Samsung moves one step ahead with Galaxy S26 Ultra's new software

Lately, we have been seeing many leaks about Samsung’s upcoming lineup of non-foldable flagship phones, the Galaxy S26 series. We got an idea about the Galaxy S26 Edge’s thickness and battery and the Galaxy S26 Ultra’s battery capacity and charging speed numbers. It suggests that the phones in the lineup are shaping up. Well, the brand has taken another significant step into their development as it has started working on the software for the top-of-the-line model, the Galaxy S26 Ultra.

On Samsung’s OTA software update server for Galaxy devices, a firmware carrying version S948USQU0AYG8 has been spotted (via Tarun Vats). As you can see, it is for a smartphone with model number SM-S948. Going by the brand’s model number convection, SM-S948 should be the Galaxy S26 Ultra. It means that this is the first firmware build for the company’s upcoming non-foldable flagship smartphone. The tipster predicts that this firmware is Android 16-based One UI 8.5.

Usually, Samsung releases a new Galaxy S lineup in January or February. Considering that, we expect the brand to launch the Galaxy S26 series in January 2026 or February 2026.

According to previous leaks, the Galaxy S26 Ultra will feature the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite 2 SoC, a 5,000mAh battery, a charging speed of more than 45W, and a rear primary camera with a wider aperture than that of the Galaxy S25 Ultra. Hopefully, we will get to know more details soon.