Galaxy S26 and S26+ go official with faster performance and more

Samsung has unveiled three new high-end smartphones today: Galaxy S26, Galaxy S26+, and Galaxy S26 Ultra. The new devices offer faster performance, improved camera capabilities, and upgraded software features. Let us have a detailed look at what is new with the Galaxy S26 and Galaxy S26+ in this article.

If you want to read about the Galaxy S26 Ultra instead, click here.

The Galaxy S26 and Galaxy S26+ are the world's first smartphones powered by a 2nm chip. Both devices use the Exynos 2600 processor, which Samsung announced a few weeks ago. The chip will be used in most countries globally. In China, Japan, and North America, they use the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 for Galaxy processor.

Both phones come with 12GB of LPDDR5X RAM and either 256GB or 512GB of UFS 4.0 storage. There is no variant with 8GB RAM or 128GB storage for any of these two phones.

According to Samsung, the Exynos 2600 delivers 7 percent faster CPU performance, 29 percent more powerful GPU, and 40 percent faster AI processing compared to the 3nm Exynos 2500 used in the Galaxy Z Flip 7.

The Galaxy S26 features a 6.3-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X LTPO display with Full HD+ resolution, slightly larger than the Galaxy S25’s 6.2-inch screen. The Galaxy S26+ has a 6.7-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X LTPO panel with QHD+ resolution.

Both phones support a 1Hz to 120Hz adaptive refresh rate, up to 2,600 nits of peak brightness, HDR10+, and an in-display ultrasonic fingerprint reader.

Samsung uses an Armor Aluminum frame and Gorilla Glass Victus 2 protection on the front and back. The devices also offer stereo speakers and an IP68 rating for dust and water resistance.

On the front, both phones feature a 12MP camera with autofocus. Samsung says the upgraded image signal processor and Object Aware Engine improve skin tones and texture detail in selfies.

On the rear, the Galaxy S26 and Galaxy S26+ include:

Both devices can record 8K video at 30fps using the primary camera and up to 4K at 60fps across all cameras. Photos and videos support Super HDR with 10-bit color for improved dynamic range and color depth.

Connectivity options include 5G, GPS, Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6.0, NFC, and a USB 3.2 Type-C port. Additional features include Samsung DeX, Samsung Pay, and Wireless PowerShare (4.5W).

The phones run Android 16-based One UI 8.5 and will receive seven major Android OS updates and up to seven years of security updates.

New Galaxy AI features include a more refined generative AI-powered image editor that supports text prompts and sticker generation, along with Audio Eraser support in third-party apps. The phones can also automatically organize screenshots in the Gallery app and scan multi-page documents using the stock Camera app.

Now Brief supports more features, while Now Nudge proactively suggests relevant information based on your conversations and activity. Circle to Search can now identify multiple items on the same screen.

Bixby has also received a major upgrade. It now better understands context and natural language, remembers previous conversations, and lets users revisit them. It also integrates with Perplexity to pull information from the web.

The Galaxy S26 is powered by a 4,300mAh battery, which is 300mAh larger than the Galaxy S25’s battery. The Galaxy S26+ retains a 4,900mAh battery, the same capacity as its predecessor.

The Galaxy S26 supports 25W wired fast charging and 15W wireless charging with Qi2 Ready compatibility. The Galaxy S26+ supports 45W wired fast charging and 20W wireless charging with Qi2.2 support.

Neither device includes built-in magnetic alignment for Qi2 accessories, so users will need compatible magnetic cases or accessories to take advantage of magnetic attachment.

The Galaxy S26 and Galaxy S26+ are available in four colors: Black, Cobalt Violet, Sky Blue, and White. Samsung is also offering two online-exclusive colors: Pink Gold and Silver Shadow.

Samsung has opened pre-orders for both devices. You can check pricing and availability by clicking here.