The new Samsung Galaxy S26 phones will be launched in a few hours: The specifications and prices of the new phones – What we know so far

The new generation of Samsung Galaxy S26 phones will be officially launched on Wednesday evening. The Galaxy S26, Galaxy S26+ and Galaxy S26 Ultra will be presented at the official Unpacked event that will take place from 20:00. Until then, however, numerous information and rumors about the new phones have appeared online. Here is what is known so far.

All the official details about the new phones in the Samsung Galaxy S26 series will be published with the official event that will take place on Wednesday evening. The Mashable publication has, however, gathered all the data and rumors available so far about what we can expect from the new Samsung flagships.

It should be emphasized that these are a conglomeration of speculation, renders based on “leaked” technical schematics from factories and rumors from component suppliers. Therefore, the information below should be treated with caution, as the final design and specifications are subject to change until the official Unpacked event.

Minimal design changes. A new camera module

Mashable writes that the first images appearing on sources indicate that Samsung could make a major visual change to the Ultra model. If the previous generations, S24 Ultra and S25 Ultra, relied on individual lenses that “emerged” directly from the back of the case, for the S26 Ultra it is rumored to adopt a unitary camera module, similar to the one on the Galaxy Z Fold 7.

This change could bring a small ergonomic problem, considering that the camera mode will stand out more and the phone may become more “wobbly” when placed on a flat surface.

On the other hand, industry sources say that the S26 Ultra will be the thinnest phone in this series made by Samsung so far, measuring under 8mm edge-to-edge. The S25 Ultra released a year ago had an edge thickness of 8.2mm, and the 2024 S24 Ultra had a side thickness of 8.6mm.

In terms of colors, expect a conservative palette with shades like White or Silver, Purple and Black.

#Samsung #GalaxyS26Ultra pic.twitter.com/0lzaFIxYev

— Steve H. McFly (@OnLeaks) December 30, 2025

Different processors: Snapdragon vs. Exynos

In terms of hardware, the big news could be the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 processor (a chip rebranded from the Snapdragon 8 Elite 2, on 3nm architecture), but several industry sources say that it will only be available in Europe on the flagship model, the Galaxy S26 Ultra. .

For the other two phones in the range, the website specialized in specifications GSM Arena, which collects information from multiple online sources, claims that Samsung could use its own Exynos 2600 processors, on a 2nm architecture. At least in Europe.

At first glance, if the rumors turn out to be true, it seems like a regression after years of Samsung using the same top-of-the-line Snapdragon processors on all three models. In practice, however, the tests carried out so far on the Exynos 2600 show that it is very close to the latest Snapdragon Elite processor, even better in some ways.

Bigger batteries? Faster upload speeds?

One of the weaknesses criticized in the S24 and S25 generations is the charging speed and the density of the battery. For the S26 series, rumors gathered by Mashable indicate the use of a “stacked” battery technology, similar to that in electric cars. This would allow more capacity in the same physical volume.

The S26 Ultra could thus receive a 5,500 mAh battery, a 10% increase over the 5,000 mAh standard maintained for years on previous models. Instead, the charging speed could remain capped at 45W, Samsung preferring to postpone the transition to 60W for the S27 generation, prioritizing the safety and longevity of the battery cells.

GSM Arena, however, aggregates other industry information and claims that the S27 Ultra will have a “only” 5,000 mAh battery like past generations, but this time it will switch to a 60W wired charging speed and 25W wireless charging.

The S26, on the other hand, would receive a slightly larger battery (4,300 mAh vs. 4,000 mAh on previous generations), and the S26+ model, although it would remain with the same battery capacity (4,900 mAh), would also receive faster wireless charging at 25W.

The cameras on the Samsung Galaxy S26

The base models S26 and S26 Plus appear to retain the classic configuration of 50MP (wide), 12MP (ultrawide) and 10MP (telephoto) – an unchanged recipe from the S22 onwards, writes Mashable.

For the Ultra model, on the other hand, it is rumored that it could receive a new 200MP main sensor from the ISOCELL series, much more effective in low light conditions than the one on the S25 Ultra.

However, other sources say that Samsung will not change the cameras even at the top of the range, but will only improve certain specifications of the cameras already used successfully so far.

Software and “Privacy Display”

On the software side, the S26 will most likely debut with One UI 8.5, based on Android 16. Mashable writes that the interface will undergo a visual rebranding process similar to Apple's “Liquid Glass” visual language, which will bring elements of transparency and a more modern aesthetic.

A novel function that appeared on the sources, writes the mentioned publication, is “Privacy Display”. This would be a system-wide setting that allows the screen to become opaque when viewed from side angles, simulating the effect of privacy screens, but without the need for a physical accessory.

Prices – How much will the Samsung Galaxy S26 phones cost

Although component costs (especially RAM) have risen globally, it looks like Samsung may keep prices at last year's level.

GSM Arena estimates, however, that prices for the European area will be slightly higher. For example, the smallest model, the Galaxy S26, is estimated at 1,000 euros, i.e. over 5,000 lei, while last year the S25 model had a launch price of 4,500 lei (around 900 euros). It's worth noting that the same source indicates that storage variants for the S26 will start at 256GB, up from 128GB on the previous model. It remains to be seen if the information will be officially confirmed.

S26+ would cost about 1,270 euros, that is, about 6,470 lei, compared to 5,700 last year.

The top of the range, the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra model is estimated to cost 1,470 Euros, that is, about 7,490 lei, compared to the 7,200 starting price last year.

However, these leaked figures may not be the final ones, and the official information that Samsung will publish on Wednesday evening could indicate a different pricing structure. It remains to be seen how much of the information appearing on GSM Arena sources will be confirmed.

• HotNews will publish all the details about the Samsung Galaxy S26 series with the launch event on Wednesday evening.

Possible specifications for the Samsung Galaxy S26 series

Samsung Galaxy S26 (Base Model)

• Screen: 6.3-inch FHD+ Dynamic AMOLED 2X, adaptive refresh 1-120Hz
• Processor: Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 (octa-core, 3nm) / Exynos 2600 (deca-core, 2nm)
• RAM memory: 12 GB
• Storage: 256GB / 512GB
• Battery: 4,300 mAh (25W charging)
• Rooms: 50MP (Main), 12MP (Ultrawide), 10MP (Telephoto 3x)
• size: 149.6 x 71.7 x 7.2 mm, 167 grams

Samsung Galaxy S26 Plus

• Screen: 6.7-inch QHD+ Dynamic AMOLED 2X, adaptive refresh 1-120Hz
• Processor: Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 (octa-core, 3nm) / Exynos 2600 (deca-core, 2nm)
• RAM memory: 12 GB
• Storage: 256GB / 512GB
• Battery: 4,900 mAh (45W charging), 25W wireless charging
• Rooms: 50MP (Main), 12MP (Ultrawide), 10MP (Telephoto 3x)
• size: 158.4 x 75.8 x 7.23mm, 190 grams

Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra

• Screen: 6.9-inch QHD+ Dynamic AMOLED 2X, QHD+, adaptive refresh 1-120Hz (S-Pen included)
• Processor: Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 (exclusive)
• RAM memory: 12/16GB
• Storage: 256GB / 512GB / 1TB
• Battery: 5,000 or 5,500 mAh (45W or 60W charging), 25W wireless charging
• Rooms: 200MP (Main Sensor), 50MP (Zoom Periscope), 50MP (Ultrawide), 10MP (Telephoto 3x)
• size: 163.6 x 78.1 x 7.9 mm, 214 grams