Samsung has unveiled its new Galaxy S26 series at its Galaxy Unpacked event on Wednesday, February 25. The company focused heavily on optimisation and artificial intelligence. The new phones do not look very different from last year’s models, but Samsung say the improvement lies inside. Performance boosts and smarter AI tools are at the centre of this year’s update.
The Galaxy S26, S26+ and S26 Ultra now share a more unified design. The Ultra is no longer as boxy as before. The camera lenses sit with a glass module instead of floating separately. Samsung has replaced titanium with its latest Armour Aluminium on the Ultra, making it slightly lighter. The company also says the new cooling system helps manage heat better during gaming and heavy tasks.
The biggest hardware change comes with the Galaxy S26 Ultra. It introduces a built-in Privacy Display, a first for smartphones. This feature limits viewing angles so people around you cannot easily see what is on your screen. Unlike third-party privacy protectors, it does not significantly reduce brightness or clarity.
All three models run on the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 for Galaxy chipset. According to the company, the CPU is 19 per cent faster, the GPU 24 per cent faster and the neural processing unit 39 per cent faster than before.
Battery capacity remains similar to last year. But charging speed has improved on some models. The S26 Ultra supports up to 60-watt wired charging and 25-watt wireless charging. However, Samsung does not include a charger in the box like many other brands.
Display quality has been upgraded across the range. All models now feature 10-bit OLED panels capable of producing up to a billion colours. The S26 Ultra keeps its 200 megapixel main camera, but with a wider aperture for brighter photos. Video recording now includes a horizon lock feature in Super Steady mode to keep the footage level.
Alongside hardware changes, Samsung is highlighting a wide range of AI features. The updated Photo Assist tool allows users to edit images using simple written instructions. For example, users can remove unwanted objects or change backgrounds through natural language commands. A new Creative Studio app can generate stickers, wallpapers and greeting cards based on photos.
One of the most talked about additions is automated app actions powered by Google’s Gemini. With voice commands, users can ask the phone to book a ride through Uber.
Samsung has also expanded existing tools. Audio Eraser can now reduce background noise even while watching streaming content. The document scanner can remove shadows and straighten pages before saving them as PDFs. Screenshots will be organised into categories automatically. There is also AI-powered call screening and scam detection to help users avoid fraud attempts.
The Galaxy S26 starts at $900, while the S26+ begins at $1,100. The S26 Ultra remains at $1,300. Pre-orders are open now, with global sales starting on March 11.
