Official Samsung Galaxy S26 series renders leak, putting to rest all the rumors
This is your best look yet at the upcoming Samsung Galaxy S26 phones.
*Image credit — Michael Ma
The Samsung Galaxy S26 series is right around the corner — expected to be announced on February 25 — so it only makes sense that the rumor mill has ramped up its output. Allegedly official renders of all of the models have now leaked, putting to rest all the conjecture and presumptions about how the new phones are going to look.
As has been reported for some time now, the Galaxy S26 Edge is nowhere to be seen. That doesn’t mean that the Edge series has been canceled completely, of course, but a new model is most likely not coming out alongside the Galaxy S26 phones.
Instead, the base model, the Galaxy S26 Plus, and the Galaxy S26 Ultra have surfaced, with minor cosmetic tweaks to incorporate new features and improve the in-hand feel. Let’s take a look at the new Galaxy S26 lineup.
The base model of the Galaxy S26 series and the Galaxy S26 Plus will, as is tradition, look exactly the same, with the only real visual difference being their size. Galaxy S26 will reportedly be 6.3 inches across, while the Galaxy S26 Plus will be 6.7 inches across.
The Galaxy S26 Plus will feature a higher resolution to make up for the larger display and have a bigger battery than the base model as well: 4,900 mAh vs 4,300 mAh. A 50-megapixel main camera, a 12-megapixel ultrawide, a 10-megapixel telephoto, and a 12-megapixel selfie camera will be found on both phones.
Both models will also run on Samsung’s excellent new in-house 2 nm Exynos 2600 chip, though reports also claim that some markets will receive Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 variants instead. The two phones will also likely come with Android 16 pre-installed.
Interestingly, the base Galaxy S26 and the Galaxy S26 Plus models seem to feature camera islands on the rear as well, a compromise for an upgrade that was only expected for the Galaxy S26 Ultra. Whether this is because these phones are also getting that upgrade or if it was done purely to standardize the design across the lineup is unknown for now.
Speaking of the Galaxy S26 Ultra.
Indeed, as has been reported multiple times over the last few months, the Galaxy S26 Ultra features rounder corners than its predecessors and the return of the rear camera island. Unlike with the base model and the Plus, we know that the camera island on the S26 Ultra actually serves a very important purpose.
Otherwise, the 200-megapixel main camera, 50-megapixel ultrawide, 50-megapixel periscope telephoto, 10-megapixel telephoto, and 12-megapixel selfie camera setup remains the same. However, video recording on the Galaxy S26 Ultra is seeing plenty of exciting upgrades alongside the aforementioned photography improvements.
The phone will be 6.9 inches across the new privacy display and feature the same 5,000 mAh battery that Samsung seems so fond of. It will also come pre-installed with Android 16 — and possibly One UI 8.5 — and will use the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5. Whether an Exynos variant makes it to some markets or not is unclear. As reported before, the S-Pen is a bit rounder too to fit in better with the curvier edges.
We now finally have our proper first look at the Galaxy S26 series, and there are two things that I was not expecting.
For starters, I don’t know why there are rear camera islands on the base Galaxy S26 model and the Galaxy S26 Plus. It is highly unlikely that these two will get the wider aperture as well, though that will definitely be a very welcome upgrade.
Second, the new Cobalt Violet color for the Galaxy S26 Ultra looks very muted. The new Galaxy S26 Ultra colors were pretty popular with fans, especially Cobalt Violet, but I’m guessing that popularity is about to nosedive off of a cliff after these renders.
Samsung, stop being so hesitant about experimenting with flashy new colors! The fans loved it when you broke the mold with the excellent Galaxy Z Fold 7, and they’ll love it still if you go overboard with new colors instead of just relying on black and white to sell well.
Other than that, the new phones look pretty good, and I’m certain that they’ll remain some of the best phones of 2026.
The Samsung Galaxy S26 series is right around the corner — expected to be announced on February 25 — so it only makes sense that the rumor mill has ramped up its output. Allegedly official renders of all of the models have now leaked, putting to rest all the conjecture and presumptions about how the new phones are going to look.
Instead, the base model, the Galaxy S26 Plus, and the Galaxy S26 Ultra have surfaced, with minor cosmetic tweaks to incorporate new features and improve the in-hand feel. Let’s take a look at the new Galaxy S26 lineup.
Galaxy S26 and Galaxy S26 Plus
Leaked official renders of the upcoming Galaxy S26 base model and the Galaxy S26 Plus. | Image credit — Android Headlines
The base model of the Galaxy S26 series and the Galaxy S26 Plus will, as is tradition, look exactly the same, with the only real visual difference being their size. Galaxy S26 will reportedly be 6.3 inches across, while the Galaxy S26 Plus will be 6.7 inches across.
Both models will also run on Samsung’s excellent new in-house 2 nm Exynos 2600 chip, though reports also claim that some markets will receive Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 variants instead. The two phones will also likely come with Android 16 pre-installed.
Speaking of the Galaxy S26 Ultra.
Galaxy S26 Ultra, the best of the best
Leaked official renders of the upcoming Galaxy S26 Ultra. | Image credit — Android Headlines
Indeed, as has been reported multiple times over the last few months, the Galaxy S26 Ultra features rounder corners than its predecessors and the return of the rear camera island. Unlike with the base model and the Plus, we know that the camera island on the S26 Ultra actually serves a very important purpose.
The main camera of the Galaxy S26 Ultra will apparently get a wider aperture this year, which will allow for more detailed photography, especially in dark environments. This is because more light will hit the sensor, and the phone will have more information to work with.
Otherwise, the 200-megapixel main camera, 50-megapixel ultrawide, 50-megapixel periscope telephoto, 10-megapixel telephoto, and 12-megapixel selfie camera setup remains the same. However, video recording on the Galaxy S26 Ultra is seeing plenty of exciting upgrades alongside the aforementioned photography improvements.
The phone will be 6.9 inches across the new privacy display and feature the same 5,000 mAh battery that Samsung seems so fond of. It will also come pre-installed with Android 16 — and possibly One UI 8.5 — and will use the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5. Whether an Exynos variant makes it to some markets or not is unclear. As reported before, the S-Pen is a bit rounder too to fit in better with the curvier edges.
What are you looking forward to the most for the Galaxy S26 Ultra?
And there you have it, folks!
We now finally have our proper first look at the Galaxy S26 series, and there are two things that I was not expecting.
For starters, I don’t know why there are rear camera islands on the base Galaxy S26 model and the Galaxy S26 Plus. It is highly unlikely that these two will get the wider aperture as well, though that will definitely be a very welcome upgrade.
Second, the new Cobalt Violet color for the Galaxy S26 Ultra looks very muted. The new Galaxy S26 Ultra colors were pretty popular with fans, especially Cobalt Violet, but I’m guessing that popularity is about to nosedive off of a cliff after these renders.
Samsung, stop being so hesitant about experimenting with flashy new colors! The fans loved it when you broke the mold with the excellent Galaxy Z Fold 7, and they’ll love it still if you go overboard with new colors instead of just relying on black and white to sell well.
Follow us on Google News
Popular stories
Latest News
FCC OKs Cingular\'s purchase of AT&T Wireless
Things that are NOT allowed:
To help keep our community safe and free from spam, we apply temporary limits to newly created accounts: