Samsung has finally unveiled the new Galaxy S26 series of smartphones, ending the wait for smartphone lovers around the world. The company showcased three new flagship smartphones under the Galaxy S26 series at the ‘Galaxy Unpacked’ event held in San Francisco, USA, on Wednesday. The ‘Galaxy S26’, ‘S26 Plus’ and ‘S26 Ultra’ models of smartphones will be available in various countries from March 11, but pre-orders can be made.
The new series focuses on hardware and software-centric improvements rather than major design changes. All three models use Samsung’s custom chipset, the ‘Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 for Galaxy’. The chipset has been specially optimized to deliver improved processing capabilities and speed up artificial intelligence-based tasks, the company said.
The Galaxy S26 starts at $899 in the US, the S26 Plus starts at $1,099, and the S26 Ultra starts at $1,299. The S26 model no longer comes in a 128GB version, which is a $100 increase over last year. The phones will be available in six colors: Cobalt Violet, Sky Blue, Black, White, Silver Shadow, and Pink Gold. The Silver Shadow and Pink Gold will be sold online only.
Two features in the Galaxy S26 series have been particularly discussed. Artificial intelligence-based tools for photo and video editing have been brought together in an integrated platform called ‘Creative Studio’. The features that were previously spread across different apps will now be available in one place. The other is ‘Privacy Display’. This feature uses display technology designed in such a way that the screen will appear dark when not viewed directly from the front. As a result, the risk of personal information being seen by others when using the phone in public places will be reduced.
According to Samsung, the Galaxy S26 has a 6.3-inch AMOLED screen. The S26 Plus has a 6.7-inch AMOLED screen, and the S26 Ultra has a 6.9-inch AMOLED screen. All three models support adaptive refresh rates from 1 to 120 Hz. The Ultra model retains the S Pen feature. The S26 and S26 Plus have 12 GB of RAM and 256 or 512 GB of memory options. The S26 Ultra will be available in 12 or 16 GB of RAM and 256, 512 GB or 1 terabyte versions. The S26 model uses a 4,300 mAh battery, the S26 Plus has 4,900 and the S26 Ultra has 5,000 mAh battery. For the first time, the Ultra model has 60-watt fast charging.
Samsung has put the Ultra model at the forefront in terms of camera system. The Galaxy S26 and S26 Plus have a 50-megapixel main camera, a 12-megapixel ultrawide lens, a 10-megapixel telephoto lens, and a 12-megapixel front camera. On the other hand, the S26 Ultra has a 200-megapixel main sensor, a 50-megapixel ultrawide, and two telephoto lenses of 50 and 10 megapixels. It will provide a maximum of 5x optical zoom. There is a 12-megapixel front camera for selfies.
Samsung has announced that the S26 Ultra will feature improved Corning Gorilla Armor 2 protection glass, a newly designed vapor chamber for heat management, and magnetic connections on all S26 cases. The camera app has also been updated with a redesigned document scanner. When it comes to using artificial intelligence-based assistants, users can choose from Google Gemini, Samsung Bixby, and Perplexity.