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Samsung Galaxy S26 release date expectations, price estimates and upgrades

By Iskra Petrova

Updated: Jun 26, 2025, 7:54 AM

The Galaxy S25 Plus for illustrative purposes. | Image Credit - Samsung

What we know so far

The Galaxy S25 and S25 Plus were announced in January this year. And now, we're turning our gazes towards the future, and more specifically towards next year's flagship devices, the Galaxy S26 and S26 Plus.

Leaks are starting to show up now. First of all, Samsung may finally amp up the battery sizes of these two phones to match up with the competition, especially Chinese brands that now rock bigger batteries thanks to the silicone carbon tech. It's also possible that the models may come with improved fast charging. Meanwhile, we're also hearing now about the processor the two phones may rock, and the Snapdragon-Exynos split may be back.

Looking at Samsung's recent launches, we're not expecting any major design changes for the S26 and S26+. The usual seems to be sticking around - a 6.1-inch display for the S26, a 6.7-inch for the S26+, along with flat edges and a familiar camera setup. The amount of RAM may get an upgrade, though.

What will likely stand out, though, is the heavy focus on generative AI. Exactly what these AI-powered features will be and how futuristic they'll feel is still up in the air, but Samsung seems to be pushing in that direction (alongside the entire industry). There are rumors Samsung may partner with Perplexity AI for the Galaxy S26.

Jump to:

Release date
Price
Camera
Storage
Design
Display
Battery
Features and software
Hardware
Should you wait for the Galaxy S26?

Also read: Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra release date expectations, price estimates

Galaxy S26 release date

We expect Samsung to follow its tradition and unveil the new Galaxy S26 series in the first quarter of 2026. It's likely this is either going to be early February or mid-January. Judging by the last few years of Samsung Galaxy S Unpacked events, expect a Wednesday. Of course, it's still quite early to have leaks about the exact date.

Device lineup	Announcement	Market release
Galaxy S26	January or February 2026*	February, 2026*
Galaxy S25	January 22, 2025	February 7, 2025
Galaxy S24	January 17, 2024	January 31, 2024
Galaxy S23	February 1, 2023	February 17, 2023

* - probable dates

Galaxy S26 price

We're still several months away from knowing exactly how much the Galaxy S26 phones will cost.

Samsung might raise prices a bit – maybe because of new hardware, software upgrades, or some surprise feature. Or just because. But even if that happens, don't expect any major price jumps.

Galaxy model	128GB of storage	256GB of storage	512GB of storage	1TB of storage
Galaxy S26	$799*	$859*	-	-
Galaxy S26 Plus	-	$999*	$1119*
Galaxy S25	$799	$859	-	-
Galaxy S25 Plus	-	$999	$1119	-
Galaxy S24	$799	$859	-	-
Galaxy S24 Plus	-	$999	$1119	-

*- anticipated prices

Galaxy S26 camera

Galaxy S26 and S26 camera setup (expected):

50 MP main camera (expected)
12 MP ultra-wide (expected)
10 MP telephoto (3x optical zoom) (expected)
12 MP selfie camera (expected)

For now, we haven't heard much about the two phones' cameras. Usually, the cameras of the two are identical, and rumors indicate this might be the case next year as well. It seems the Galaxy S26 may get an upgraded sensor for one of its cameras, which could mean better image quality that previous generations, although the MP count is said to remain the same.

Meanwhile, a (dubious) rumor about an under-display selfie camera for the S26 Ultra may mean this change would trickle down to the smaller siblings as well, as usually the trio has similar designs overall. But since this rumor is frankly shady, don't get your hopes up just yet.

The Galaxy S25 and S25 Plus didn't change much in terms of camera hardware compared to the models before them, but they did bring a bunch of smart software upgrades. We saw features like 10-bit HDR video for better detail, improved low-light performance, and cool editing tools like Audio Eraser.

Expert RAW on the S25 even got a Virtual Aperture feature and more pro-level controls.

For the Galaxy S26 and S26 Plus, we expect Samsung to build on this strong foundation – and hopefully bring in some fresh updates too. Maybe the ultra-wide or telephoto cameras will get a boost in megapixels, but so far, there haven't been any solid leaks to confirm that.

Galaxy S26 storage

The Galaxy S25 got a RAM boost to 12GB. Meanwhile, competitors from other companies are starting to offer 16GB as a default, so maybe we can hope that next year, the Galaxy S26 will come with 16GB of RAM, or at least, offer it as a more expensive option.

A recent leak indicates that might as well just happen, so we may see 16GB of RAM on the Galaxy S26 series.

Galaxy S26 potential storage capacity:

128 GB
256 GB
512 GB

Galaxy S26 Plus potential storage capacity:

256 GB
512 GB

Galaxy S26 design

The Galaxy S25 on the left, Galaxy S24 on the right. | Image Credit - PhoneArena

There aren't any leaked renders of the Galaxy S26 or S26+ yet – honestly, they probably haven't even been made. So for now, the design is still a bit of a mystery.

That said, leakers have been getting faster and more detailed every year, so it's only a matter of time before the first sneak peeks start showing up. In a few months, we'll likely get a much clearer idea, or maybe even the full picture.

Some early rumors hint at a design overhaul. We're even hearing a serious redesign is in the cards, and we may be going in the thinness direction. Samsung is reportedly working on a camera module that may be thinner with a new approach to lens assembly.

