Samsung Galaxy S26: Release Date, Price & Specs Rumours

Design

As the Galaxy S26 Edge seems prepped to be the full-on replacement for the Galaxy Plus line, Samsung is doubling down on its efforts to offer one of the slimmest phones on the market. The original S25 Edge was already fairly slimline at 5.8mm thick, but now it appears as if its successor will shrink down even further to a minuscule 5.5mm.

The S26 Ultra is also rumoured to get thinner, potentially down to under 8mm from the S25 Ultra’s 8.2mm. It’ll also apparently weigh “a few grams less” than the current 218g.

Beyond potential name changes, there’s currently no other confirmed information regarding specific design elements such as materials (glass, metal, or a combination), colour options, or overall aesthetic choices. There’s a chance that the titanium frame, which is currently exclusive to the Ultra and Edge, will be applied to other model/s, but nothing has been revealed.

The other rumoured change we’ve heard about so far is the removal of the controversial camera rings that stick out of the back of the S25 Ultra. These will apparently be gone, but with no impact on the IP68 water and dust resistance.

Significantly, despite the regular model being potentially replaced with a Pro version, the S26 Pro is expected to retain its compact design. Supposed dummy models back these rumours up, and also suggest the Galaxy S26 phones will match the Pixel 10 series in getting built-in magnets for Qi2 wireless charging.

Given that Samsung has changed the design slightly on the Galaxy S25 series compared to the Galaxy S24 series, its successor was never likely to be an overhaul. Indeed, the rumoured front of the S26 Ultra looks almost identical to the S25 Ultra, with the same thickness of bezel and only slightly more curved edges.

Subsequent CAD renders double down on the S26 Edge design, suggesting it’ll look a lot like iPhone 17 Pro models from the back.

Android Headlines

The phone will also supposedly be thinner than the S25 Edge (5.8mm), clocking in at just 5.5mm. Significantly, that would make it slimmer than the 5.6mm iPhone Air.

Leaked renders of the full Galaxy S26 series reveal a familiar-looking design:

Smartprix

Elsewhere, it’d be nice to see the Bluetooth S Pen from the Galaxy S24 Ultra make a return, after it was replaced by a less functional one on the S25 Ultra, but a similar move on the Galaxy Tab S11 series suggests it won’t be making a return.

Sources: The Elec | Android Headlines (2) | PhoneArt via X (2) (3) (4) | Android Headlines | Sonny Dickson via X | Smartprix

Display

Word that the S26 Pro would feature a slightly larger 6.27-inch display compared to the current 6.2-inch panel on the Galaxy S25 has been corroborated. A recent leak seemingly confirms as much, bringing the phone slightly more in line with the larger displays Samsung tends to offer on most of its phones, although it’ll still be small enough to use comfortably one-handed.

Meanwhile, the S26 Edge could get a 6.66-inch panel, and the S26 Ultra may feature a 6.89-inch display – if true, all three S26 phones would be slightly bigger than their predecessors.

To achieve this, the bezel on the S26 Ultra will supposedly be “no more than 1.2mm” – in other words, extremely slim. The top-end model will also apparently feature the third generation of Samsung’s anti-reflective glass.

Luke Baker / Foundry

One significant display development on the S26 Ultra could be the integration of Colour-filter-on-thin-film-encapsulation (CoE) technology into the S26 Ultra’s display.

This technology has the potential to make the display thinner, brighter, and more energy-efficient. It could be joined by “depolarizer” technology, which would supposedly reduce internal reflections.

The S26 Ultra display might also incorporate Samsung’s upcoming Flex Magic Pixel technology, which can control the viewing angles of each individual pixel on an AMOLED display. For example, this could seriously limit viewing angles when you’re using a banking app, ensuring that no one can see any sensitive information from over your shoulder.

Sources: Jukan via X | The Elec | Android Headlines | Android Headlines (2) | PhoneArt via X | GSMArena | SamMobile

Performance

It’s always been a bit of a guessing game when it comes to knowing which chipset Samsung is going to side with in its upcoming range of phones. Over the last few years, we’ve seen the company move back and forth between using its own Exynos chipsets and the more widely used flagship mobile processors from Snapdragon.

