Samsung Galaxy S26 launch live: S26, S26 Plus, and S26 Ul…

We’re following the launch of the Samsung Galaxy S26 series! Here’s everything we know before Wednesday!

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works. After months of speculation, Samsung has officially confirmed its first Galaxy Unpacked event of the year. The Galaxy S26 series will be unveiled on February 25, 2026, live from San Francisco at 1 pm ET / 10 am PT. Here's how to watch the event and what to expect, but we've also linked the YouTube down below!

Android Central will be on the ground at the event, getting hands-on with the new devices, so stay tuned for live coverage and detailed impressions. Pay attention to this live blog as we keep breaking down everything that is expected to be announced!We want to make your life easy, so here's our Samsung Galaxy S26 ultimate guide, which we will update as often as possible! Thankfully, the Galaxy S26 Ultra is rumored to get upgraded 60W fast charging, which should at least help cut down charging times.

Even so, the Galaxy S26 lineup overall is shaping up to be more of an incremental update than a major overhaul. With that in mind, what are you hoping to see from Samsung at this week's Unpacked beyond the Galaxy S26 series? Is there anything else you expect Samsung to unveil alongside the new phones? Coming back to the Galaxy S26 series, let's kick off today's coverage with the batteries. While there were initial rumors that Samsung would increase the Galaxy S26 Ultra's capacity to 5,500 mAh, that no longer appears to be happening.

Recent leaked specs suggest the S26 Ultra will stick with the same 5,000 mAh battery we've seen for years. It’s not all bad news, though. The base model is rumored to feature a larger 4,300 mAh battery, which will be a noticeable jump from the 4,000 mAh cell in the base Galaxy S25. That could finally make the standard model good enough for a full day of heavy use, but we will know more once we get hands-on time.

As for the Galaxy S26 Plus, recent leaks indicate it will retain its 4,900 mAh battery, so there are no changes there. It's officially Galaxy Unpacked week! Expect plenty of coverage around Samsung devices as we go hands-on and report live. But that’s not all, because things are about to get busy elsewhere too, with MWC 2026 kicking off later this week. Beyond Samsung, brands like Xiaomi and Honor are expected to unveil new flagship and foldable devices, and Nothing has already confirmed new phone launches for next week.

It’s shaping up to be a busy stretch, so make sure you stick with Android Central as we cover it all in real-time. Then there's the battery; a new round of leaks indicate the Galaxy S26 will get a bigger 4,300mAh battery, with the S26 Plus set to retain the same 4,900mAh as last year, and the S26 Ultra the same 5,000mAh battery. It's great to see the smaller S26 getting a bigger battery, and this should allow the phone to last longer in daily use.

While it is a decent upgrade, what's annoying is that Samsung may not switch over to silicon-carbon battery tech with this generation. Most Chinese phones now use a mix of silicon in the anode to deliver denser batteries with better longevity, and this has transformed the category — there's even a phone with a 10,000mAh battery now. In that context, Samsung's refusal to use silicon tech is hindering the progress of its phones.

It's good to see that the S26 may end up with a 4,300mAh battery, but it would have been nice to see silicon batteries being used this generation to boost the batteries on all three models — maybe next year. If this leak around the Galaxy S26 cameras turns out to be legitimate, Samsung isn't changing much in this area. The Galaxy S26 and S26 Plus are slated to use the same 50MP main camera as last year, with a 10MP tele lens and 12MP wide-angle module.

Samsung is said to be using the same sensors as well, but in the case of the S26 Ultra, we may see a new 200MP sensor. That said, the hardware is just one part of it. Samsung showed over the last three years that it can leverage its tuning algorithms and better ISPs to deliver better photos, so although the physical sensors may not change, we may see better photos and videos out of the S26 models versus last year.

Of course, AI is a big part of imaging now, and Samsung is relying heavily on machine learning to give its phones an advantage in low-light situations. Coming to the display, Samsung isn't set to deliver huge changes this year, but that's understandable. The standard Galaxy S26 is slated to feature a 6.3-inch panel, the S26 Plus may come with a 6.7-inch option, and the Galaxy S26 Ultra could retain a 6.9-inch display.

Obviously, all three devices will get AMOLED tech with 120Hz refresh, but leaks indicate a new privacy feature that should give the upcoming phones a slender edge. It's entirely likely that the S26 series will get brighter, but the underlying panel tech shouldn't be any different. Samsung still doesn't pay much attention to PWM dimming, and although all Chinese brands now have at least 2,160Hz dimming as standard on their phones to deal with flicker sensitivity, this isn't an area where Samsung made any meaningful strides.

