Samsung has officially launched the Galaxy S26, the latest addition to its flagship smartphone lineup. The new device builds on the foundation of last year’s model and brings a number of updates in the areas of AI, performance and software, although not much has changed in terms of appearance or core hardware components.
But let me get the bad part out first. The asking price for the Galaxy S26 has risen to $899, while the Galaxy S26 Plus now starts at $1,099 in the US, up from last year’s retail value of $999.
What’s new?
As in the previous two years, Samsung’s main focus is adding and improving AI features. It starts with the new SoC. The Samsung Galaxy S26 will feature the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 for Galaxy. The new chipset delivers significant performance improvements: CPU, NPU and GPU improve by 19%, 39% and 24% respectively.
However, as in previous years, the S26 will be powered by Exynos 2600 in some markets, while the rest will get a Qualcomm chip. Samsung has said its Exynos silicon is not a problem and brings significant performance improvements.
The CPU is 39% faster, while a new integrated NPU is said to result in 113% faster AI performance. On the other hand, the included Xclipse 960 GPU delivers twice the performance compared to last year’s Xclipse 950 and 50% better ray tracing performance.
Aside from the SoC upgrade, the phone isn’t that different from its predecessor, the Galaxy S25. The display has become slightly larger and now measures 6.3 inches, while the battery capacity has only increased by 300 mAh.
The cameras remain unchanged from previous years, so any improvements are due to the new image engine and AI processing. Below is the full specs list:
| aspects | Details |
| Dimensions | 71.7 x 149.6 x 7.2mm |
| Weight | 167 grams (5.8 ounces) |
| Advertisement | 6.3 inch FHD+ Dynamic AMOLED 2X display 120 Hz adaptive refresh rate (1~120 Hz) |
| processor | Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 for Galaxy / Exynos 2600 |
| camera | Rear view cameras: 12 MP ultra wide angle camera (F2.2) 50 MP wide-angle camera (OIS F1.8, 2x optical zoom) 10 MP telephoto camera (3x optical zoom, F2.4) Front camera: 12MP, f/2.2 |
| RAM and storage | 12 + 512GB 12 + 256GB |
| Battery and charging | 4,300mAh Fast wireless charging 2.0 25W wired charging Wireless PowerShare |
| Operating system | One UI 8.5 based on Android 16 |
| Network and connectivity | 5G, LTE, Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 5.4 |
A generous dose of AI features
Samsung calls the S26 the third generation of AI phones. This year, the company is focusing on features that make everyday tasks faster and easier. Photo Assist lets you edit images by describing what you want in simple language, while Creative Studio can transform your sketches or text prompts into sophisticated visual representations.
There’s an improved Bixby that’s supposed to offer better multi-step performance. But if you don’t like it, you can always switch to Gemini or Perplexity thanks to the native integration. The Samsung Galaxy S26 can be pre-ordered starting today and, in addition to the Samsung-exclusive colors Pink Gold and Silver Shadow, is available in the colors cobalt, violet, white, black and sky blue.




