Samsung’s Galaxy S26, unveiled following the company’s Unpacked event, is now available for pre-order, offering incremental refinements over last year’s Galaxy S25. While maintaining a familiar design, the S26 introduces a larger battery and updated software, accompanied by a price increase to $899.99, compared to the S25’s $799.99 launch price.
The base model of the Galaxy S26 now includes 256GB of storage, doubling the 128GB offered in the entry-level S25. Both phones feature compact designs, high-refresh-rate AMOLED displays, and similar camera hardware. Physically, the S26 closely resembles the S25, with flat edges, an aluminum frame, and IP68 water and dust resistance.
Display technology remains consistent between the two models, both utilizing Samsung’s Dynamic AMOLED 2X panels with adaptive refresh rates up to 120Hz. The S25 is capable of peak brightness up to 2,600 nits, and the viewing experience is expected to be broadly similar between the devices.
Under the hood, the Galaxy S26 is powered by the Exynos 2600 processor, which Samsung claims is the first chipset built with 2nm lithography. The company states this new processor will deliver improved performance for artificial intelligence tasks and an overall enhanced user experience compared to the Exynos 2500 found in the S25. The Galaxy S25 utilizes the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy chipset, fabricated using 3nm technology, also designed for intensive use and AI capabilities.
The standard Galaxy S26 features a 4,300 mAh battery, an increase from the 4,000 mAh battery in the S25. Both devices maintain a triple-camera system on the rear: a 50 MP wide lens, a 10 MP telephoto lens, and a 12 MP ultrawide lens, alongside a 12 MP front-facing camera. Still, the S26 incorporates an enhanced image processing system – Samsung’s third-generation ProVisual Engine – leveraging artificial intelligence to improve photo, selfie, and video quality.
The Galaxy S26 Ultra, released alongside the S26, also includes agentic AI upgrades through Gemini, a larger camera aperture for brighter photos, and 60W wired charging, a significant upgrade from previous models. The Galaxy S25 Ultra launched on February 7, 2025, with a starting price of $1,299 for the 256GB model, reaching $1,659 for the 1TB configuration.
