The Galaxy S26, S26+, and S26 Ultra just made their debut, and while Samsung delivered the usual changes, the devices don’t stand out quite as much against their predecessors as I would’ve liked. That shifts attention to what Samsung may do next year with the Galaxy S27. In fact, we’ve gotten a few leaks around next year’s flagships, and if they pan out, we could be looking at decent upgrades.
In addition to what we know about the Galaxy S27, I’m adding a wishlist of upgrades I want to see. Having seen the Galaxy S26, S26+, and S26 Ultra, I’m a little underwhelmed by Samsung’s decision to play it safe yet again, and I want meaningful upgrades on the Galaxy S27. With that, let’s take a look.
The Galaxy S27 Ultra could be even faster
(Image credit: Derrek Lee / Android Central)
An interesting leak suggests Samsung is working with Qualcomm to power the Galaxy S27 Ultra with a custom Snapdragon chipset. This is intriguing as it builds on what Qualcomm already does with Samsung; the last three generations of Galaxy flagships have been powered by custom Snapdragon for Galaxy platforms. In this case, the changes included higher clocks while retaining the same core design.
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With a custom Snapdragon platform, that could change. Obviously, we don’t have much in the way of details about what a custom chipset would entail, but if this leak is legitimate, it should give the Galaxy S27 Ultra a distinct advantage — no other Android phone has a custom chip.
That said, the custom design could be limited to the Galaxy S27 Ultra, with the standard S27 and the S27+ missing out.
We could finally get a bigger battery — and Qi 2 charging
(Image credit: Derrek Lee / Android Central)
If there’s one area where Samsung needs to overhaul, it’s the battery. The S26 Ultra gets the same 5,000mAh battery, and while it now goes up to 60W, the size of the battery is a point of contention. There’s an indication that Samsung may move to a 5,500mAh battery with the Galaxy S27 Ultra, and while that’s still not the same as the 7,500mAh battery in the Find X9 Pro or the 6,510mAh unit in the Vivo X300 Pro, it is a positive move — if it pans out.
What I want to see in the Galaxy S27 is integrated Qi 2 magnets — Samsung really needs to get this sorted out. I’m still not sure why Samsung opted out of adding this in the Galaxy S26 models, but it has no excuse not to do so next year.
Samsung may overhaul cameras next year
(Image credit: Derrek Lee / Android Central)
This is another area where Samsung didn’t really change things this year, with the Galaxy S26, S26+, and S26 Ultra retaining the same camera modules. To its credit, Samsung is doing a good job tweaking its camera algorithms year-on-year, so even though the actual camera sensors haven’t changed, you’ll get better photos on this year’s phones.
Initial leaks suggest Samsung may switch things up, but I’ll believe it when I see it on next year’s phones. We get leaks every year pointing to huge camera upgrades, but that isn’t the case when the phones are announced. Considering the lead that Chinese brands are building over Samsung, it’s high time the brand overhauls its imaging strategy.
There’s not much in the way of Galaxy S27 leaks, but that will change in the coming weeks and months. I’ll update the post as and when we get any new information, and in the meantime, I’m crossing my fingers that Samsung actually delivers decent upgrades in 2027.