In the S24 series, for example, you could only get Samsung’s devices with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 across the board if you lived outside of the European zone. Instead, those living in the UK and Europe could only get that chipset on the S24 Ultra, whilst the standard S24 and the larger S24+ relied on the company’s own-brand Exynos 2400. It was all a bit confusing and tricky to explain to the average consumer, but it appears as if Samsung is now going back to a more consistent output.

Luke Baker / Foundry

The latest word on the street is that the Exynos 2600 is entering mass production with the intention of being used in all phones within the Galaxy S26 series. There’s no word yet on whether this will just be for phones sold within the EU and the UK, but initial leaks pointing towards a fairly substantial performance upgrade mean that this shouldn’t be too much of an issue.

Test results for the Exynos 2600 have appeared on the benchmarking app Geekbench, showing a higher performance level than the Snapdragon 8 Elite that you can currently find within the Galaxy S25 range. Given that Samsung’s own chipsets have long been accused of being inferior options compared to Snapdragon’s output, this could mean that Samsung has taken this feedback on board and is looking to make a serious power play with these new chipsets.

Sources: Jukanlosreve on X | The Bell | The Financial News | Android Authority | Android Headlines | PhoneArt via X (2) | Android Authority | ET News | GSMArena

Cameras

There was a hope for some time that the main sensor on the Galaxy S26 Ultra would be getting a major upgrade, after word that Sony was working on a 1.1” sensor. If that sensor does make its way to a Samsung phone, it won’t be the Galaxy S26 Ultra as the latest leaks show it adhering to the same 200Mp 1/1.3” sensor as last year, although it’s not a complete like for like comparison. The S26 Ultra should be moving to a wider aperture of f/1.4, which should help a great deal more when it comes to low-light photography.

According to reports, the device will feature a 50Mp telephoto lens with 5x optical zoom but a larger aperture than the S25 Ultra, while the separate 3x telephoto will supposedly be upgraded from 10Mp to 12Mp. However, one leaker suggests that Samsung is still only using 10Mp of it, and it’s a smaller sensor than the S25 Ultra, amounting to a real-world downgrade.

Thanks to a comparison between the S26 Ultra and the upcoming Vivo X300 phone, we now know that the telescope lens on the former will feature a 1/2.55” sensor which, strangely enough, is lesser powered than the 1/1.4” CIS Isocell HPB sensor that Samsung Electronics has manufactured for that Vivo phone, which could put Samsung’s flagship device at a disadvantage by the time it hits store shelves.

Luke Baker

There are now rumours that Samsung is looking to take another page out of Apple’s playbook by revising the camera bump on the Galaxy S26 Ultra to be far more pronounced than it currently looks.

However, the front-facing camera might not be so impressive. The S26 Ultra could feature a UDC (Under Display Camera) on the front, eliminating the punch-hole selfie camera we see on the S25 Ultra, though it’s also possible that Samsung will hold off for a bit longer. The problem? Every under-display selfie lens currently on the market offers mediocre image quality at best, including Samsung’s own Galaxy Z Fold 6. We’d have to see a major upgrade to make it good enough for people who enjoy high-quality selfies.

The regular Galaxy S26 is expected to retain a 50Mp main rear lens like its predecessor. However, the Samsung ISOCELL GN3 that’s been in the last three generations of base model is expected to be replaced by an upgraded version from the same ISOCELL GN family, though the specific sensor isn’t known.

Luke Baker / Foundry

When it comes to the S26 Edge, which is likely to replace the Plus model in the lineup, the big rumour suggests an upgraded 50Mp ultrawide, but we don’t know anything else about its potential camera specs. However, CAD renders suggest it’s sticking with two rear lenses.

Sources: PandaFlash on X | Ice Universe on Weibo | kro (Good bye) on X | Lanzuk on Naver | Galaxy Club | The Elec | WinFuture | Android Headlines (2) | Fixed focus digital via Weibo | PhoneArt via X (2) | GSMArena (2) | IceUniverse on X

Battery & Charging

Silicon-carbon battery technology is a potential contender for the S26 series, introducing the possibility of boosting battery capacities up to the 6000-7000mAh range. This technology also holds the promise of higher energy density, potentially leading to improved battery life and faster charging speeds.

It’s still possible that the S26 Ultra’s battery won’t be larger than 5500mAh, though, even if it makes the shift. It’s unclear if a silicon-carbon battery will be reserved for the Ultra or available on other Galaxy S26 models.

