Samsung has finally lifted the curtain on their new flagship phones for 2026, the Galaxy S26 series. They look similar to their older brothers but the changes are mostly cosmetic and on the inside.
Specifications
| Model | Galaxy S26 | Galaxy S26+ | Galaxy S26 Ultra |
|---|---|---|---|
| Display | 6.3-inch, Dynamic AMOLED 2X, 2340 x 1080 pixels, 120 Hz, Corning Gorilla Armor 2 | 6.7-inch, Dynamic AMOLED 2X, 3120 x 1440 pixels, 120 Hz, Corning Gorilla Armor 2 | 6.9-inch, Dynamic AMOLED 2X, 3120 x 1440 pixels, 120 Hz, Corning Gorilla Armor 2 |
| Software | One UI 8.5 / Android 16 | One UI 8.5 / Android 16 | One UI 8.5 / Android 16 |
| Chipset | Exynos 2600 Deca-Core CPU; 1x C1-Ultra 3.9 GHz, 3x C1-Prox 3.25 GHz, 6x C1-Prox 2.75 GHz | Exynos 2600 Deca-Core CPU; 1x C1-Ultra 3.9 GHz, 3x C1-Prox 3.25 GHz, 6x C1-Prox 2.75 GHz | Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 Octa-Core CPU; 2x 4.74 GHz Oryon V3 Phoenix L + 6x 3.62 GHz Oryon V3 Phoenix M |
| Memory and storage | 12 GB; 256/512 GB | 12 GB; 256/512 GB | 12/16 GB; 256/512/1024 GB |
| Rear cameras | Triple 1st Camera 50 MP main, f/1.8, 24mm, 1/1.56", 1.0μm, Dual-Pixel PDAF, OIS 2nd Camera 10 MP telephoto, f/2.4, 67mm, 1/3.94", 1.0μm, PDAF, OIS, 3x Optical Zoom 3rd Camera 12 MP ultrawide, f/2.2, 13mm, 120°, 1/2.55", 1.4μm, Super Steady Video | Triple 1st Camera 50 MP main, f/1.8, 24mm, 1/1.56", 1.0μm, Dual-Pixel PDAF, OIS 2nd Camera 10 MP telephoto, f/2.4, 67mm, 1/3.94", 1.0μm, PDAF, OIS, 3x Optical Zoom 3rd Camera 12 MP ultrawide, f/2.2, 13mm, 120°, 1/2.55", 1.4μm, Super Steady Video | Quad 1st Camera 200 MP main, f/1.4, 24mm (wide), 1/1.3", 0.6μm, Multidirectional PDAF, OIS 2nd Camera 50 MP periscope telephoto, f/2.9 111mm, 1/2.52", 0.7μm, PDAF, OIS, 5× optical zoom 3rd Camera 50 MP ultrawide, f/1.9, 120°, 1/2.5", 0.7μm, Dual-Pixel PDAF, Super Steady Video 4th Camera 10 MP telephoto, 1/3.94", PDAF, OIS, 3x optical zoom, f/2.4 |
| Features | Panorama, Portrait, 8K@24/30fps, 4K@30/60fps, 1080p@30/60/120/240fps, 10-bit HDR, HDR10+, Stereo Sound, Gyro-EIS | Panorama, Portrait, 8K@24/30fps, 4K@30/60fps, 1080p@30/60/120/240fps, 10-bit HDR, HDR10+, Stereo Sound, Gyro-EIS | Panorama, Portrait, 8K@24/30fps, 4K@30/60fps, 1080p@30/60/120/240fps, 10-bit HDR, HDR10+, Stereo Sound, Gyro-EIS |
| Front camera | 12 MP wide-angle, f/2.2, 26mm, 1/3.2", 1.12μm, dual-pixel PDAF, HDR, 4K@30/60fps, 1080p@30fps | 12 MP wide-angle, f/2.2, 26mm, 1/3.2", 1.12μm, dual-pixel PDAF, HDR, 4K@30/60fps, 1080p@30fps | 12 MP wide-angle, f/2.2, 26mm, 1/3.2", 1.12μm, dual-pixel PDAF, HDR, 4K@30/60fps, 1080p@30fps |
| Sensors | Gyroscope, E-compass, Accelerometer, Barometer, Fingerprint Sensor, Proximity Sensor | Gyroscope, E-compass, Accelerometer, Barometer, Fingerprint Sensor, Proximity Sensor | Gyroscope, E-compass, Accelerometer, Barometer, Fingerprint Sensor, Proximity Sensor |
| Satellite | GLONASS, GPS, Galileo, QZSS, BDS | GLONASS, GPS, Galileo, QZSS, BDS | GLONASS, GPS, Galileo, QZSS, BDS |
| Dual SIM | Yes, Nano/eSIM | Yes, Nano/eSIM | Yes, Nano/Nano/eSIM |
| Connectivity features | 5G, USB-C, NFC, Wi-Fi 7 (be), Bluetooth 5.4, Face ID, Stereo | 5G, USB-C, NFC, Wi-Fi 7 (be), Bluetooth 5.4, Face ID, Stereo | 5G, USB-C, NFC, Wi-Fi 7 (be), Bluetooth 5.4, Face ID, Stereo |
| Battery | 4300 mAh Li-ion, wireless charging, 25W wired charging | 4900 mAh Li-ion, wireless charging, 45W wired charging | 5000 mAh Li-ion, wireless charging, 60W wired charging |
| Dimensions | 149.6 x 71.7 x 7.2 mm | 158.4 x 75.8 x 7.3 mm | 163.6 x 78.1 x 7.9 mm |
| Weight | 167 g | ~ 190 g | 214 g |
| Colors | White, Blue, Black, Purple | ||
| Prices | from $999 | from $1269 | from $1469 |
Galaxy S26 Ultra