Now that we have a broad outline of what's coming with the Galaxy S26 series, let's delve into some of the hardware. The Exynos 2600 is particularly interesting, as it is made on Samsung's latest 2nm node. Samsung had plenty of issues with its 4nm and 3nm nodes in the past, but the brand is remedying that with the 2nm production line. Samsung is touting better thermal efficiency — something that has plagued Exynos-powered Galaxy models in the last decade — and this alone makes the Exynos 2600 interesting.

Samsung is also using the latest Arm C1 Ultra cores this time instead of trying to go the semi-custom route, and this is absolutely the right thing to do. Arm made heady gains this generation, and using its cores "as is" means Samsung doesn't really need to reinvent the wheel. Then again, it remains to be seen how the Exynos 2600-based models of the Galaxy S26 will differ to the Qualcomm variants.

Given what Samsung has showcased of the Exynos 2600 until now, it looks like the brand solved long-standing issues, and we'll see if the Galaxy S26 is better because of that. Despite earlier rumors, renowned tipster @UniverseIce on X claims with 100% accuracy that the Galaxy S26 Ultra won't include built-in Qi2 magnets. The phones will support faster wireless charging of up to 20W on the base Galaxy S26 and the Galaxy S26 Plus and up to 25W on the Galaxy S26 Ultra, but they will lack magnetic alignment hardware out of the box.

This means if you want to use MagSafe-like accessories, you will once again have to purchase magnetic cases for your device. Samsung's decision has disappointed many fans (including me) who were hoping for native support similar to the Google Pixel 10 or iPhone 17. Another piece of good news this time is that Samsung is finally increasing charging speeds on its Ultra model. A recent leak from reliable tipster Roland Quandt claims the Galaxy S26 Ultra will support 60W fast charging when plugged in.

This is a massive leap over the 45W limit we've been stuck with for years. Unfortunately, those upgrades are not expected to extend to the rest of the lineup. The standard Galaxy S26 Plus is likely to stick with 45W wired charging, while the base Galaxy S26 is most likely to remain limited to 25W. That isn't entirely a bad thing, to be honest. The Exynos 2600 is turning out to be a genuinely strong chipset this time around.

For starters, it’s built on a 2nm process, which is technically more advanced than the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5’s 3nm node. And as always, smaller usually means better efficiency and performance potential. Samsung has also introduced a dedicated Heat Path Block to address its long-standing thermal concerns. The company claims up to 39% better CPU performance, and while it remains a deca-core design, Samsung has dropped low-power cores in favor of a mix of high-performance and higher-clocked mid-tier cores.

As for the base Galaxy S26 and the S26 Plus, Samsung is reportedly returning to a “dual-chip” strategy. Regions such as the U.S. and China are expected to get Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 for Galaxy variants, while markets like Europe, India, and the Middle East may receive Samsung's new 2nm Exynos 2600 processor. One of the biggest questions every year is whether Samsung will stick exclusively with Qualcomm for the Galaxy S26 series or bring Exynos chips back.

It has now been confirmed that the Galaxy S26 Ultra will use the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 processor globally. As in previous years, the chip will carry the "For Galaxy" branding, which could mean a slightly overclocked primary core reaching up to 4.74 GHz. One major change for buyers this year is that Samsung is reportedly dropping the 128GB base storage option altogether. The standard Galaxy S26 is expected to start at 256GB and may also be available in a 512GB configuration.

The Galaxy S26 Plus is rumored to offer 256GB and 512GB variants as well, while the top-tier Galaxy S26 Ultra is expected to come in 256GB, 512GB, and 1TB options. This is a welcome move, especially since Apple has also shifted to 256GB as the base storage with its iPhone 17 lineup. However, it remains to be seen if this change will impact pricing. And the last camera rumor I’ll cover for now is the new camera island design.

Leaked photos and videos of every Galaxy S26 model show a raised camera island, marking a departure from the era of Samsung phones that feature flat backs with protruding camera lenses. The new camera island looks similar to the Galaxy S25 Edge and looks a bit more interesting than the rather plain look Samsung has kept over the past few years. The next two teasers seem to be for the entire S26 series rather than just the Ultra and focus on low-light capabilities.

But this isn’t the usual “let’s turn night into day” kind of nonsense low-light photography. Samsung actually seems to be attempting to make low-light photos look like they were taken in dimly lit conditions, proper mood and all. That also will apparently extend to video capture, as this teaser suggests. That’s a huge improvement over the established method of making nighttime photos look way too bright.

