsung to grace Galaxy fans with some more battery. Well, unfortunately, that didn't happen this time around. Despite competitors from Chinese makers betting on new battery tech, including silicon carbon batteries, and stick huge battery cells in their models without compromising on slimness or style (for example, the OnePlus 13, the Honor Magic 6 Pro, and others), Samsung is not hopping on this train just yet.
Well, the South Korean giant still gave some upgrade love to the base Galaxy S26 and its battery cell has now grown to 4,300 mAh from 4,000 mAh.
The Galaxy S26 Plus keeps the same 4,900 mAh battery as its predecessor.
The two phones are also not getting an upgrade in the charging department, unlike their bigger sibling, the Galaxy S26 Ultra.
The Galaxy S26 series comes with One UI 8.5, which is based on Android 16, out of the box.
Galaxy AI is the star of the show when it comes to the new phones and their software. We’re getting a new AI-powered screenshot analyzer, which will categorize your screenshots so you can find them easier.
Samsung also has updated Now Brief and Now Bar. Now Brief is now getting a deeper integration with the personal data engine (which includes notifications and messages) so it can better highlight what’s coming in your data. The Now Bar is getting adaptive recommendations.
Bixby is also getting upgraded and now offers natural language support and real-time web search. You are also able to choose another assistant, including Gemini and Perplexity, if you wish that.
Features like Call Screening are also present, and the spam filter protection is getting expanded to more countries.
Circle to Search is also getting enhanced on the S26. The feature now supports multi-object recognition, so you can search for more than one object in a photo at a time.
Meanwhile, there is a new Private Album feature in the Galaxy S26’s Gallery. Thanks to this new album, you can hide photos and videos without having to create a separate album.
This Samsung shows how you are able to create AI-powered stickers on Galaxy:
AI-stickers on Galaxy teaser. | Video by Samsung
Galaxy S26 hardware
The Galaxy S26 phones come with either the Exynos 2600 or the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5. The Snapdragon chip is reserved for buyers in the U.S., China, and Japan, while Europe gets the Exynos 2600 version.
The Exynos 2600 is manufactured on a 2nm process, while the Snapdragon chip is still on a 3nm one. Samsung says that the new customized processor offers blazing speed and powers the customized image enhancer for the display of the two phones.
With the new chip, the Galaxy S26 Plus offers 38% faster AI performance, 23% improved graphics performance, and 7% faster processing (CPU speeds) in comparison to the Galaxy S25 Plus.
When it comes to performance, since these are Samsung's flagship models, you can expect them to be smooth and fast. They'll likely handle everything with ease, be it simple tasks like browsing social media or heavier ones like gaming and generative AI. Samsung is also bringing a redesigned Vapor Chamber for cooling, which should noticeably improve the heat dissipation.
As for RAM, we are not seeing an upgrade this time around. Competitors from other companies are starting to offer 16GB as a default, but Samsung has not followed them and is still offering the two phones with only 12 GB of RAM. For storage, you have 256 or 512 GB.
Meanwhile, Qualcomm announced the X85 modem during MWC that handles connectivity on the Galaxy S26 series. The new modem will be more power efficient but able to deliver higher 5G speeds.
You should wait for the Galaxy S26 if you're rocking an older model and you're due for an upgrade soon.
You should not wait for the Galaxy S26 if you recently got your shiny new Galaxy S25. The differences between the models are not huge enough to warrant an upgrade.
Izzy, a tech enthusiast and a key part of the PhoneArena team, specializes in delivering the latest mobile tech news and finding the best tech deals. Her interests extend to cybersecurity, phone design innovations, and camera capabilities. Outside her professional life, Izzy, a literature master's degree holder, enjoys reading, painting, and learning languages. She's also a personal growth advocate, believing in the power of experience and gratitude. Whether it's walking her Chihuahua or singing her heart out, Izzy embraces life with passion and curiosity.
