Samsung Galaxy S26 Series Launches: Highlights of the S26 and S26+ Models

Samsung has officially launched the Galaxy S26 series, showcasing impressive advancements from its software team. While the hardware team made some notable updates, such as with the S26 Ultra, this article will focus on the standard and Plus models.

Firstly, let's address the chipset situation: the Galaxy S26 and S26+ are equipped with the Exynos 2600 in all regions except for North America, China, and Japan, where the devices will utilize the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5.

Samsung Galaxy S26

The base storage option for the Samsung Galaxy S26 has been increased to 256GB, leaving the previous 128GB version behind. Both the standard and plus models also offer a 512GB storage option, although RAM remains fixed at 12GB.

The screen size has grown to a diagonal measurement of 6.3 inches (up from 6.2 inches), maintaining a 1080p+ LTPO OLED panel with a dynamic refresh rate of 1-120Hz.

Additionally, the battery has been upgraded to a capacity of 4,300mAh (up from 4,000mAh). Despite the larger battery, the device maintains similar dimensions to its predecessor, measuring 149.6 x 71.7 x 7.2mm and weighing 167g (a mere 5g increase).

The Samsung Galaxy S26+ retains its 6.7-inch display (1440p+, 1-120Hz LTPO) and matches the dimensions and weight of the S25+, along with the same 4,900mAh battery capacity.

The S26 Ultra has seen a notable enhancement in charging capabilities, supporting 60W wired and 25W wireless charging, compared to the previous 45W/15W. Meanwhile, the S26+ has received a slight upgrade in wireless charging to 20W (up from 15W), while the wired charging remains static at 45W. The Galaxy S26 itself maintains the same 25W wired and 15W wireless charging as its predecessor.

The S26 and S26+ share a consistent triple camera setup with last year's models. This includes a 50MP main camera (1.0µm pixels) with an f/1.8 lens featuring OIS, a 10MP telephoto camera (1.0µm pixels) with a 3x lens, and a 12MP ultra-wide camera (1.4µm) with an f/2.2 lens.

These models will be available in four colors for unified branding: White, Sky Blue, Cobalt Violet, and Black.

Samsung Galaxy S26 and S26+ Color Options

Returning to the chipset, Samsung promises a significant performance boost, with a 19% increase in CPU performance, a 24% boost in GPU performance, and a 39% enhancement in NPU speed for the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 for Galaxy (relative to the S25 series). Similar improvements are expected for the Exynos 2600 models, particularly in AI capabilities.

How does this affect user experience? Voice command processing is now twice as fast, and operations such as transcribing voice calls or utilizing the AI Eraser have become significantly quicker.

The Galaxy S26 series embraces AI capabilities across its interface, featuring advanced tools like Nudge, which can remind users of previous commitments during conversations, as well as retrieve relevant photos for sharing.

The Brief feature now operates on the Personal Data Engine, aggregating information from notifications, messages, and emails to automatically determine appointments even if they haven't been manually entered into the calendar.

Samsung Galaxy S26+

If organizing screenshots is important to you, the latest One UI enhances this process by categorizing them automatically into eight categories: Shopping, Social Media, Coupons, Boarding Passes, Events, Locations, Barcodes + QR Codes, and Chats. Additionally, a document scanner capability has been integrated, which not only performs OCR but also retains formatting and images for complete document accuracy.

The Call Screening feature functions as a spam filter for unwanted calls, identifying the caller and their purpose while providing an on-screen transcription.

For users who find the sound dynamics in movies frustrating (quiet dialogue amid loud explosions), the Audio Eraser feature can help by isolating voices and reducing background noise. This feature is newly available to third-party apps including YouTube, Netflix, and Instagram.

The camera system has also incorporated innovative AI features, like Auto Framing, which allows for real-time cropping of 8K footage to deliver perfectly framed 4K video output. Super Steady Video functionality enables a 360° horizontal lock, maintaining a level horizon regardless of phone orientation. The front camera benefits from an enhanced AI ISP with an Object-Aware Engine for improved selfies.

The Samsung Galaxy S26, S26+, and S26 Ultra will be available starting March 11, with pre-orders commencing today. Pricing information can be found below, and for additional regional pricing details, please refer to our pricing breakdown. For comparison, we've included the launch prices of the S25 series.

Don't miss our hands-on review of the Galaxy S26 and S26+, featuring insights on the S26 Ultra as well.

Samsung Galaxy S26 5G

Samsung Galaxy S26+ 5G

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