The Galaxy S25 Extremely (pictured) was Samsung’s strongest non-folding cellphone. What’s in retailer for the Galaxy S26 Extremely at Samsung Unpacked?
It is a unusual 12 months for Samsung: we’re already in February, and there is nonetheless no official phrase on once we’ll see the Galaxy S26, the corporate’s subsequent flagship cellphone sequence. In earlier years, the entire lineup would’ve been revealed round CES, however Samsung appears blissful to attend — and rumors recommend we’d not see the Galaxy S26 launch till the top of February.
Samsung hasn’t been quiet in 2026, launching the Galaxy Z Trifold for $2,899 within the US on the finish of January. Round a month later — Feb. 25, if the rumors are true — the Galaxy S26 shall be revealed in San Francisco simply earlier than the 12 months’s largest smartphone present, Cellular World Congress, kicks off in Barcelona. That is late for Samsung, however nonetheless early sufficient within the 12 months to set the stage for many different premium Android telephones coming in 2026.
The stakes stay excessive for the S26 telephones. Because the best-selling Android model on the earth, Samsung should introduce sufficient new options to maintain its highest-end telephones on the prime of the charts, and the iPhone 17 series debuted several perks that raised the bar. As generative AI turns into extra concerned in different gadget classes, Samsung has to seek out new, unique makes use of for the novel tech that may preserve differentiating its telephones amid fierce competitors on the premium degree.
We count on the Galaxy S26 lineup to match that of prior years: a regular S26, a bigger S26 Plus and a top-of-the-line Galaxy S26 Extremely. Whereas rumors do not recommend any drastic redesigns, there’ll in all probability be some exterior tweaks and upgrades to the {hardware}, together with the processor and cameras. Let’s dive into the specifics of the whole lot we all know in regards to the Galaxy S26 sequence launch.
Galaxy S26 lineup overview
The Samsung Galaxy S25.
Galaxy S26
Regardless of early rumors from Android Authority suggesting Samsung would possibly ditch its baseline cellphone for a pricier, higher-specced Professional model, the newest leaks preserve that Samsung will preserve its customary Galaxy S26 mannequin. We do not count on too many adjustments to the mannequin’s design, although it might see a return of a raised digital camera bump after the Galaxy S25 stored them flush with the rear cowl. Different rumors recommend it might get a barely bigger 6.3-inch show and a slimmer construct. The Galaxy S25 has a 6.2-inch show, for comparability.
Rumors differ on whether or not the cellphone’s cameras shall be upgraded, with some suggesting it’s going to get an upgraded 50-megapixel ultrawide and others claiming it’s going to preserve its predecessor’s 12-megapixel shooter. The cellphone is predicted to run both the Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 chip within the US and China or Samsung’s personal Exynos 2600 processor elsewhere. In any other case, rumors recommend the S26 will pack 12GB of RAM, a most 512GB of storage and a 4,300-mAh battery, in keeping with famous leaker @UniverseIce.
The Galaxy S25 (left), subsequent to the S25 Plus (center) and S25 Edge (proper).
Galaxy S26 Plus and S26 Edge
Samsung was additionally stated to be debating whether or not to outright change its bigger S26 Plus with the super-slim S26 Edge, however reportedly poorer gross sales of final 12 months’s Galaxy S25 Edge recommend the pendulum might swing the opposite approach: we could get an S26 Plus this 12 months, as 9to5Google suggests.
The Galaxy S26 Plus is predicted to have a 6.7-inch show like its predecessor and shall be 7.35mm skinny, nevertheless it will not have a bodily shift. Like the opposite S26 telephones, it is anticipated to get the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 within the US and China or the Exynos 2600 elsewhere.
Final 12 months’s S25 Edge got here out in Could, so it is completely doable we’ll see the S26 Edge launch later. If we do, leaks reported by Android Authority prompt it might be 5.5mm thick, which is 0.3mm thinner than its predecessor — and, by the way, 0.1mm thinner than the iPhone Air. Hypothesis additionally predicted it might have the identical 6.7-inch show however a bigger 4,200-mAh battery.
Samsung Galaxy S25 Extremely.
Galaxy S26 Extremely
Like others within the S26 sequence, the Galaxy S26 Extremely is predicted to pack the brand new Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 within the US and China, whereas Samsung will use its personal Exynos 2600 chip in different markets. In any other case, rumors level to the cellphone packing 16GB of RAM, as much as 1TB of storage, a 5,000-mAh battery and upgraded charging — as much as 60 watts wired and 25 watts wi-fi, as SamMobile reported.
One other rumor from PhoneArena suggests the cellphone will revert to an aluminum body from its titanium predecessors, very like Apple did with the iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max.
The Samsung Galaxy Buds 3.
New Galaxy Buds 4
Rumors recommend Samsung will launch new Galaxy Buds 4 and Buds 4 Professional fashions alongside its telephones. Product photographs printed by Android Authority present redesigns for each fashions, that are every getting what appear like burnished metallic strips on the skin of the stems, which ought to make them look a bit much less like Apple AirPods than the Galaxy Buds 3. As in prior generations, the common Buds 4 look to be completely plastic, whereas the Professional fashions could have silicone eartips.
New AI options and Bixby updates
The most recent Galaxy telephones usually arrive with new AI options, and rumors recommend the Galaxy S26 sequence shall be no exception. Samsung itself alluded to a brand new privateness defend coming in future telephones (presumably the S26 sequence) that may block components of the show when seen at an angle, shielding notifications and even complete apps from onlooker view. Leaks recommend AI is doing the heavy lifting to selectively render photographs just for these wanting straight on the cellphone. Presumably, this can come to all S26 fashions, and leaks have not prompt in any other case.
The S26 telephones could possibly use generative AI to render photographs sooner than earlier than. Samsung’s partnership with Nota AI was announced in November, which goals to optimize on-device genAI. This implies bringing its EdgeFusion (a model of Steady Diffusion) to hurry up text-to-image era by operating it purely on Galaxy S26 handsets (relatively than partially or wholly via the cloud), PhoneArena prompt, integrating Nota AI’s tech on the processor degree.
