Rumors about the Samsung Galaxy S26 line of phones have been circulating for months. For a while, it looked like Samsung might replace its base phone with the Pro. Then we heard that the Plus would be discontinued in favor of the S26 Edge, with the Ultra remaining. And then there were reports that the S26 Pro would be the new S26 and that the S26 Plus would replace the S26 Edge. This quickly became confusing to say the least.
Now that the Galaxy S26 launch is imminent, it appears the leaks are stabilizing, with some speculation finally setting things straight.
Here’s a quick look at the latest Galaxy S26 talk to make sense of it all.
The Samsung Galaxy S25 and Galaxy S25 Plus.
Galaxy S26 series release date
Samsung typically holds several Unpacked events each year, with the first usually taking place in January or February. Most of this year S25 handsets were announced during a Galaxy Unpacked Event on January 22, 2025 and released on February 7.
This year, however, there appears to be a slightly delayed schedule. Several reports have said there could be a Galaxy Unpacked event on February 25 in San Francisco.
It’s also possible that additional versions of the S26 may arise throughout the year. In 2025, for example, Samsung launched two more S25 handsets: the Edge S25 and the S25 FE — at two separate events in May and September respectively.
The Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra.
Galaxy S26 Ultra
With all the uncertainty surrounding the Galaxy S26 (or Pro) and Galaxy S26 Edge (or Plus), the Galaxy S26 Ultra is the only model that doesn’t seem to be in full swing. According to renderings discovered by Android titlesThe S26 Ultra appears to have a slightly different design than its predecessor.
The images appear to show that the Galaxy S26 Ultra has more curved corners than its predecessor and a slightly different camera layout on the back. All four cameras are positioned in the same locations, but three of them are housed in a raised vertical bump. There is also speculation that the Ultra could be slightly thinner, coming in at 7.9mm thick, which is 0.3mm thinner than the current S25 Ultra. Android Headlines also reports that the phone’s 6.9-inch display could use new M14 OLED panels, which would be brighter and more energy efficient.
New rumors suggest that the S26 Ultra will have similar but slightly improved camera specifications. ETNews claims it will still feature a 200-megapixel main camera, a 50-megapixel ultra-wide lens, a 10-megapixel 3x telephoto lens, and a 50-megapixel 5x telephoto lens. The 12-megapixel front camera also seems unchanged. However, Android titles reports that the S26 Ultra could have a wider aperture, allowing for better low-light shots.
Like the Galaxy S26, the Galaxy S26 Ultra is said to come with the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 in the US and China, and with the Exynos 2600 chip in other markets. Other rumored specs include 16GB of RAM, up to 1TB of UFS 4.0 storage, a 5,000mAh battery, and faster 60-watt wired charging.
SamMobile reported that the Galaxy S26, Galaxy S26 Plus, and Galaxy S26 Ultra will have satellite communications capabilities. The outlet discovered this fact via FCC documentation, which shows that these three handsets will have the ability to send and receive messages via satellite even without cellular networks.
We also recently learned from SamMobile that the new Galaxy S26 series will support fast wireless charging up to 25W. According to the publication, Samsung is offering a new 25W Qi2 charger to do just that. SamMobile even showed exclusive photos of it. But it also said that the charger’s full 25W power is likely only supported by the Galaxy S26 Ultra. The S26 Base and S26 Plus, on the other hand, can only support up to 20W charging with this charger.
As for the colors, Ice universe recently reported that the S26 Ultra will be available in “black shadow, white shadow, galactic blue, and ultraviolet (or purple).” The runaway Evan Blass stated that the colors would be “black, white, silver umber, sky blue, cobalt purple and rose gold”. There were also earlier renders that showed the S26 Ultra in a similar orange shade to Apple’s iPhone 17 Pro, but that color doesn’t appear to be in the lineup now.
This is the Galaxy S25’s camera array.
Galaxy S26
For months, one of the biggest rumors surrounding the Galaxy S26 was that it might not exist at all. Internal build code discovered by Android Authority suggested that Samsung could abandon the base model altogether and replace it with the S26 Pro. This may seem odd at first, but it could have signaled Samsung’s plan to position the S26 line as a more premium offering than its predecessors.
Now, however, it appears that the rumors about the S26 Pro weren’t true. New reports indicate that Samsung is stick to conventions and will call its next flagship the Galaxy S26 after all.
Leaked renders of the S26 show a very similar design to the S25, with one key difference: the rear camera. The S26 appears to have a vertical bump on the back housing three camera lenses, while the S25 has no bump at all, with its lenses mounted directly into the body.
According to Android titlesThe S26 will have a 50-megapixel ultra-wide camera, which is a significant upgrade over the S25’s 12-megapixel ultra-wide camera. There have been conflicting rumors about this, however. Others speculated that the S26’s camera specs would remain unchanged from the S25.
Other speculation about the S26 includes a slightly larger 6.3-inch screen, as well as a slightly larger and thinner overall build. And Android Headlines reports that the S26 could have a 4,300 mAh battery, up to 12 GB of RAM and up to 512 GB of storage.
Watch this: Do not buy the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra. Save money with a used S24 Ultra
As for the processor, Daniel Araujo, vice president of Samsung’s Mobile Experiences division, said in a conference call that the S26 lineup “will revolutionize the user experience with next-generation user-centric AI, second-generation personalized hotspot, and higher performance, including new camera sensors.” This focus on AI could be why Samsung might hold its Galaxy Unpacked event in San Francisco, widely considered the center of the AI movement.
This is a strong indicator that the Galaxy S26 series will be powered by the Exynos 2600 processor at least in some regions, depending Android titles. However, rumors suggest that the S26 will use Qualcomm’s latest version. Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 Chipset in the United States and China. According to Qualcomm, the new Snapdragon chip is around 20% faster and 35% more power efficient than its predecessor.
As for potential software updates, Samsung An 8.5 user interface (which is expected to debut on the S26) could have a “Privacy View” feature. Viewing angles will be reduced when using sensitive applications such as banking, so passers-by cannot view your private information. This leak was ultimately confirmed by Samsung itself via a recent press release.
The thin Galaxy S25 Edge.
Galaxy S26 Edge and More
The Galaxy S25 Edge debuted with great fanfare this year, thanks to its ultra-slim form factor, so it’s not far-fetched to imagine that Samsung will offer a successor next year. However, there were conflicting rumors about whether or not this would happen.
For months there was leaks suggesting that Samsung would replace the Galaxy S26 Plus with the Galaxy S26 Edge. The S26 Edge was expected to have an ultra-thin profile of around 5.5mm, making it 0.3mm thinner than the S25 Edge. It’s also 0.1mm thinner than the iPhone Air. There was further speculation that it would have the same 6.7-inch display, a larger 4,200mAh battery, and the new Snapdragon processor.
But today, this rumor seems to be on shaky ground. According to SamMobile And 9to5Googlethe company may remove the Galaxy S26 Edge from its 2026 lineup due to poor sales of the Galaxy S25 Edge, especially compared to the rest of the Galaxy S25 series. Instead, Samsung could replace the S26 Edge with the Galaxy S26 Plus.
According to a leak received by Android titlesThe Galaxy S26 Plus has a 6.7-inch flat screen surrounded by thin bezels. On the back, three cameras are placed inside a raised vertical bump, the same way the S26 is supposed to have them.
Android Headlines estimates that the S26 Plus will be 7.35mm thick, which is slim but certainly not as thin as the previously rumored Edge. Other rumors regarding the S26 Plus include the inclusion of Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 processor in some regions and Samsung’s Exynos 2600 processor in others.