And we also have the Galaxy S25 Edge, Samsung's super thin contender. It's possible Samsung will take some of its design elements, maybe the slim part, and bring it to the Galaxy S26 and S26+.

Despite whether or not we see huge changes in how the S26 looks, you should be certain that it's going to feel premium and sturdy, and it will rock some fresh, gorgeous colors. I'm quite excited to see what these would be.

Galaxy S26 display

Samsung's high-end phones always have amazing screens. It's one of their strong points, and that's not likely to change. Even without early leaks, we can safely say the Galaxy S26 and S26+ will have excellent displays.

We expect the S26 to have a 6.1-inch AMOLED screen, and the S26+ a larger 6.7-inch one. Like the Galaxy S25, you can look forward to bright colors, great clarity, and wide viewing angles. Both should also have the smooth 120Hz refresh rate that's now standard - perfect for scrolling and animations.

There's also a good chance they'll come with anti-reflective coating, just like the Galaxy S25 Ultra..

Galaxy S26 battery

It's about time for Samsung to grace Galaxy fans with some more battery. Competitors from Chinese makers are betting on new battery tech, including silicon carbon batteries, to stick huge battery cells in their models without compromising on slimness or style (for example, the OnePlus 13, the Honor Magic 6 Pro, and others, and they'll become more in 2025)

Samsung is rumored to be working on its own take: stacked batteries, which would also allow for bigger batteries in the same physical space. However, it's important to know that rumors about Samsung's battery stacking have been going on for quite some time now, so we better keep our expectations in check. Nevertheless, it's about time, I'd say.

Another (even more exciting) rumor is that Samsung may introduce silicon-carbon batteries with the Galaxy S26 series. If true, it may facilitate noticeably bigger batteries on the Galaxy S26 and Galaxy S26 Plus, like in the realms of 6,000 or even 7,000mAh. Hopefully, that rumor would pan out, don't you think?

Meanwhile, the Galaxy S25 comes with a 4,000mAh battery, which is somewhat small compared to some of the aforementioned battery champions. The bigger sibling, the Galaxy S25+, comes with a 4,900mAh battery cell. As for charging, the S25 supports 25W wired and 15W wireless, while the Plus has 45W wired and again 15W wireless. There are rumors we may see 65W charging for the lineup, which would be very-well appreciated.

The S25 battery specs are in need of upgrades for Samsung's flagships of 2026 to be able to compete with the others, so the rumors about faster charging and bigger batteries are welcome. The South Korea-based company should really work on new battery technology in order to not be left behind by some of the Chinese pioneers.

Galaxy S26 features and software

Samsung's Galaxy phones come with One UI, a custom skin on top of Android. The Galaxy S25 and S25+ come with the Android 15-based One UI 7.

The Galaxy S26 series may come with One UI 8, which will be based on Android 16. A recent One UI 8 leak has already indicated that you may be able to choose your measurement system without changing your language, but that's about all we know so far.

Meanwhile, Android 16's stable version is now out. In the meantime, Samsung is reportedly considering partnering with Perplexity AI for the AI on the Galaxy S26.

Galaxy S26 hardware

Right now, we're not sure what new hardware the Galaxy S26 and S26 Plus will have. They’ll likely use Qualcomm's next top processor. Samsung is said to be nearing the deadline to make a decision, though: between the Exynos 2600 and the Snapdragon 8 Elite 2.

It's still possible that some regional split may occur like with previous Galaxy S models: US and others may get Qualcomm's chip, while Europe may get an Samsung-made Exynos 2600. Samsung's chips have historically performed a bit worse compared to Qualcomm's, but there are months for Samsung to hopefully improve things in time for the S26 series.

However, Samsung may really be pushing for Exynos. A lot of reports indicate that a regional split is in the cards. Major markets (North America, Korea, China, and Japan) are said to come with the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 2, while other markets may get the Samsung-made Exynos 2600.

Probably, the Galaxy S26 phones will sport at least 12GB of RAM, as the extra RAM is needed for intensive AI tasks or multitasking. Rumors indicate a 16GB of RAM option is also potentially coming, which would be epic news, if true.

As for performance, given that those phones are the top of the top from Samsung, you can safely count on fluid and fast performance. Most probably they will perform exceptionally well with both light tasks like browsing and social media to more intense tasks like gaming and generative AI.

Meanwhile, Qualcomm announced the X85 modem during MWC that would potentially handle connectivity on the Galaxy S26 series. The new modem will be more power efficient but able to deliver higher 5G speeds.

Should I wait for the Galaxy S26?

You should wait for the Galaxy S26 if you're not pressed for an upgrade right now. For example, if you're rocking a Galaxy S24 model, the difference with the S25 isn't that big so you may want to rock your S24 for another year and look into the S26 for an upgrade.

You should not wait for the Galaxy S26 ifyou just got your new shiny Galaxy S25. The differences between the models may not be huge enough to warrant an upgrade, but it's really early to tell. For now, given how far the S26 release is, I'd say go for whatever phone you fancy right now.

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Izzy, a tech enthusiast and a key part of the PhoneArena team, specializes in delivering the latest mobile tech news and finding the best tech deals. Her interests extend to cybersecurity, phone design innovations, and camera capabilities. Outside her professional life, Izzy, a literature master's degree holder, enjoys reading, painting, and learning languages. She's also a personal growth advocate, believing in the power of experience and gratitude. Whether it's walking her Chihuahua or singing her heart out, Izzy embraces life with passion and curiosity.

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