5 Minutes
Samsung nudged the Galaxy S26 forward where it counts for everyday users: a slightly larger display, a noticeably bigger battery, and a software-first push that tries to make your phone smarter rather than just faster.
Think small changes, big effect. The base S26 now starts at 256GB of storage — 128GB is finally retired — and both S26 and S26+ offer a 512GB tier while RAM remains a steady 12GB. For chipsets, Samsung is splitting lanes: most regions will run the new Exynos 2600, while North America, China and Japan get the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 for Galaxy.
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The vanilla S26 grows to a 6.3" LTPO OLED display (1080p+, 1–120Hz). Not a revolution, but the extra screen real estate is welcome. The headline hardware change is the battery: 4,300mAh, up from 4,000mAh. Dimensions are close to last year — 149.6 x 71.7 x 7.2mm — and weight nudges to 167g.
The S26+ keeps the familiar 6.7" 1440p+ LTPO panel and the same 4,900mAh battery as its predecessor, carrying over size and weight almost verbatim. Charging upgrades are uneven across the line: the Plus gains a modest wireless bump to 20W (wired stays at 45W), while the standard S26 remains at 25W wired and 15W wireless. (The Ultra, briefly: 60W wired / 25W wireless.)
Cameras are familiar, not flashy: a 50MP main with f/1.8 and OIS, a 10MP 3x telephoto, and a 12MP ultrawide. Pixel sizes hover around 1.0µm for the main and tele and 1.4µm for the ultra. In short: solid sensors, meaningful software will be the differentiator.
This year’s story is about AI shaping everyday tasks rather than raw spec-sheet wars.
Samsung’s performance claims for the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 for Galaxy are clear: roughly +19% CPU, +24% GPU and +39% NPU versus the S25 series — and the Exynos 2600 models promise similar AI-focused gains. Practically, that means voice commands process faster, transcriptions complete in half the time, and on-device AI features feel snappier when you actually use them.
One UI’s new toys lean into context and convenience. Nudge will remind you of commitments while you chat — like a friend whispering, “Don’t forget the 7 p.m. sushi.” The Personal Data Engine quietly pulls details from messages and notifications to populate reminders and appointments, even if you haven’t added them to your calendar.
Screenshots get smarter: the gallery auto-sorts captures into categories such as Shopping, Social, Coupons, Boarding Passes, Events, Locations, QR Codes and Chats. The document scanner goes beyond basic OCR and attempts to preserve formatting and images — useful when you need a clean, editable copy of a flyer or receipt.
Communication features also get an AI polish. Call Screening answers and transcribes potential spam calls, telling you who called and why before you pick up. Audio Eraser isolates voices and dials down ambient noise, and it’s now available inside third-party apps like YouTube, Netflix and Instagram — a welcome addition for creators and casual viewers alike.
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Video and imaging see clever, practical upgrades. Auto Framing crops 8K footage on-device and outputs a perfectly framed 4K clip in real time. Super Steady Video locks the horizon with a 360° horizontal stabilization trick borrowed from action cameras, so your footage stays level even when you don’t. Selfies benefit from an improved AI ISP and an Object-Aware Engine that handles foreground/background separation more intelligently.
Color choices stay consistent across the lineup: White, Sky Blue, Cobalt Violet and Black. Availability is straightforward: pre-orders open now and the S26 family ships on March 11.
For price-conscious readers who like numbers, here are the European launch tags compared to last year:
- Galaxy S26 12GB/256GB — €1,000; 12GB/512GB — €1,200
- Galaxy S26+ 12GB/256GB — €1,250; 12GB/512GB — €1,450
- Galaxy S26 Ultra 12GB/256GB — €1,450; 12GB/512GB — €1,650; 16GB/1TB — €1,950
So, is this an evolutionary year or a missed hardware moment? A bit of both. Samsung pushed silicon and AI forward while keeping a conservative hand on chassis design and camera hardware. If you prize smarter software, and better battery life in a compact package, the S26 is an easy win. If you chase headline specs and dramatic redesigns, glance at the Ultra — or wait for the next cycle.
Source: gsmarena
Comments
atomwave
Wow, bigger battery on the compact S26? finally. AI stuff sounds handy for daily life, but those EU prices sting a bit… curious about real world battery life tho
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