Samsung Galaxy S26 leaks are coming thick and fast, but they have me worried

By Bryan M. Wolfe and John McCann Updated January 20, 2026

As we get closer and closer to their predecessor’s release window, leaks and rumors about the Samsung Galaxy S26 and its siblings are coming in full force. Almost every day brings a new tidbit of information, but not all of them point a positive picture.

This successor to the Galaxy S25 series comes amidst worries about price hikes across the tech industry, and so the S26, S26 Plus and S26 Ultra may not bring the spec improvements that you’ve come to expect. In fact, the Galaxy S25 Edge‘s successor may not even arrive.

That won’t just affect the Samsung Galaxy S26 family because the same problem will affect the iPhone 18 and Google Pixel 11, but we haven’t heard as many leaks about those phones so far.

Enough doom and gloom; the Galaxy S26 hasn’t been announced, and so no matter what we hear, we need to wait for the phones to be announced before we come to any conclusions. But we’ll take a look at the news and leaks first.

Samsung has not confirmed a Galaxy S26 launch date or release date, but if we look back at previous Samsung launches we can get an idea of when it could arrive.

Both the Galaxy S25 and Galaxy S24 series were announced at Galaxy Unpacked events in January of 2025 and 2024 respectively, however some rumors are pointing to the new models only being announced on February 25. Even if that’s not true, February is looking likely, as January is winding down without any news of an event.

As for the Galaxy S26 release date – when it the phones will actually be available – the trend has been for them to arrive roughly two weeks after the launch event, so we could be looking at mid-March for the on-sale date.

With the Galaxy S25 series, we got three phones launched together in January 2025: the Galaxy S25, Galaxy S25 Plus and Galaxy S25 Ultra. They were then followed by the super-slim Galaxy S25 Edge in May 2025.

Unfortunately for fans of the thin phone, a report points to there not being an S26 Edge. No, not delayed: it’s apparently been cancelled completely due to poor interest in the previous model. And any Galaxy S26 FE will likely come much later in the year.

Price hikes are hitting every item on the tech market, but Samsung Galaxy S26 costs might not be too bad.

Since the year began we’ve heard not one leak, not two leaks, but three leaks that all point to the S26 models costing the same as their S25 counterparts. These all suggest that the specs won’t increase much, or will be a side-grade, to match. The third of those leaks also suggest that pre-order or purchase perks and deals might be worse though.

Let’s start with the screens. We’re not expecting too many changes to the screens themselves, with rumors pointing to similar specs between the S26 models and their S25 predecessors. However other leaks point to the S26 having a slightly-smaller 6.3-inch display. Expect them to stay similar to the previous handsets, at least.

One report suggests that the S26 models will get privacy screens, though, which would be at least some kind of an upgrade. This would be an optional feature that would drastically reduce the screen’s viewing angles, so people can’t see what you’re doing on your phone if they’re peering over your shoulder.

Onto the design. The most important news on this front are leaked pictures of production models of the phones, which show very few differences to the S25 models. You can see them above. This matches what we’d previously heard, that the S26 will be a little thicker than its predecessor but overall have few changes.

Some have compared leaked S26 Plus renders to the S25 Edge in terms of design. One other thing we’ve heard is that the S26 Ultra might come in four color options: black, white, blue and purple. Some are upset at the lack of an orange model.

The camera leaks and rumors surrounding the Samsung Galaxy S26 family have been a little one-note. This is, largely, that they won’t bring spec improvements over the past models. That does contradict what we’d heard before, though, which pointed to the 10MP 3x zoom camera of the Galaxy S25 Ultra being swapped out for something else.

More promising is a range of software tweaks and upgrades which rumors are pointing to, which would make up for hardware changes. However, these have only been linked to the S26 Ultra so far.

For one, a leaker has suggested the Ultra could get a Portrait mode feature which affects skin tones, stopping pictures of people from looking too yellowy and warm. Another leak points to a range of software tweaks including lens flare reduction and video softening.

One of the expected upgrades for any new-gen mobile is an improved processor. That will be the case on the S26 family according to a benchmark leak, which suggests the new phones will outstrip some top-tier 2025 phones.

Specifically, leaks point to which chipsets the phone will get. Apparently in Korea, the mobiles will get Samsung-made Exynos 2600 chipsets, but the rest of the world will be using them with a new Qualcomm chip. That’ll likely be the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5, though the rumor didn’t go into detail on that front.

Two features have been tipped for the new phone. Well, the first one is an old feature, upgraded: apparently the mobiles will have upgraded NFC to make contactless payment easier. The second one is that the Galaxy S26 will make satellite calls, which is one of the most likely tips of this whole article because it’s something Samsung itself has hinted.

