Samsung Galaxy S26 Series: My Honest Take on the New Flagship Lineup

We are officially on the eve of another Samsung Unpacked event, and by now, the wraps have pretty much come off the Samsung Galaxy S26 series. Living and breathing this stuff for a living, I have sifted through the endless leaks, spec sheets, and renders so you don't have to. The official launch is slated for February 25th in San Francisco, and while the hardware might look familiar at first glance, there is a lot more happening under the hood—especially when we talk about AI and regional processors

In this post, I am going to break down exactly what you are getting with the Galaxy S26, S26+, and the beastly S26 Ultra. We will look at the good, the head-scratching, and whether it is actually worth upgrading. Let's get into it.

---

First Look: Design & Display Consistency

Holding one of these phones is going to feel nice—really nice. Samsung has slimmed down the profiles across the board. The base model is just 7.2mm thin, and the Ultra has dropped to 7.9mm while shaving off a few grams, coming in at 214g.

One of the biggest complaints I had about the Ultra models of the past was the sharp corners digging into my palm during long use. It looks like Samsung finally listened. The Galaxy S26 Ultra is adopting more rounded corners, unifying the design language with its younger siblings. It is going to be miles better for ergonomics.

All three models feature Dynamic AMOLED 2X displays with 120Hz refresh rates and the new Gorilla Glass Armor 2 for durability. The "vanilla" S26 gets a slight bump to a 6.3-inch screen, which is perfect for one-handed use, while the Plus and Ultra stick to 6.7 and 6.9 inches respectively.

The Processor Paradox: Exynos Returns

Alright, let's address the elephant in the room. If you are in the US, you are getting the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 across the board. However, if you are in Europe or the UK, the processor situation gets a little complicated again.

Samsung’s new Exynos 2600 will power the Galaxy S26 and S26+ in European regions. This is a 2nm chip with a deca-core CPU, and early indications show it might close the gap with Qualcomm better than previous generations. The S26 Ultra, however, keeps the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 globally.

From a performance standpoint, unless you are a hardcore gamer analyzing frame rates, the Exynos 2600 should handle daily tasks and AI workloads just fine. But I understand the skepticism—Samsung has some trust to rebuild here.

Camera Capabilities: It's All About the Aperture

If you looked at the specs and thought, "Wait, it's the same megapixels as last year?"—you are not wrong. But the hardware tweaks run deeper.

Galaxy S26 and S26+ Cameras

• Main: 50MP (f/1.8 aperture) 
• Telephoto: 10MP with 3x optical zoom 
• Ultrawide: 12MP (f/2.2 aperture) 

This setup remains largely familiar, which isn't a bad thing because the S25 series took excellent photos. The real magic here is software processing.

Galaxy S26 Ultra Camera

• Main: 200MP (f/1.4 aperture - wider than last year's f/1.7) 
• Ultrawide: 50MP (f/1.9 aperture)
• Telephoto 1: 10MP with 3x optical zoom 
• Telephoto 2: 50MP periscope with 5x optical zoom (f/2.8 aperture)

The highlight here is the wider aperture on the main sensor. Letting in more light means your night mode shots are going to look significantly better without needing a 3-second exposure time. If you shoot a lot of concerts or low-light cityscapes, this is your upgrade.

Battery Life and Charging Speed: The Mixed Bag

Here is where things get a bit... average. Let's look at the numbers:

• Galaxy S26: 4,300mAh battery with 25W charging 
• Galaxy S26+: 4,900mAh battery with 45W charging 
• Galaxy S26 Ultra: 5,000mAh battery with 60W charging 

The base model finally got a small bump (300mAh over the S25), which is welcome. The Plus and Ultra, however, keep the exact same capacities as their predecessors. The saving grace is the charging speed on the Ultra, which jumps from 45W to 60W. Samsung claims you can get a full charge in under an hour now.

But I have to be honest: in 2026, seeing 25W charging on a base model flagship feels slow when competitors are pushing past 100W. It gets the job done, but it tests your patience.

The AI and Software Experience

Samsung is leaning hard into AI with this generation—maybe harder than they are leaning into hardware. The tagline for Unpacked is all about "opening a new chapter of AI.

All three models will ship with Android 16 and One UI 8.5 out of the box . The big new feature floating around is something called "Privacy Display." Essentially, the phone uses AI to narrow the viewing angle of the screen when it detects someone looking over your shoulder. It blacks out the content for prying eyes while you read your messages in public. That is the kind of practical AI I can get behind.

Pricing and Availability

Let's talk money. The prices have leaked for the European market, and as expected, there is a slight hike.

• Galaxy S26 (256GB): Starts at €999 
• Galaxy S26+ (256GB): Starts at €1,269 
• Galaxy S26 Ultra (256GB): Starts at €1,469

In the US, UK, and Canada, we can expect the pricing to follow similar conversion trends—likely starting around $849/£899 for the base model. Pre-orders are expected to go live immediately after the Unpacked event on 25th February 2026, with devices shipping by mid-March

Final Verdict: Should You Upgrade?

If you are coming from a Galaxy S23 or older, the Samsung Galaxy S26 series is going to feel like a massive leap. You get the polished AI features, a lighter build, and the superior camera aperture on the Ultra.

If you are on an S24 or S25? It is a tougher call. The hardware changes are incremental. But if you value privacy features, better ergonomics, and the absolute best chipset for future-proofing, the Ultra model stands out as the only one with truly meaningful upgrades this year

👉 Visit our homepage for more reviews: SKT trends

---

Disclaimer:

This article discusses expected features and details based on available information. We have not received any payment or sponsorship from the company.