However, a subsequent report suggests Samsung is unconvinced by silicon-carbon batteries and will instead decide to shift to new ‘battery protection units’ and stainless steel housing for the Galaxy S26 series. These will supposedly be more space-efficient, allowing for a larger capacity within the same total area, but any potential gains are likely to be minor.

In subsequent leaks, the S26 Ultra is mentioned as having a 5000mAh battery, but support for 60W fast charging. So, while the capacity would be unchanged, the charging would be a significant boost compared to 45W on the S25 Ultra.

As a reminder, even the top-end Galaxy S25 Ultra is limited to a 5000mAh battery with 45W wired charging and 15W wireless. According to one report, the S26 Ultra will finally get faster charging, but the 5000mAh capacity is expected to be maintained. Hopefully, the combination of a new chipset and efficiency gains elsewhere will enable a noticeable battery life improvement.

However, a more recent leak suggests that the S26 Ultra will instead stick to 45W wired charging. If true, this would be disappointing.

Luke Baker / Foundry

Multiple sources have now detailed that the Galaxy S26 Pro will have a larger 4300mAh battery. Given that the 4000mAh cell on the standard S25 was able to easily reach a day of use thanks to Samsung’s optimisations, having that extra room could make a big difference when it comes to day-to-day use of the Pro.

With regards to the Galaxy S26 Edge, the jury was out for quite some time as to whether or not the battery would leap from 3900mAh to 4600mAh, and now it seems as though those hopes were a bit too lofty for what Samsung has in mind, with the latest leaks now pointing towards a 4200mAh cell.

This has been corroborated by a more recent leak, which shows the S26 Edge as having a rated capacity of 4078mAh, which is then likely to be represented as 4200mAh nominal capacity in any marketing materials for the phone. In this instance, the rated capacity is meant to show the minimum amount of power stored under stress testing, whilst the nominal capacity is a more true-to-life figure for standard, everyday use.

While nowhere near as much of an upgrade as we were hoping, given what Samsung could achieve with the S25 on a smaller cell, we hope that there’s a good amount of optimisation to really push that 4200mAh battery to its limits.

Based on certification on China’s 3C platform, it looks like the S26 Edge will stick to 25W wired charging, and the new S26 Pro will match it. If true, that’d leave the S26 Ultra as the only model capable of 45W speeds.

According to a leak, the S26 Edge could be the first Samsung phone to have built-in Qi2 support, matching what Google has introduced on the Pixel 10 series. While the Galaxy S25 phones are ‘Qi2 Ready’, they require a case to get the proper experience. It’s unclear if this will be exclusive to the Edge or rolled out across the S26 lineup.

Sources: Ice Universe on Weibo | Jukanlosreve on X | The Financial News | PandaFlash on X | Android Authority (2) | The Elec | PhoneArt via X (2) (3) (4) | Erencan Yılmaz via X | GalaxyClub | GSMArena | Android Headlines (2) (3)

Software

The S26 series is almost certain to launch with Android 16 as its base operating system. Samsung’s One UI 8, which will be based on it, is likely to run on top.

More specifically, a report suggests the Galaxy S26 phones will debut One UI 8.5, though it’s unclear what extra features this will include compared to One UI 8 itself. This has now supposedly been confirmed via firmware on Samsung’s server.

Luke Baker / Foundry

However, one feature we are expecting is an increased choice of virtual assistants. On the Galaxy S25 series, you’re limited to either Google Gemini or Bixby, but Samsung is apparently “talking to multiple vendors” about the possibility of expanding this lineup. Perplexity AI would be the most obvious addition, but there are other possibilities.

And, if an APK teardown is to be believed, One UI 8.5 will include a new feature called either ‘Privacy Display’ or ‘Private Display’, which uses AI and the S26 Ultra’s new display technology to adjust the arrangement of the pixels in order to limit visibility for anyone not looking directly at the device.

It sounds similar to the privacy screen protectors that are widely available, but it remains to be seen how effective this will be.

While not rumoured anywhere, we’d expect Samsung to continue with its class-leading promise of seven years of both OS and security updates for all the Galaxy S26 phones.

Sources: Tarun Vats on X | SamMobile | Bloomberg Technology via YouTube | Android Authority