The most surprising news of the last few months in the mobile industry dropped out of nowhere yesterday, as it appears there’s a chance after all that Samsung will release both Galaxy S26 Plus and S26 Edge models early next year in addition to Galaxy S26 Pro and S26 Ultra variants.
If you missed all those (very convincing) rumors calling for a three-member Galaxy S26 family with only one Edge-branded sequel for both the Galaxy S25 Plus and S26 Edge, that may not have come as a big surprise to you. But I for one was left scratching my head in confusion at the latest Korean media report suggesting a potential last-minute change of plans for Samsung’s next big ultra-high-end handsets.
The Galaxy S26 Edge is in no man’s land all of a sudden
Look, I am and have always been the biggest hater of Samsung’s razor-thin Galaxy S25 Edge for the same simple reason why I don’t watch beauty pageants. As corny as it might sound, I believe that true beauty lies within a person or a phone, and unfortunately, the undeniably eye-catching 6.7-inch flagship is rather empty on the inside.
And I don’t just mean that figuratively, as the device literally leaves too much unoccupied space under its hood next to a disappointing (both on paper and in real-world use) 3,900mAh battery.
From the first Galaxy S25 Edge Slim rumor, I had this sneaking suspicion that the only reason the product existed was to try (and fail) to steal Apple’s iPhone Air thunder. For a few weeks there, Samsung almost had me convinced that I was wrong and the S25 Edge and S26 Edge were a key part of this grand plan to reimagine the Galaxy S family, but now… I’m back to my original guess.
Don’t expect me to congratulate Samsung for essentially realizing that the Galaxy S25 Edge was a mistake that should have never happened, though.
That’s because I still remember very well how the handset was initially teased, then fully unveiled, then marketed, and I’ve actually started to believe that the S26 Edge can become a global hit if it retains its predecessor’s maverick vibe, backing that up with some truly unusual or groundbreaking specs. Like a massive battery squeezed into a super-slim body using cutting-edge (no pun intended) silicon-carbon technology.
What if the Galaxy S26 Plus is a different beast altogether?
I have a dream, and I believe many of you already know where this is going. I dream of a compact 6.2-inch or so screen, a triple rear-facing camera system with a 200MP primary snapper, and a state-of-the-art Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 processor.
That’s not my dream for the “base” Galaxy S26 (Pro), mind you, but rather the resurrected Galaxy S26 Plus. Is that doable? Of course. Is it likely to happen? Of course not, and that’s the biggest problem Samsung needs to solve ASAP. My solution to the company’s Galaxy S26 series pickle would very simply and neatly separate the S26 and S26 Plus from the S26 Edge and S26 Ultra, maximizing the chances of all four devices to find an audience and sell in decent (at the very least) global numbers.
Otherwise, I’m afraid that the S26 Plus will too closely resemble the not-very-popular S25 Plus, and worse yet, the S26 Edge and S26 Plus will cannibalize each other and end up equally unsuccessful. Granted, the Galaxy S26 Edge is currently expected to sport a… unique and unorthodox design, which sounds like a good idea but looks… pretty awful.
At the end of the day, I believe Samsung’s biggest problem is the lack of a clear long-term vision for the Galaxy S series, and perhaps even the fear of making a mistake and betting on the wrong horse. Yes, I think what I’m trying to say is that I’ve started to care more about the Galaxy S26 Edge than the S26 Plus, which is… not good news for Samsung if you look a few paragraphs up.
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