What to Expect at Samsung Galaxy Unpacked 2026

The Galaxy S25 Ultra (pictured) was Samsung’s most powerful non-folding phone. What’s in store for the Galaxy S26 Ultra at Samsung Unpacked?

Prakhar Khanna/CNET

It’s a strange year for Samsung: we’re already in February, and there’s still no official word on when we’ll see the Galaxy S26, the company’s next flagship phone series. In previous years, the whole lineup would’ve been revealed around CES, but Samsung seems happy to wait — and rumors suggest we might not see the Galaxy S26 launch until the end of February.

Samsung hasn’t been quiet in 2026, launching the Galaxy Z Trifold for $2,899 in the US at the end of January. Around a month later — Feb. 25, if the rumors are true — the Galaxy S26 will be revealed in San Francisco just before the year’s biggest smartphone show, Mobile World Congress, kicks off in Barcelona. This is late for Samsung, but still early enough in the year to set the stage for most other premium Android phones coming in 2026.

The stakes remain high for the S26 phones. As the best-selling Android brand in the world, Samsung must introduce enough new features to keep its highest-end phones at the top of the charts, and the iPhone 17 series debuted several perks that raised the bar. As generative AI becomes more involved in other gadget categories, Samsung has to find new, exclusive uses for the novel tech that will keep differentiating its phones amid fierce competition at the premium level. 

We expect the Galaxy S26 lineup to match that of prior years: a standard S26, a larger S26 Plus and a top-of-the-line Galaxy S26 Ultra. While rumors don’t suggest any drastic redesigns, there will probably be some external tweaks and upgrades to the hardware, including the processor and cameras. Let’s dive into the specifics of everything we know about the Galaxy S26 series launch.

Galaxy S26 lineup overview

The Samsung Galaxy S25.

James Martin/CNETGalaxy S26

Despite early rumors from Android Authority suggesting Samsung might ditch its baseline phone for a pricier, higher-specced Pro version, the latest leaks maintain that Samsung will keep its standard Galaxy S26 model. We don’t expect too many changes to the model’s design, though it could see a return of a raised camera bump after the Galaxy S25 kept them flush with the rear cover. Other rumors suggest it could get a slightly larger 6.3-inch display and a slimmer build. The Galaxy S25 has a 6.2-inch display, for comparison.

Rumors differ on whether the phone’s cameras will be upgraded, with some suggesting it’ll get an upgraded 50-megapixel ultrawide and others claiming it’ll keep its predecessor’s 12-megapixel shooter. The phone is expected to run either the Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 chip in the US and China or Samsung’s own Exynos 2600 processor elsewhere. Otherwise, rumors suggest the S26 will pack 12GB of RAM, a maximum 512GB of storage and a 4,300-mAh battery, according to noted leaker @UniverseIce.

The Galaxy S25 (left), next to the S25 Plus (middle) and S25 Edge (right).

Jesse Orrall/CNETGalaxy S26 Plus and S26 Edge

Samsung was also said to be debating whether to outright replace its larger S26 Plus with the super-slim S26 Edge, but reportedly poorer sales of last year’s Galaxy S25 Edge suggest the pendulum could swing the other way: we may just get an S26 Plus this year, as 9to5Google suggests. 

The Galaxy S26 Plus is expected to have a 6.7-inch display like its predecessor and will be 7.35mm thin, but it won’t have a physical shift. Like the other S26 phones, it’s expected to get the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 in the US and China or the Exynos 2600 elsewhere.

Last year’s S25 Edge came out in May, so it’s entirely possible we’ll see the S26 Edge launch later. If we do, leaks reported by Android Authority suggested it would be 5.5mm thick, which is 0.3mm thinner than its predecessor — and, incidentally, 0.1mm thinner than the iPhone Air. Speculation also predicted it would have the same 6.7-inch display but a larger 4,200-mAh battery. 

Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra.

Jeffrey Hazelwood/CNETGalaxy S26 Ultra

Like others in the S26 series, the Galaxy S26 Ultra is expected to pack the new Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 in the US and China, while Samsung will use its own Exynos 2600 chip in other markets. Otherwise, rumors point to the phone packing 16GB of RAM, up to 1TB of storage, a 5,000-mAh battery and upgraded charging — up to 60 watts wired and 25 watts wireless, as SamMobile reported. 

Another rumor from PhoneArena suggests the phone will revert to an aluminum frame from its titanium predecessors, much like Apple did with the iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max.

The Samsung Galaxy Buds 3.

David Carnoy/CNETNew Galaxy Buds 4

Rumors suggest Samsung will release new Galaxy Buds 4 and Buds 4 Pro models alongside its phones. Product images published by Android Authority show redesigns for both models, which are each getting what look like burnished metal strips on the outside of the stems, which should make them look a bit less like Apple AirPods than the Galaxy Buds 3. As in prior generations, the regular Buds 4 look to be entirely plastic, while the Pro models will have silicone eartips.

New AI features and Bixby updates

The latest Galaxy phones typically arrive with new AI features, and rumors suggest the Galaxy S26 series will be no exception. Samsung itself alluded to a new privacy shield coming in future phones (presumably the S26 series) that will block parts of the display when viewed at an angle, shielding notifications or even entire apps from onlooker view. Leaks suggest AI is doing the heavy lifting to selectively render images only for those looking straight at the phone. Presumably, this will come to all S26 models, and leaks haven’t suggested otherwise. 

The S26 phones may be able to use generative AI to render images faster than before. Samsung’s partnership with Nota AI was announced in November, which aims to optimize on-device genAI. This means bringing its EdgeFusion (a version of Stable Diffusion) to speed up text-to-image generation by running it purely on Galaxy S26 handsets (rather than partially or wholly through the cloud), PhoneArena suggested, integrating Nota AI’s tech at the processor level.