We start with the big boy, the Galaxy S26 Ultra. This is Samsung’s true flagship smartphone if you consider the Z Folds as a separate odd brother. Samsung has once again decided to choose the “evolution” instead of the “revolution” route and we can detail that below.
Starting off with the design, the S26 Ultra looks like a thicker Galaxy S25 Edge from the back. This is due to the slightly adjusted camera layout that is unified compared to the island of lenses from the S22 through the S25 series.
The display is still their excellent 1440p panels with 120Hz refresh rate but with the headlining feature of having privacy built in. When enabled, content viewed by a third party from an angle is not visible, but content viewed straight on is viewable.
The cameras are the same compared to last year but with a few changes. The primary main wide camera is still the same 200MP 1/1.3″ sensor but has a wide f/1.4 aperture. The 50MP ultrawide, 50MP 5x telephoto and 10MP 3x telephoto are unchanged. The selfie camera is still the same 12MP camera with a smaller sensor than the iPhone 17 series (1/3.2″ vs 1/1.9″ for the iPhone 17 series).
Samsung has added a few things including Enchanced Nigtography Video for clearer footage at night, upgraded Super Steady for better stability and added APV, a professional grade video codec for efficient compression for high quality production workflows. They also say they have improvements on the ISP to capture more natural skin tones and finer detail in mixed lighting via the selfie camer.
The battery is still the same 5,000mAh lithium ion battery, which frankly is now quite standard and not at par with other Android flagships. Since last year, we have seen Android flagships with 6,000-10,000 Mah batteries using silicon carbon technology. It is a mystery why Samsung and Apple are the two top brands that have decided to delay using this battery technology. The most interesting update is what Samsung calls Super Fast Charging 3.0 which apparently will allow the phone to be charged upto 75% in 30 minutes.
The Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 processor from Qualcomm powers this bad boy, and that is the most powerful smartphone chip currently. It has 12 or 16GB of RAM with either 256GB, 512GB or 1TB of non expandable storage on board. Samsung says they have a redesigned vapor chamber to sustain the performance of the new processor.
The price is still the same, the Galaxy S26 Ultra will start at $1200
Samsung Galaxy S26 and Galaxy S26 Plus
For the rest of the S26 family, Samsung has decided to go the iterative way.
Apart from the new colours, slightly bigger 6.3 inch display on the S26, slight change in design and the decision to go with their inhouse Exynos 2600 over the Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 elite, you would be struggling to see the difference between them and last year’s Galaxy S25 and S25 Plus.
The AI features
Samsung has added a ton of AI features on what they call the Galaxy AI Experience with the Samsung Galaxy S26 series
Now Nudge shows timely and relevant suggested to help you stay in the flow. Now Brief has been made more personalized and proactive. Circle to Search with Google has been upgraded with enhanced multi-object recognition. There is now an upgraded Bixby which is quite interesting. ProScaler uses what they call ‘proprietary Samsung technologies’ embedded into he processor to improve image scaling of videos and photos.
Pricing and Availability
The Galaxy 26 Series will be available for pre-order starting today in some countries, although we have seen it been sold in markets like Kenya. It is available in Cobalt Violet, White, Black and Sky Blue. There is a samsung.com exclusive Pink Gold and Silver Shadow.
The S26 goes for $899, S26 Plus for $1,099 and S26 Ultra for $1,299 in the US. We will update as we get the prices for the Kenyan market.
