Samsung Galaxy S26 and S26 Plus hands-on: Upgrade only if...

As phone fanatics, we tend to focus most on the Galaxy Ultra flagship each year, but the reality is there’s a ton of people out there who choose to go for the smaller, more mainstream Galaxy models. So what’s up with the Samsung Galaxy S26 and S26 Plus this year?

Well, from a “phone fanatic” perspective, the answer is: not much. That said, from my recent hands-on experience with the phones, I believe Samsung has made some meaningful improvements to the formula exactly where it counts, turning the S26 and S26 Plus into amazing options for anyone looking for a high-end Android phone this year.

Design improvements: Galaxy S26 and S26 Plus are now like mini Ultra’s!

The appearance differentiation between the Ultra and the rest is even smaller this year, as Samsung has tweaked the corner radius of the S26 and S26 Plus so they are less rounded and more Ultra-like, for a more unified look across the family. Both the S26 and S26 Plus look instantly fresh and cool after this transformation, so that’s a win in my book.

The chipset situation: Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 for Galaxy… for select users only

Once again, users in the US, China and Japan will get the latest Snapdragon in each Galaxy S phone, including the S26 and S26 Plus. This year, this is the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 for Galaxy. Users in Europe and other markets will be able to enjoy the Snapdragon on the S26 Ultra, but the S26 and S26 Plus will come with the new Exynos 2600 chipset. There is some positive early speculation around this new, 2nm Exynos processor, especially when it comes to AI performance and even gaming performance, but we’ll have to wait and see if it’d be able to match Qualcomm’s finest. Or, if there’s a gap between the two, how big it really is.

Galaxy S26 AI upgrades

There are a bunch of improvements across various Galaxy AI features, most of which aren’t anything big or groundbreaking.

One of the most notable things is improved capability in Photo Assist to not only remove unwanted objects from photos, but also to add stuff that’s missing. For example, if you have a cake in front of you and someone has already taken a piece, you can ask Galaxy AI to restore it to its original, full-cake glory! That way, you can finally have your cake and eat it too! Sort of.

Audio Eraser, which is a pretty neat feature allowing you to clear audio up by removing unwanted noises or boosting wanted ones, can now work in real-time with third-party streaming apps such as YouTube, Netflix or Instagram.

A new Now Nudge feature is supposed to be prompting you with useful bits of information when you need them. Such as: when discussing a possible meeting time with a friend, Now Nudge should provide you with a free slot based on your calendar availability. These contextual features always sound pretty neat, but rarely work as advertised. I’ll see what happens with Now Nudge when I get a chance to play with the phones for longer.

And finally, everyone’s favorite — Circle to Search — is now even more capable, as it can break down an image and recognize multiple items in it at the same time. Like if you circle an outfit, it’ll find and suggest links to get all the items from that outfit, not just the hat.

Bigger battery in the Galaxy S26!

Enough about AI, let’s talk about good old hardware! The final bit of good news here is that the Galaxy S26 has received a bigger battery, from 4000 mAh in the S25, all the way up to 4300 mAh. This is a meaningful capacity improvement of around 7.5%, which, together with the new chipsets, may result in a noticeably improved battery life with the little champ.

The Galaxy S26 Plus doesn’t get a battery boost, sadly.

Of course, I can’t speak to the battery life with Samsung’s new flagships yet, but we’ll be able to run our in-depth PhoneArena Battery Score tests soon, so we’ll have all the answers before long.

Oh, no – a price hike!

And sadly, this is where the positive news end, as Samsung is hiking up the prices of the Galaxy S26 and S26 Plus by $100.

This means the Galaxy S26 will now start at $900, while the S26 Plus will start at $1100.

The silver lining here is the S26 will now be offered with 256 GB and 512 GB storage only, so no 128 GB model anymore. Technically, its price is only slightly increased compared to the S25, considering you go straight to 256 GB, but that doesn’t change the fact that the entry point to Samsung’s premium S line has become higher.

With all of that said, what isn’t getting more expensive these days? Even at these higher prices, the Samsung Galaxy S26 and S26 Plus are superb options for anyone who’s interested in a high-powered, high-end Android experience few other brands can offer. When you get the newest Galaxy S phone, you know what to expect. One UI is good-looking, it’s fast, it packed with all kinds of features and Galaxy AI, it has solid support from Samsung, a very competent camera experience… And that’s the thing – you really can’t go wrong with these phones, if you can swallow the price tag.

The Galaxy S26 and S26 Plus are now up for pre-order, with their release date being scheduled for March 11. My brief hands-on time didn’t allow for too much testing, but rest assured, our PhoneArena Camera Score, Battery Score, and all other performance benchmarks are coming soon to answer each and every question you may have about Samsung’s 2026 flagships.

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