Galaxy S26: 6 exciting upgrades coming in February
Here's what the rumors are saying so far about the Galaxy S26 Plus.
After months of believing the Galaxy S26 Plus is not happening this year, it seems that Samsung has changed its initial plan, and the middle brother in the Galaxy S26 family is making a return. Now, the phone is apparently going to join the S26 lineup, and it's not getting replaced with a Galaxy S26 Edge, as was expected earlier.
Meanwhile, the vanilla Galaxy S26 is reportedly not going to come with the "Pro" moniker, and will instead debut just as the Galaxy S26.
Here's the main upgrades that the two phones are rumored to get this time around.
Exynos/Snapdragon Split
Reportedly, Samsung is bringing back its chip-split strategy this year for the S26 series, and especially for the Galaxy S26 and S26 Plus. Both phones are reportedly going to sport the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chip in some regions, while in others, the Exynos 2600.
Redesigned camera module
Leaked render of the Galaxy S26 Plus. | Image Credit - Android Headlines
Visually, rumor has it that the Galaxy S26 and Galaxy S26 Plus are not changing that much, at least not from the front. However, judging by leaked renders, Samsung is redesigning the back of both device slightly with a new look for the camera island. The camera lenses won't stand on their own like on previous models, but instead, there will be a camera island around them.
Some people may find the design solution controversial, but at least it should improve the lint and dust-collecting issue with the camera lenses on the S25 and S25 Plus.
Faster 20W wireless charging
The Galaxy S26 and S26 Plus are both rumored to bump up the wireless charging speeds to 20W from 15W on the previous models. That would allow for faster charging, and it's also related to the other rumored upgrade for the entire lineup, which is real Qi2 charging support.
Qi2 charging support
Samsung is reportedly upgrading the entire Galaxy S26 lineup with real Qi2 charging support. This means that the phones are going to be able to rock magnetic accessories similar to Apple's MagSafe. This opens the possibility of a whole new world of magnetic accessories, including power banks, magnetic wallets, car mounts, pop sockets, and what have you.
The Galaxy S25 and the Galaxy S26 Plus were only rated Qi2 Ready, which basically means that the phones didn't have magnets built in, but with an appropriate case, both are able to support Qi2 accessories.
Improved telephoto sensor
Reportedly, the entire 2026 lineup, is going to get a new 1/2.55-inch 12MP telephoto camera sensor. That would be significantly larger than the current 10MP sensor (1/3.52-inch) that's in the S25 series.
The 3x optical zoom level isn't changing with this new sensor; however, the photos should technically be better in terms of details and reduced noise. A larger sensor would allow for more light to be captured in a photo.
Upgraded AI experience
Galaxy AI. | Image Credit - Samsung
Rumor has it that the Galaxy S26 series is going to also bring some upgrades on the Artificial Intelligence front. Expect a "user-centric" update in terms of AI. That would mean that Galaxy AI may become more proactive in suggesting tasks or actions.
The industry is all about AI right now, so there may be quite a lot of new AI features exclusive to flagships coming as well. The Galaxy S26 and S26 Plus are going to come with One UI 8.5, which would also bring a fully-customizable Quick Settings panel, improved visual elements across the operating system, power-saving options and a new voicemail feature.
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