Samsung has finally launched its next-generation of flagship phones, the Galaxy S26 series. The Korean giant announced three devices at Galaxy Unpacked in San Francisco last night – the Galaxy S26, S26 Plus, and the S26 Ultra.
As is the case with the Galaxy S-series, we see a bunch of new upgrades, including better performance and some design changes. But this time around, Samsung has made some big leaps when it comes to the display, and of course, AI.
So let’s take a look at everything you need to know about Samsung’s latest flagships.
Samsung debuts in-built privacy display on Galaxy S26 Ultra
The biggest announcement during the Galaxy S26 series launch was of a new inbuilt privacy screen on the flagship S26 Ultra. According to Samsung, when this feature is enabled, your phone can hide sensitive content from onlookers – something like a privacy screen protector, but built into the display itself.
To understand how this works in detail, you can check out our quick review here: Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra quick review: Now you see me, now you don’t
The Galaxy S26 Ultra also gets a new 10-bit 6.9-inch AMOLED panel with a 120Hz refresh rate. The base Galaxy S26 and S26 Plus get 6.3-inch and 6.7-inch AMOLED panels, respectively.
Samsung Galaxy S26 series design
The Korean giant has tweaked the design for the Galaxy S series this year. All three devices get a unified camera module that looks similar to what we have seen on the Galaxy Z Fold 7.
The Galaxy S26 Ultra also gets more rounded corners. It is also slimmer than its predecessor at 7.9mm. The Galaxy S26 series comes in new colours – Cobalt Violet, White, Black, and Sky Blue.
Samsung Galaxy S26 series performance and battery
Under the hood, the Galaxy S26 Ultra gets Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 for Galaxy chipset. However, the Galaxy S26 and S26 Plus are powered by Samsung’s inhouse Exynos 2600 SoC.
While Samsung has kept the battery size for the Ultra unchanged from last year at 5,000mAh, it now supports 60W wired and 25W wireless charging.
The Galaxy S26 now comes with a 4,300mAh battery instead of the 4,000mAh cell on its predecessor with support for 25W fast charging. The Galaxy S26 Plus gets a 4,900mAh battery with 45W fast charging support.
Samsung Galaxy S26 series cameras and AI
The Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra retains the camera setup from last year – a 200-megapixel primary sensor, a 50-megapixel 5x periscope telephoto, a 50-megapixel ultra-wide, and a 10-megapixel 3x telephoto. However, the main sensor and the periscope telephoto now get wider apertures to allow for more light to enter.
The Galaxy S26 and S26 Plus each feature a triple rear camera setup – a 50-megapixel main sensor, a 10-megapixel 3x telephoto and a 12-megapixel ultra-wide camera.
Samsung is also doubling down on new AI features. The company has partnered with Perplexity for its personal assistant Bixby with new agentic capabilities. You also get AI features such as AI photo editor and AI noise reduction. The Galaxy S26 series runs on Android 16-based One UI 8.5 out of the box. The Korean giant promises seven years of major OS and security updates.
Samsung Galaxy S26 series price in India
The Samsung Galaxy S26 starts at Rs 87,999 in India for the base 12GB/256GB variant. While this is an increase compared to the Galaxy S25’s starting price of Rs 80,999, the Galaxy S26 comes with double the storage in the base variant. The 12GB/512GB variant of the Galaxy S26 is priced at Rs 1,07,999.
Samsung has priced the Galaxy S26 Plus at Rs 1,19,999 and Rs 1,39,999 for the 12GB/256GB and 12GB/512GB models respectively. For context, the Galaxy S25 Plus started at Rs 99,999.
And the top-of-the-line Galaxy S26 Ultra starts in India at Rs 1,39,999 for the 12GB/256GB variant. The 12GB/512GB and 16GB/1TB models are priced at Rs 1,59,999 and Rs 1,89,999 respectively.
