Overview
- Samsung has confirmed a February 25 launch in San Francisco for the Galaxy S26 lineup, with reservations open offering $30/€30 credits, trade-in bonuses and a $5,000 store credit raffle, and the event will stream on Samsung.com and YouTube.
- Newly reported benchmarks indicate the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 in the Galaxy S26 Ultra delivers about a 16% single-core lead over Exynos 2600 in the S26/S26+, with multi-core scores near parity and 12GB of RAM listed as the base across all three models.
- The Ultra is widely tipped to add a wider-aperture 200MP main camera (reported f/1.4), faster 60W wired charging and a privacy-focused display, with wireless charging rumored to rise to 25W.
- A Samsung camera teaser for the Ultra includes a disclosure that some content was generated with AI, raising questions over how representative the showcased footage is.
- Price leaks point to a $1,199 US starting price for the 256GB S26 Ultra and potential increases in some regions, while this year’s pre-launch perks are slimmer with a $30 credit and strong indications the free double-storage upgrade has been dropped.