This article may contain personal views and opinion from the author.
Yes, that's a legit, fully working S26 Ultra unit. | Image by Sahil Karoul
Tomorrow was supposed to be Samsung's (first) big day in the spotlight this year, but as much as I'd like to maintain a positive outlook on the company's "next AI phone" in the hopes of a last-minute miracle that could somehow boost the appeal of the Galaxy S26 Ultra, that's practically impossible to do after the handset's latest and greatest leak.
I'm not talking about those promotional posters (which would have been labeled as a major information spill in any other year as well), but quite possibly the worst mobile tech leak in recent memory, which saw an actual, working S26 Ultra unit unboxed and compared with a bunch of competitors on video days ahead of its official announcement.
This totally ruined any semblance of mystery Samsung may have hoped to maintain around a device that's... not very special or innovative anyway. But I actually don't want to talk (only) about the world's number two smartphone vendor today, as a challenger I've been rooting for these last few years caught my attention yesterday with an unconventional, weirdly discreet, and oddly timed announcement... of sorts.
What in the world is Motorola doing?!
In a way, Motorola is doing what it knows to do and what some might argue it does best - preparing to release yet another Android mid-ranger with an undeniably eye-catching design, solid specs, and a presumably very competitive price point.
This is very clearly not a Galaxy S26 rival. | Image by Motorola
But while there's clearly nothing wrong with that (in principle), I have a few issues with the impending Edge 70 Fusion launch. Number one, why is the Snapdragon 7s Gen 3-powered 6.8-incher with a huge 7,000mAh battery under its hood only "coming soon" to India, at least for the time being?
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Secondly, why is Motorola not being a little more aggressive even about that regional launch, making minimal noise at a time when so many eyes are on the mobile industry and so many Samsung fans are growing increasingly disappointed with or bored by the repetitive Galaxy S26 family?
Thirdly and far more importantly, where is the Motorola Signature??? You know, the brand's flagship comeback effort, unveiled with a lot of fanfare over a month and a half ago before going on sale across Europe and Asia, but not the US.
Unfortunately, the very promising Signature still doesn't have a US release date attached to its name. | Image by Motorola
Now, I realize that America is not the (metaphorical) center of the world, but it's clearly a very important and fertile market for Motorola... that the company is inexplicably treating as an afterthought time and time again.
Should Samsung's rivals try to overshadow the Galaxy S26 launch?
How in the world can Motorola ever hope to compete against Samsung on American soil without making any real effort when said competitor and industry leader is going through such hard times from a marketing and media attention standpoint?
Google isn't doing the bare minimum either
I know what you're going to say. The Pixel 10a was never supposed to challenge the Galaxy S26 in any real way. And while I can agree (to a certain degree) with that statement, it's pretty clear that Google tried to steal Samsung's thunder by unveiling its latest mid-range soldier in February rather than March or April.
At $499, the 6.3-inch Pixel 10a could have certainly been a serious threat for the "vanilla" S26... if its design and specifications were not so disappointing. Let's be frank, this is more of a Pixel 9b than a true sequel to last year's pretty good 9a, so even if Google was thinking of overshadowing the S26 family's launch, that's clearly no longer possible.
The Pixel 10a is far too repetitive and boring to pose a threat to the Galaxy S26 family. | Image by Google
If anything, the Pixel 9a could return to the spotlight and both rain on the compact Galaxy S26's parade and eclipse the Pixel 10a if its price goes down to $349... again or even lower.
Curiously enough, other top brands seem to be wasting a golden opportunity to kick Samsung when it's down as well, including OnePlus and Apple. The OnePlus 15 and 15R's advertising campaigns are unusually subtle (possibly for financial reasons), while the impending iPhone 17e launch isn't exactly promoted very aggressively... for now. It's almost like all these companies have made some sort of a pact to not take advantage of Samsung's suffering... too much.
Alternatively, maybe no one really expected the Galaxy S26 series to be so underwhelming and its launch to be handled so poorly. But it's definitely not too late for Motorola or Apple to seize the opportunity and kick their Signature and iPhone 17e marketing efforts into high gear all of a sudden. Now wouldn't that be something special?
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Adrian, a mobile technology enthusiast since the Nokia 3310 era, has been a dynamic presence in the tech journalism field, contributing to Android Authority, Digital Trends, and Pocketnow before joining PhoneArena in 2018. His expertise spans across various platforms, with a particular fondness for the diversity of the Android ecosystem. Despite the challenges of balancing full-time parenthood with his work, Adrian's passion for tech trends, running, and movies keeps him energized. His commitment to mid-range smartphones has led to an eclectic collection of devices, saved from personal bankruptcy by his preference for 'adequate' over 'overpriced'.
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