Reaching for the stars: the Galaxy S26 series starts with a slimmer body, stronger with an Ultra-level ‘Privacy Display’ and more.
What you need to know
- Samsung unveiled its Galaxy S26 series today during Unpacked, which saw the Galaxy S26 Ultra take center stage with a 6.9-inch display and “Privacy Display.”
- All three models have Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 “For Galaxy” with lots of Agent AI, improved Bixby assistance, Gemini, and more.
- The Galaxy S26 Ultra starts at $1,299, the Plus starts at $1,099, while the base model starts at $899 (pre-orders start today, too).
Today is the day; Samsung’s Galaxy Unpacked is here, and so is the Galaxy S26 series with everything it has to offer to consumers.
As we begin to unveil the Samsung Galaxy Unpacked event, the Galaxy S26 series is the highlight of that keynote. It is reported that Samsung has started thinking about the S26 during the S24. In particular, the company has been pondering its collection of applications with AI, which started with the Galaxy S25 series. Agentic AI was another aspect of its ambitions. We’ll get into that in a second.
First and foremost, the Galaxy S26 Ultra took the stage as the “smallest Ultra ever” with a refined, light Amor Aluminum body. The S26 Ultra has a 6.9-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2x display, equipped with Gorilla Armor 2. Apart from this, Samsung has announced the title of the S26 Ultra display: Privacy Display.
Samsung touts this as “the world’s first privacy display in a mobile phone,” as it’s built into the phone itself. The Privacy Display works by “turning off the light-emitting pixels into an angled view.” Users can customize this privacy feature in the following areas: apps, passwords/credentials, and notifications. Users can also enable Privacy Screen with the Ultra side key and processes.
The Galaxy S26 Ultra is equipped with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 of the Galaxy. Samsung claims to have included deep integration with Qualcomm’s latest SoC to improve the Ultra’s AI and cameras.
Those cameras are next, as the Galaxy S26 Ultra has four rear lenses: a 50MP ultra-wide lens with f/1.9 aperture, a 200MP wide (main) lens at f/1.4, a 10MP telephoto, and a 50MP secondary telephoto lens. The second telephoto and 200MP main camera that Samsung draws attention to, as it says these are “brighter than ever” with a wider aperture.
The selfie camera has a 12MP sensor. Nightography is equipped with an advanced algorithm to “remove” noise from videos. The selfie camera gets an upgrade: 85-degree FOV.
The latest Ultra model from Samsung strives for great AI, as Samsung returns with more details with Agentic AI. “Now Nudge” is said to “pull content information, schedule specific images for you to post.” Now Brief goes up a notch, as Samsung says it’s now “highly customizable,” with the ability to pull information from your notifications or information based on your processes. The Now bar becomes “flexible” with recommendations.
The Galaxy S26 Ultra stands tall
Similar to the S25 Ultra, the S26 Ultra offers a 5,000mAh battery with Super Fast Charging 3.0 technology. Samsung claims this allows the Ultra to charge from 0% to 75% in 30 minutes. This is paired with 25W wireless charging. This has been a hot topic for users, as Samsung confirms that it will not include built-in magnets for Qi2. It adds that this is done to achieve a smaller design for its devices; however, all of its accessories have wireless charging ports.
The S26 Ultra is available with 12 or 16GB of RAM, alongside 256GB, 512GB, and 1TB of storage. The device is made available in Cobalt Violet (flag color), Sky Blue, Black, and White. Online exclusives include Silver Shadow and Pink Gold.
Users can start pre-ordering the Galaxy S26 Ultra today (Feb 25) for $1,299. The device will be officially launched in the market on March 11.
Galaxy S26 Plus
As you would expect, the Galaxy S26 Plus is here again, and Samsung has announced a model with a 6.7-inch display and the same Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 Galaxy SoC. Buyers who are eager for this phone should not expect a Privacy Display, as that is an exclusive feature of the S26 Ultra.
A triple camera array awaits buyers in the Plus version. The S26 Plus brings a 12MP ultra-wide, a 50MP wide-angle, and a 10MP telephoto lens. Similar to the Galaxy S26 Ultra, the S26 Plus offers AI tools for “creation.” Specifically, Users will get Photo Assistant, which allows you to use natural speech in your photo editing experience. Creative Studio brings the creation of stickers, greeting cards, and wallpapers with ready-made templates, too.
For the generation that loves to take screenshots (like me), Samsung will now automatically organize them into eight categories. Other AI features include Circle to Search, the latest Bixby updates, and Perplexity integration.
The S26 Plus doesn’t miss out on any privacy improvements. Samsung details Call Screening, which states that “AI will answer unknown numbers and get information, as well as visual text.” This is joined by Scam Detection to help protect users from unknowingly sending their data to malicious people.
The Galaxy S26 Plus offers 12GB of RAM paired with 256GB or 512GB of storage. A 4,900mAh battery with 45W wired and 20W wireless charging is included. Buyers can get the S26 Plus in the same colors as the S26 Ultra. The device is available for pre-order today (Feb 25) for $1,099 ahead of its official market launch on March 11.
Galaxy S26
The announcements of the Galaxy Unpacked event are Galaxy S26. Users will get a 6.3-inch display and the same three cameras as the Plus: a 12MP ultra-wide, a 50MP wide angle, and a 10MP telephoto lens. Qualcomm’s “For Galaxy” Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 offers significant improvements beyond clock speed increases.
Agentic AI and sticker generation features, AI photo editing, and more are all included in the base Galaxy S26. Phone Screening and Scam Detection help protect Galaxy S26 users. When it comes to its battery, the S26 packs a 4,300mAh battery with 25W wired and 15W wireless charging.
Internally, the device features 12GB of RAM, alongside 256GB and 512GB of storage. Cobalt Violet (the color of the flag), Sky Blue, Black, and White colorways are the ones most users can find, while Silver Shadow and Pink Gold are online only. The Galaxy S26 can be pre-ordered today for $899 ahead of its March 11 market arrival.
Android Central Take
I’m an Ultra guy, and what Samsung introduced during the Galaxy Unpacked event is amazing. Of course, one of the main highlights is the phone’s Privacy Screen. Now, consumers will not need to buy a separate accessory (privacy cover) for their phone. It is integrated into the device at the hardware level. It’s not like I want anyone around me to see what I’m doing all the time. It is a matter of privacy, as the name implies. However, I will say that I am disappointed with the Qi2’s lack of integrated magnets. I expected them with this model, however Samsung disappointed in that.
