Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra
Ewan Spence
February will see the launch of the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra, Galaxy S26+ and Galaxy S26. The South Korean company will reveal the smartphones at an upcoming Galaxy Unpacked event. New information on the launch date, specifications and pricing has been published.
Galaxy Unpacked And Galaxy S26 Ultra Launch Dates
Details on the Galaxy Unpacked dates, including a graphic with branding similar to previous Samsung invites, have been published by noted smartphone commentator Evan Blass. The reported date of Wednesday, Feb. 25, is clearly visible.
This date for Galaxy Unpacked matches up with reporting over the last month. It is later than was initially thought. For most of 2025, a mid-January date was the consensus, allowing Unpacked 2026 to take place roughly a year after Unpacked 2025. That was when the three phones were expected to be the Galaxy S26 Pro, Galaxy S26 Edge and Galaxy S26 Ultra.
Poor sales of the S25 Edge saw the fashionably thin variant drop out of the portfolio, while Apple’s success with the lower $799 iPhone 17 saw a reevaluation of what would be a more expensive entry-level model; following that, the Galaxy S26 returned, with the aim of holding the Galaxy S25’s $799 price.
The delay in the Galaxy Unpacked dates to February, which allowed the tweaked portfolio to keep Samsung in the driving seat to set the tone ahead of MWC Barcelona, which takes place in the first week of March, but Google and Apple could beat Samsung to the punch with the Pixel 10a and the iPhone 17e.
Galaxy S26, Galaxy S26+ And Galaxy S26 Ultra Pricing
As the release of the Galaxy S26 family draws closer, more details are emerging from retail stores preparing to take pre-orders ahead of Samsung’s premium phones going on sale. Longtime smartphone reporter Roland Quandt has details on pricing in Sweden, and if the changes are universal will disappoint many.
The Swedish Galaxy S26 Ultra prices will be slightly lower for all three variants (256 GB, 512 GB and 1 TB). Meanwhile, the Galaxy S26+ 256 GB variant keeps the same price as the Galaxy S25+, while the 512 GB version costs 1000 Swedish Kroner ($115) more.
It’s the Galaxy S26, which will cause the most consternation in the community. The 128 GB model has been dropped, with the knock on efect that the entry-level model is going to be more expensive than last year, albeit with double the storage.
Forbes contributor Janhoi McGregor reports a similar situation: Finnish retailers are not listing any 128 GB models, even as prices have increased in Finland.
Galaxy S26 Ultra Avoids Memory And Storage Costs
No doubt these price changes will have been influenced by the increased prices in the supply chain for memory and storage, and will not be restricted to Samsung. Expect every smartphone manufacturer to face these issues in 2026. Some will look to absorb the higher bill of materials and cut margins, while others will pass on the increased cost to consumers.
If the pricing pattern in Sweden carries over to the rest of the world, it looks as if Samsung is taking both approaches with the Galaxy S26 family; the Galaxy S26 Ultra’s storage costs are absorbed by the South Korean company, while the increased costs of the smaller S26 and S26+ models are passed on to consumers.