Previous spec leaks have pointed to the Galaxy S26 phones having similar battery capacities to their predecessors. But that’s not the whole picture.

One hopeful leak points to faster charging. For which model? Two of them. Apparently, the S26 and S26 Plus will enjoy 45W charging, which will be a big upgrade for the standard model as the S25 powered at 25W. In addition the Ultra will apparently jump from 45W to 60W. Nice and fast. But that’s not the only potential upgrade.

Apparently the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra will enjoy faster wireless charging. An exact speed hasn’t been confirmed, but people expect 20W or 25W. That matches with what we’d heard: that the S26 models will get a built-in magnetic ring for wireless charging, like iPhones have.

We have some initial thoughts regarding the Galaxy S26 series. While it remains uncertain whether any of these hopes will materialize, we are eager to see what developments may come to light.

Is it unreasonable to expect Samsung to enhance charging for the more affordable Galaxy S models? We don’t think so. Upgrades to both wired and wireless charging would certainly increase user comfort and everyday efficiency. Faster wired charging would greatly reduce downtime, allowing users to recharge their devices quickly during brief moments, particularly in emergencies or busy schedules. Moreover, enhancements in wireless charging would lead to a more seamless cable-free charging experience.

Whether it’s Samsung, Apple, or another smartphone provider, camera upgrades are nearly always certain year in and year out — at least on the best models these companies have to offer. Less expensive models, such as the regular iPhone and Galaxy S, however, tend to see fewer camera upgrades year over year. We certainly don’t expect this to change for Samsung in 2026, but we can still hope.

Smartphones are expensive, even entry-level models, so it’s not asking too much for even those models to see significant camera improvements from generation to generation. Perhaps Samsung will make this a reality next year.

Samsung launched the Galaxy S25 Edge in May. And Apple is tipped to reveal the iPhone Air in September. Together, the two smartphones will usher in a new era of sleek smartphones from the top two phone producers. However, the giants are introducing these models in two different ways.

Apple, which already offers four phones in its primary lineup, is reportedly replacing the iPhone Plus with the iPhone Air starting with the iPhone 17 series this fall. In contrast, Samsung is increasing its primary phone lineup from three to four units.

While nothing is certain, the Galaxy S26 series could feature four models once again (Galaxy S26, Galaxy S26 Plus, Galaxy S26 Edge, and Galaxy S26 Ultra); however, it could also reduce the lineup to three by removing the Galaxy S Plus from the 2026 lineup.

That’s what Samsung should do, although much will probably depend on the popularity of the Galaxy S25 Edge and ultimately the iPhone 17 Air.

Due to lead times, there will likely still be a Galaxy S Plus in 2026, although what happens a year later is far less certain. Regardless, less is better in this case, in our humble opinion, giving Samsung more time to concentrate on the models that remain.

As a site focused on the tech industry, we enjoy seeing and discussing design makeovers, especially for smartphones. However, we’re also realistic and recognize that companies like Samsung understand that most consumers prefer to stick with familiar designs rather than spend their hard-earned money on a new design that may or may not succeed. This is likely why the Galaxy S25 Edge will have limited initial production quotas, allowing Samsung time to assess its popularity.

That said, Samsung needs to consider making a huge design change on at least one model in the Galaxy S26 series. The last time it significantly changed the look of its main Galaxy S series of phones was with the release of the Galaxy S21 nearly five years ago, so expecting some significant change probably isn’t asking too much. Of course, it should start with the Galaxy S26 Ultra since it will be the company’s next flagship.

What design change should that be? Samsung should look to the Galaxy S25 Edge for inspiration, but ultimately make it unique to the Galaxy S Ultra.

In January, Galaxy AI will celebrate its second anniversary. Samsung’s suite of on-device and cloud-based AI features was once exclusive to the Galaxy S24 series. Since then, some features have been extended to older and newer devices.

As exciting as many of Galaxy AI’s features have become (for example, Circle to Search), some refinement would ensure that more consumers embrace it and make it part of their everyday lives. For the Galaxy S26 series, let’s hope Galaxy AI becomes easier and more practical for the masses. Better still, Samsung should remove features that are more confusing than others to streamline Galaxy AI overall.

While we aren’t necessarily pushing for one feature over another for elimination, there are a few candidates. One potentially confusing aspect is Call Assist, particularly the Live Translate feature during calls. Some users are undoubtedly finding it awkward to rely on real-time translation while maintaining a natural conversation flow, especially if the translations aren’t accurate or have a noticeable delay.

Another Galaxy AI feature that needs improvement (or removal) is the Generative Edit feature for photos. Due to the unpredictable nature of AI-generated content, results are not always what users expect. As such, many are probably not even using it, and that should be addressed.