Samsung’s most compact Unpacked in years sets the stage for the Galaxy S26. Less filling, more focus.
For the first time, I had the pleasure of watching the Samsung Galaxy Unpacked 2026, where the South Korean company announced its latest series of devices, which are part of its flagship phones.
Samsung launched the S26 series, which includes the Galaxy S26, S26 Plus, and S26 Ultra variants, and also announced the Galaxy Buds 4 and Buds 4 Pro. The Galaxy S26 Ultra, in particular, has some very interesting new features, including a new display technology that acts as a privacy screen.
Because we have been informed, during the event it is unlikely that we as journalists will pay full attention because we know everything that will be announced. But anyway, we’re watching, just to be safe, in case there’s breaking news.
Over the years, I have sat down and complained about how boring the event is; how it doesn’t feel different than what Samsung has done in the past, and that I don’t think it’s worth their time to keep doing these events.
But during Wednesday’s event, I actually said to my team that I really enjoyed watching the event and found the new machines impressive, especially the S26 Ultra.
From Korea to SF… this event was not to be missed
I know that being at an event in person is different from live streaming. The last time I was at an event in person with Samsung was when they hosted it in South Korea three years ago. I remember saying that this event felt pretentious and boring.
That was definitely not the case this year. Samsung’s ability to stay humble, but at the same time showcase an impressive set of phones, is a testament to how they decided to start the new year.
I think Samsung also made the right decision to forego the spectacle by bringing in a celebrity to express how great their phones are, instead opting for something more to do with likability by bringing out someone like Miles Franklin, aka MilesAboveTech.
And even though they had a clip of South Korean singer SUGA of BTS, it was subtle and classy, and didn’t detract from the overall event.
My editor-in-chief, Derrek Lee, who was at the event, agreed that having someone like MilesAboveTech demonstrate how the new privacy display works on the Ultra model was a smart move.
Instead of having an unknown celebrity disrupt the event and the products, Samsung set their sights on “someone who talks about these things for a living and who we in the tech industry recognize,” Derrek told me, noting how Franklin can have mainstream appeal.
Short, sweet, and to the point
One thing I noticed that Samsung did differently this year was only focus on one device that had important updates, rather than having a random show.
Derrek agreed, saying that by focusing on just one call, the event felt like it went by quickly and “the show was working really well.”
Jitesh Ubrani, IDC’s global device tracker research manager, said the event as a whole looked less like a Samsung show and more like a victory for Google and Perplexity, where “Samsung provided the ship, but most of the innovation clearly belongs to their partners.”
That said, he noted that the power of Samsung hardware “remains undeniable.” “I agree that the new privacy screen is a real achievement that serves as a reminder of what Samsung can achieve when they are not dependent on third-party software.”
Despite not making many major design or hardware changes and focusing on AI development, Samsung is keeping up with the likes of Google and what it’s doing with the Pixel 10, a device we know is Google’s AI flagship.
The Galaxy S26 Ultra still falls behind devices from Chinese OEMs in some areas, such as battery and charging technology, but the tightly focused Unpacked event shows that Samsung still has a few tricks up its sleeve, while focusing on what it does best. And that’s what we want to see more of from a company like Samsung.
