Right from the outset, Samsung let us know that the Galaxy S26 and its Plus and Ultra variants would be all about artificial intelligence. If you guessed that this means there’s not too much changing on the hardware front, congratulations. You were right.
That isn’t to say there are no changes at all. They’re there, but they are just as iterative as they’ve been the past few outings for the Galaxy S range. Speedier processor, somewhat better cameras, and so on. The Galaxy S26 and 26 Plus may even represent a step back for buyers, since Samsung’s stacking them with Exynos processors this year. Yes, really, this time.
Galaxy S26 goes all-in on AI
Let’s start by saying that pretty much every rumour that came out from the end of last year to date turned out to be true. The range launched late this year. It’ll feature scam detection, powered by AI software. There are some new camera smarts to look forward to. Even the hardware rumours were on point.
That means that you can expect an Exynos 2600 in the S26 and S26 Plus, with the bigger, pricier Galaxy S26 Ultra being the only one to nab a shiny new Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 (for Galaxy edition, of course). If you want the speediest hardware around, that’ll cost you.
The screen sizes for Samsung’s new trio are: 6.3in (S26, with 256GB/512GB storage options), 6.7in (S26 Plus, 256GB/512GB) or 6.9in (the 256GB/512GB/1TB Ultra model). There are only minor deviations here compared to last year’s models. The same holds mostly true for the camera layout.
The base S26 gets the same 50MP/12MP/10MP array as last year, with the housing slightly altered. The S26+ follows suit, with the exact same camera setup. The Ultra is certainly the more valuable camera phone, but the 200MP/50MP/50MP/10MP rear array is… you guessed it, the same as last year.
The major hardware changes are all invisible. Samsung has redesigned its vapour chamber, allowing its devices to run hotter without getting… well, hotter. Samsung’s Privacy Screen rumour turned out to be true, and users can designate the entire display, or portions of it on a per-app basis, as invisible. Onlookers won’t see certain details from oblique angles, or even when looking directly at the phone, in case you need to hide notifications from your boss.
Armour Aluminium and Gorilla Glass Armour 2 are present (and also the same as last year), but the handset’s chassis uses an increased amount of recycled aluminium and tantalum. So that’s nice. Oh, and Samsung is offering users 60W wired charging with the Ultra.
No, really, all-in on AI
The company’s announcement that Perplexity is coming to Galaxy S26 (and likely older models) was a warning shot. Most of what Samsung is emphasising this year is about its AI integration. If you’ve ever wanted an ‘agentic’ phone, this is it.
That means that the Galaxy S26 lineup will organise your data, screenshots, emails, schedule reminders and appointments, and more without needing human intervention. There’s no way that can possibly go wrong. Some of the features, like Now Nudge and Now Brief, which perform these functions, sound cool in theory, but we’d really have to experience them before passing judgment. We’re already doing that, but let’s give the AI a chance, yes? It’ll apparently take some time to get up to speed, since the phone has to learn your habits as you exhibit them.
AI will make Samsung’s flagship range more stable than ever, without the intervention of fresh hardware. Bixby is an agent in your phone now. If you’re not immediately terrified by that last fact, we’ll try harder next time.
Existing AI features are getting more advanced. Circle to Search can now search for everything in an image, giving you that Steal His Look function on steroids. It’ll pull out one of everything a person is wearing (or has on their wall) for you to buy yourself. AI Eraser will work in more apps, letting you dismiss voices and effects from Instagram and Netflix, among others.
More to come
Otherwise? A more advanced document scanner, sticker creation using AI, the ability to make a photographed cake whole (and other stuff, too), and automatic screenshot organisation are coming. Whether it’s worth a whole new phone remains to be seen, since most of this stuff can be transmitted to your current phone with a software update.
