Samsung Galaxy S26 Rumors And What To Expect

Samsung’s next Galaxy S flagship has been creating quite a buzz already, with credible leaks all but confirming a more trimmed back lineup and new naming strategy, deeper integration of AI smarts and proper improvements in charging and performance.

Here’s a sober, well-sourced assessment of what may be coming — and what still should be taken with a grain of salt.

Samsung Galaxy S26 lineup changes and new naming

More than one outlet reports that Samsung is reevaluating how many S26 models it will ship. Both Korean outlet The Elec and site NewsPim are reporting that a previously rumored “Edge” version has been canceled, with Samsung replacing the Plus model following weak sell-through on the slimline strategy. That would return the focus to a three-phone strategy: A base model, a Plus, and an Ultra.

There’s also a lot of talk out there about the base phone being rebranded as Galaxy S26 Pro. The move, if true, would be in keeping with a wider industry trend of using “Pro” to indicate higher base specs and help justify premium pricing. If that’s the case, we might also see Samsung narrow the spec delta between the Pro and Plus to help reduce buyer confusion.

Samsung Galaxy S26 design leaks and display sizes

Industry insiders’ renders show a camera housing that’s more different than before, moving away from fully isolated lenses to a joint rectangular or pill-styled bump — which is closer to what we’ve seen directionally with some other expensive phone competition. The Ultra is said to retain a multi-module, vertical stack structure with an added sensor offshoot at the side, while the base/Pro and Plus rely on cleaner, vertically oriented arrays.

Colors are still up in the air, though a more aggressive hero finish — something like a standout orange — has been suggested to me by multiple tipsters. Rumored display sizes so far are in the vicinity of 6.27 inches for the base/Pro, 6.7 inches for the Plus and 6.9 inches for the Ultra with familiar aspect ratios and some modestly shrunken bezels.

The S Pen tale might be interesting once more. As SamMobile points out, there are issues with balancing digitizer hardware with magnetic accessories that have prevented true Qi2 compatibility on existing devices. Leaks indicate Samsung is re-engineering the stylus stack so magnets for Qi2 accessories can coexist without any interference — and that could unlock more than magnetized cases.

AI features and software direction for Galaxy S26

Bloomberg, however, is reporting that Samsung has dabbled in preloading Perplexity’s AI-powered search offerings and may partner with Perplexity around the Samsung Internet Browser. This would be a nice addition to the current generative outputs (and “officially” we’d have an option other than old-school web search). It’s worth noting that other OEMs, such as Motorola, have played around with similar integrations — hinting at a larger push to make AI-assisted answers feel native on phones.

On the software front, the S26 series will come with the next major iteration of One UI on top of Android’s most recent offering. Expect more of an emphasis on on-device models like we have for recent private, offline tasks (summaries, transcription, image edits) and cloud models for heavier computations. How well Samsung threads the needle between latency, privacy and power draw will also be a key differentiator this cycle.

Performance, storage, and connectivity expectations

Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 is widely expected to occupy the global S26 lineup too, and Qualcomm’s own numbers suggest performance will be about 20% faster for up to around 35% efficiency improvements versus the previous generation. Exynos-powered models will ship in some regions, as they have in previous years, but all indications are there are flagship-grade CPU, GPU and AI accelerator improvements ready to grace the duo regardless of what silicon you’re packing.

Storage and memory are the one thing we’re light on for now, but with industry momentum surrounding faster UFS flash storage and LPDDR RAM standards it stands to reason Samsung will focus most heavily on speed in consideration of generative AI tasks as well as high-bitrate video capture. Anticipate Wi-Fi and Bluetooth stacks that match the most recent premium spec sheets to support higher throughput and lower latency for accessories.

Cameras and imaging upgrades rumored for Galaxy S26

This time, there are more conservative camera rumors. According to Android Headlines, the Ultra will keep a 200MP primary sensor but with a brighter f/1.4 aperture that should result in better low-light performance and improved focus stability. The base model should stick with a 50MP main camera, and computational photography will take more of the load for Night mode and zoom.

Another 324MP sensor rumor has also been floating around, though veteran leakers dismiss it as unlikely for this generation. And given Samsung’s renewed focus on tuning over raw pixel number, it is more than likely we will get better-looking image processing pipelines, quicker HDR and smarter subject detection rather than a mere megapixel arm-wrestle.

Charging speeds and battery capacity expectations

Wireless charging could finally go magnetic. Leaker Sonny Dickson was even able to obtain dummy units with an empty area showing space for magnetic rings, offering real Qi2 alignment. If Samsung also jumps on board with some of the later Qi2 revisions, gossip suggests wireless charging speeds could stretch above their current 15W ceiling and land somewhere in the region of around 25W for compatible pads and stands.

On the wired side, Ice Universe has mused that an Ultra upgrade could deliver as much as 60W charging (up from 45), while PandaFlashPro has suggested a small bump in the Ultra’s battery capacity to around 5,400mAh. If both work out, the Ultra could charge faster and last longer — an area where real-world improvements can be realized more than in headline specs.

Launch window and price expectations for Galaxy S26

Samsung tends to announce its S series in the beginning of the year and there’s little cause to assume they will make a major rescheduling decision. Pricing, meanwhile, is one of the biggest mysteries; since component costs and AI development money are both up over last year, get ready for trade-in programs and carrier promos to meet somewhere in the middle at a more effective price.

The bottom line: the S26 story is a tale of smart iteration, not reinvention — cleaner lineup, more refined AI, improved efficiency and practical charging upgrades. As usual, take the early leaks with a grain of salt, but the direction is in keeping with what longtime Galaxy owners have been pining for: less gimmicks, more everyday wins.