We’re approaching the time of year when Samsung traditionally hosts a Galaxy Unpacked event to reveal a new generation of Galaxy S series flagship phones. And following the generations’ naming convention, we’d expect this next line to have the S26 moniker.
However, if you’re expecting big changes to the Galaxy S26 family over the current-generation Samsung Galaxy S25 phones, don’t hold your breath, because the updates appear to be incremental rather than revolutionary.
Still, there are things to discuss, so I’ve put together below what I think are the most important rumors and information so far about the Samsung Galaxy S26.
1. Same design, but that’s not a problem
Most rumors and suggestions so far have pointed to the Samsung Galaxy S26 series having virtually the same design as the Galaxy S25 family.
However, some minor changes have been suggested. For example, there have been a couple of hints that the phones have more of a camera module, rather than raised lenses on the back, but we’ve seen that before with previous S series phones; I would really like to see the return of the Contour Cut camera module that first arrived on the Galaxy S21, as it was an interesting design.
However, keeping the same design is not bad. Flagship phones have become quite iterative, which is boring for tech journalists but useful for consumers and brand building, as it makes models easily recognizable and sets a standard for what people can expect, especially those in upgrade cycles.
I also think the Galaxy S25 series is one of the most attractively designed smartphones out there, and even the large Galaxy S25 Ultra feels sleek and refined, to the point where I think Samsung has mastered the large phone form factor better than anyone.
That said, I would like some fresher, more dynamic colors for the Galaxy S26 Ultra, as the S25 Ultra’s options were a bit disappointing; I’d love to see a British green option for racing, for example.
2. New chips – of course
As sure as night follows day, the Galaxy S26 series will come with a new chipset. Or even two of them.
Last year, all Galaxy S25 phones used the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 4 Galaxy chipset, while the previous year’s Galaxy S24 and Galaxy S24+ had Qualcomm chips for US and China modes, and Exynos chips for the rest of the world.
That split could return for the S26, only South Korean models will get the Exynos 2600 chip and other models will get a Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chip, likely customized for Samsung.
Given the performance Apple has been sucking out of its Pro A series chips, you can safely bet that the Snapdragon chip will at least turn out well, with decent increases in power and graphics performance over its predecessor. It’s less clear to what extent this could make a difference in real-world usage, but as more AI capabilities become a reality, on-device performance could be the key to getting intelligent agents to provide agile responses.
These chips could also support improved modems and facilitate better satellite connectivity, and I imagine Qualcomm and Samsung will have made some effort to improve efficiency and therefore battery life.
3. Don’t expect camera hardware updates
There were murmurs last year about new camera sensors for the Galaxy S26 range, but it’s not yet known if that will happen. If so, then the sensors may be new, but there are no real rumors of them getting a big boost in megapixels.
Some early rumors have suggested that the Galaxy S26 and S26+ could have a 50MP ultrawide camera, but we haven’t heard much about that lately.
This is not a bad thing, as the entire Galaxy S25 series has powerful cameras and are worthy contenders for the high spots on our list of the best camera phones. And I think that rather than drastically updating the camera hardware, Samsung will probably work harder to refine its computational photography and AI-powered photography features with the Galaxy S26 models, as well as polish up the video capture.
4. Possible larger batteries
A number of rumors have hinted at larger batteries for all the Galaxy S26 and Galaxy S26 Ultra, with increases to 300 mAh for the former and 200 mAh for the latter. They’re not exactly big changes, but combined with the potential efficiencies brought by a new chip, those increases could produce phones that last longer than their predecessors. But it looks like the Galaxy S26+ might lose out in the battery upgrade department.
Don’t expect big increases in charging either, as there are no solid signs of an improvement in charging power. But that’s not a huge potential disappointment, as the last few generations of Galaxy phones have charged reasonably quickly without seemingly compromising battery longevity.
5. Probable launch in February
The last two generations of Galaxy S series phones launched in January, but all credible rumors so far point to a late February launch for the Galaxy S26 series. February 25 has been marked as the likely day for a Galaxy Unpacked event where we can expect the new phones to make their debut.
Samsung released Galaxy phones in February in the past, so this isn’t a huge surprise, but it’s four to six weeks later than usual. I hope that means we get super refined flagship phones.
To be sure, a price increase is also expected, but only between $30 / £22 / AU$45 and $50 / £37 / AU$75, compared to the previous generation. Given the price increases that many products are subject to right now, this seems acceptable, although not ideal.
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