Now that the 2025 foldables from Samsung have arrived, it is time to pivot our consideration onto the Samsung Galaxy S26. The S26 launch should still be a number of months out, however we’re nonetheless desirous to see what Samsung has in retailer for 2026 — and the way it’ll push its flagship gadgets ahead.
It is nonetheless fairly early within the Galaxy S26 rumor cycle, so there are many issues we do not know in regards to the upcoming lineup. However we have began listening to some murmurs about what to anticipate, which can solely improve as we get nearer to 2026. One noteworthy rumor suggests Samsung could revert again to releasing three telephones as a substitute of 4, because it did with the Galaxy S25 — however which three?
Here is what we know in regards to the Samsung Galaxy S26 so far.
Samsung Galaxy S26: Cheat Sheet
Samsung Galaxy S26: Potential launch date and value
Whereas we do not have a particular launch date for the Galaxy S26, we do know that Samsung typically sticks to the identical launch window every year. As of late, Samsung’s new flagships usually arrive towards the top of January and begin of February with a Galaxy Unpacked occasion going down across the begin of the yr. A wider launch usually follows two weeks later.
This transient window additionally means the discharge lands between January’s CES and MWC on the finish of February. In different phrases, Samsung schedules the Unpacked launch occasion at a time when it’ll dominate the limelight. It is also timed so that Samsung can declare to have the primary telephones arriving at first of the yr, although just lately OnePlus has crushed it to the punch by a couple of weeks, at the least in China.
For what it is price, the Unpacked 2025 occasion that gave us the Galaxy S25 launch befell on January 22. The 2024 version occurred on January 17. Each of these occasions befell in San Jose, Calif.
As for the Galaxy S26 value, we cannot make sure proper now as that info tends to emerge nearer to the launch occasion itself. However one piece of fine information is that the Snapdragon 8 Elite 2 is reportedly going to be the identical value as the unique Elite chipset. That provides Samsung one much less part to have to fret about paying extra for, and a greater probability that costs will keep static.
Costs on Samsung flagships at present begin at $799 for the Galaxy S25. The Plus mannequin prices $999 whereas the Galaxy S25 Edge debuted at $1,099. The Galaxy S25 Extremely is the most costly telephone within the lineup, beginning at $1,299.
Samsung Galaxy S26: What fashions will Samsung launch?
The arrival of the Galaxy S25 Edge within the spring introduced the variety of Galaxy S25 fashions to 4. And that is earlier than the discharge of the Galaxy S25 FE, which some individuals anticipate to see later this yr. The phrases is, that Samsung could trim down the variety of entries within the Galaxy S26 lineup.
Particularly, the Galaxy S25 Plus could have been the final mannequin of its form. As an alternative, Samsung is rumored to be changing the Plus with a Galaxy S26 Edge — just like how Apple is reportedly changing the iPhone 17 Plus with the iPhone 17 Air when its new telephones arrive this fall.
Samsung Galaxy S26: Design and show
Sadly the S26 could observe the instance set by the just-released Galaxy Z Fold 7, and ditch the S Pen stylus. In accordance with leaker PandaFlashPro, Samsung could ditch the digitizer layer within the display screen to supply true magnetic Qi2 wi-fi charging — one thing the S25 sequence lacks.
With out that layer, the present S Pen will not work. Nevertheless there’s some hypothesis that Samsung may have a distinct digitizer-free stylus, although it will seemingly be too giant to retailer contained in the telephone itself.
Samsung may be ditching the hole-punch digicam within the S26 Extremely, with leaker Kro_roe claiming that an beneath show digicam is on the best way. Now we have our doubts, for the reason that beneath show digicam was just lately faraway from the Z Fold 7, but it surely may imply that the Extremely mannequin lastly will get the uninterrupted show we’ve been dreaming about.
As for the remainder of the S26 design, a report from well-known leaker Ice Universe means that the Galaxy S26 Extremely will not look all that totally different from the Galaxy S25 Extremely. That leaker says we can anticipate some further top and width, decrease weight, and the identical 6.9-inch show.
Samsung Galaxy S26: Cameras
The primary main digicam rumor we’ve heard in regards to the 2026 Samsung flagships claims that the entry-level Galaxy S26 will retain the 50MP fundamental digicam for an additional yr. That mentioned, we may even see a model new sensor, one which’s bigger than earlier than to seize extra gentle — one thing that may tremendously profit image high quality in several circumstances.
The larger change may come to the Galaxy S26 Extremely, which can up the ante on the telephoto lens. Some rumors promise a 200MP zooming digicam with 5x magnification. The trademark secondary telephoto lens on the Extremely can also be reported to get a lift to 50MP, with 3.5x optical magnification. Nevertheless all that pales as compared in comparison with rumors of a 324MP fundamental digicam — although which may be a bit extreme.