While we’re on the topic of Galaxy S26 Ultra camera upgrades, Samsung has been teasing the upcoming phone’s capabilities. The previous rumor about an enhanced telephoto camera experience seems to fit with the first teaser from the company, which shows someone zooming way in to a dog sitting inside a car from far away. But the hint here isn’t just that zoom is getting better, it’s that video zoom is also getting enhanced.

Up until now, photo zoom has maintained the farthest distance, and while that likely won’t change this year, video zoom could be significantly enhanced beyond its current 25-30x limit on most Ultra-level phones. Last summer, we saw credible rumors that Samsung was testing a new 200MP telephoto sensor for upcoming Ultra-branded phones. We’re not sure if that’ll make it to the Galaxy S26 Ultra, but more than one of Samsung’s other competitors are using a similar sensor, so it wouldn’t be out of the question to see the company follow the likes of Honor and Vivo to integrate it.

A higher resolution sensor behind a capable lens would allow the S26 Ultra to capture even better zoom detail, something the company has been good at for a while, and could help it remain atop the camera podium. Last summer, we saw credible rumors that Samsung was testing a new 200MP telephoto sensor for upcoming Ultra-branded phones. We’re not sure if that’ll make it to the Galaxy S26 Ultra, but more than one of Samsung’s other competitors are using a similar sensor, so it wouldn’t be out of the question to see the company follow the likes of Honor and Vivo to integrate it.

A higher resolution sensor behind a capable lens would allow the S26 Ultra to capture even better zoom detail, something the company has been good at for a while, and could help it remain atop the camera podium. We’ll begin taking a closer look at rumors for the Galaxy S26 Ultra, since the Ultra typically garners the most hype pre-launch. Samsung is apparently looking to revive variable aperture, a feature we haven’t seen since the Galaxy S9 series.

If you’re unfamiliar with the trick, a variable aperture lens allows the camera to adjust the amount of light entering the sensor. This gives a camera more capabilities and tools to capture the perfect shot, especially when in extreme lighting conditions (either too dark or too light). Variable aperture can also allow for a wide variety of focal depths. A lower aperture typically features a shallower depth of field, while a higher aperture does the opposite.

Want a crisp focus on a single subject without using software portrait mode tricks? A low aperture might help. Likewise, sweeping scenes might benefit from higher aperture. The possibilities are endless. If you’re even thinking about grabbing any of the new Galaxy S26 models or the rumored Galaxy Buds 4, do yourself a favor and reserve a unit right now through this link. Despite what that sounds like, you’re not obligated to actually buy anything from Samsung.

The reservation will give you $30 off the purchase of any of the new Galaxy devices, as well as guaranteed trade-in credit promos worth up to $900. Per the fine print in the page, you’ll get $30 towards the credit of a Galaxy Smartphone, and another $30 towards the purchase of a Galaxy Wearable. There’s quite literally no reason not to unless you don’t care at all about Samsung’s new gadgets…and in that case, why are you reading this at all?

Now that you know what to look forward to, you need to know how to watch it! We’ll be bringing you live updates as the action happens, so you can just stay put here at the time of the show if you’re unable to watch the video (or want special insights from us). Samsung will begin the first Unpacked of 2026 on February 25, 2026, at 1 pm ET/10 am PT in San Francisco, California. Here’s the YouTube link to the livestream, so if you’re interested, click that, then tap the “Notify Me” button to have YouTube remind you right as it’s beginning.

So we know that we can expect at least three Samsung Galaxy S26 series devices, but will anything else appear at the show? Traditionally, Samsung’s first Unpacked event of the year focuses on the latest flagship phones, but this year, we’re expecting to see Galaxy Buds 4 and Galaxy Buds 4 Pro at the show, both of which have been leaked in full ahead of Samsung’s event. Those buds are reported to feature a brand new design and improved audio quality.

Before we get into what Samsung will actually unveil at Unpacked, have you noticed the event is happening later than usual? Over the past few years, Samsung has typically launched its flagship Galaxy S series in January, but that did not happen this time, reportedly due to a late internal change. There were earlier rumors that Samsung might drop the base Galaxy S26 in favor of a Pro model or replace the Plus variant with an Edge version called the Galaxy S26 Edge.

However, following the reportedly weak sales of last year's Galaxy S25 Edge, Samsung appears to have scrapped those plans and is sticking with the familiar trio: the Galaxy S26, S26 Plus, and S26 Ultra. Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.

Summary

This report covers the latest developments in samsung. The information presented highlights key changes and updates that are relevant to those following this topic.

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