Additional hypothesis claims the S26 Extremely may even see the return of variable aperture, one thing we have not seen on a Galaxy since 2019. The previous implementation was so much much less versatile than what different telephone makers, like Xiaomi, have supplied lately. So it’s going to be thrilling to see what Samsung can do with it.
Samsung Galaxy S26: Efficiency
For the reason that Galaxy S25 sequence runs on the Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset, our guess is that Samsung would go for the subsequent era Snapdragon chip for the S26 — which we assume would be the Snapdragon 8 Elite 2.
Given how highly effective the Elite chipset has confirmed itself, how a lot better will the Elite 2 be? One rumor by Digital Chat Station suggests the brand new chipset will likely be significantly extra highly effective — with a 4.6GHz CPU and 1.2 GHz GPU — a rise from the 4.47GHz CPU within the present Elite. This does not inform us so much, however usually the upper the clock velocity, the higher the chip will likely be.
Nevertheless there was some hypothesis that Samsung may return to utilizing Exynos chipsets, because it did with the Galaxy Z Flip 7. Sadly, Exynos chips typically include weaker efficiency, as showcased by a comparability of the Galaxy Z Flip 7 and the Snapdragon 8 Elite-powered Motorola Razr Extremely.
Whereas it is unclear how widespread this variation is likely to be, previous releases have seen Samsung solely supply telephones powered by Qualcomm chips in North America, with the remainder of the world getting Exynos chips as a substitute.
The very fact Qualcomm Snapdragon chips have been extra extensively accessible the previous few years is extra of a blip in comparison with the earlier pattern — reportedly because of chip shortages and points manufacturing 3nm Exynos {hardware}. Leaker Jukanlosreve claims that the S26 will depend on the Exynos 2600, one era newer than the 2500 within the Z Flip 7.
Samsung Galaxy S26: Battery and charging
There have been a bunch of Galaxy S26 battery rumors so far, and none of them can appear to agree on what to anticipate from the three telephones within the lineup. The earliest instructed that we may even see the telephones include silicon carbon battery chemistry, which presents a lot larger energy density than extraordinary lithium-ion batteries.
That may primarily imply extra battery capability with out taking on more room. It may additionally translate to a smaller bodily battery that frees up room for different issues. All of it depends upon which approach Samsung desires everything to run.
Some stories declare that Samsung may improve the battery capability to someplace between 6,000 mAh and seven,000 mAh — which might be an unimaginable leap upwards. Sadly later rumors instructed that the Extremely mannequin would not exceed 5,400 mAh. Whereas bigger than the 5,000 mAh battery within the Galaxy S25 Extremely, it is not fairly the spectacular improve from these earlier stories, even whether it is much more plausible.
Within the months since then, we’ve heard that the battery is probably not getting any type of improve in any respect, with Ice Universe claiming that the S26 Extremely could have the identical 5,000 mAh battery as earlier Galaxy Extremely fashions.
Fortunately Ice Universe additionally claims that the charging velocity will lastly exceed 45W — later claiming it will hit 60W. Whereas that is one thing of a meme at this level, it is about time Samsung pushed the charging charge to one thing that may higher rival its Chinese language counterparts.
Samsung Galaxy S26: Software program
One massive change that might be occurring with Galaxy AI is help for different third occasion chatbots — not simply Gemini and Bixby. Choi Received-Joon, the president and COO of Samsung’s cell division confirmed to Bloomberg that talks have been occurring, however did not specify which (if any) third events may come to Galaxy AI.
Bloomberg notes that Samsung is “nearing a deal” with Perplexity, which might additionally see Samsung spend money on the corporate.
Naturally, we assume that AI will play an enormous position within the Galaxy S26’s software program, which we’re guessing will include a model of One UI 8. Nevertheless at this early stage it is unattainable to say what further modifications we may see from the telephones.
Samsung Galaxy S26: Outlook
At this early stage, there’s nonetheless so much we do not know in regards to the Galaxy S26 lineup, although the rumors are slowly portray an image of the type of telephone we ought to anticipate. Anybody hoping for a dramatically different-looking set of gadgets goes to be disillusioned, although so far the potential upgrades do sound constructive.
The rumored lack of the Plus mannequin does intrigue us, particularly when you think about that it has been inching ever nearer to the Extremely mannequin for the previous few years. So the inclusion of the Edge as part of the principle trio might be a really attention-grabbing behind-the-scenes shakeup.
However for now there’s nonetheless so much we do not know in regards to the telephones — and we’ll have to attend and see what future rumors and leaks maintain.
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