A report in early November claimed Samsung would unveil the Galaxy S26 series on February 25 in San Francisco. The same date appeared in Samsung marketing materials that leaked in late January. But the announcement that many Galaxy S fans have been waiting for has arrived. Samsung on Wednesday confirmed that the Galaxy S26 Unpacked launch event will be held on February 25 in San Francisco, opening up a registration page where consumers can sign up ahead of the preorder process for early savings. The Unpacked press conference will be streamed live, just like other major Galaxy S launch media events. The livestream starts at 10:00 a.m. PST (1:00 p.m. EST).
But Galaxy S fans looking forward to the first Unpacked event of the year won’t have to wait two more weeks to see the innovations Samsung has prepared for the Galaxy S26 series. WinFuture’s Roland Quandt, who routinely leaks Samsung secrets before major product launches, has obtained the full specs for the Galaxy S26, Galaxy S26 Plus, and Galaxy S26 Ultra, sharing them in a detailed report. The hardware details are similar to previous leaks and won’t surprise those Galaxy S owners who keep tabs on all Samsung rumors. However, they may upset those Samsung fans who wished for bigger upgrades from the Galaxy S26 series. If Quandt’s information is accurate, the Galaxy S26 series will offer minimal upgrades over its predecessor. If that’s not enough, Galaxy S26 prices may be somewhat higher, a claim Quandt also made a few days ago.
Galaxy S26 series specs
According to the report, the three Galaxy S26 phones should feature similar designs to last year’s models. The OLED screens are similar, at 6.3, 6.7, and 6.9 inches, featuring adaptive refresh rates (1-120 Hz) and Corning Gorilla Armor 2 glass. All phones should start with 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage. The standard model and the Plus also offer 512GB storage, while the Galaxy S26 Ultra is the only handset listed in a 16GB version, which is paired with 1TB of storage. The 128GB storage tier that was available for Galaxy S25 phones should not be available for the Galaxy S26 series. The base and Plus models will reportedly feature Samsung’s 2nm Exynos 2600 chip, while the Galaxy S26 Ultra will come with Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chip.
The battery sizes are unchanged for the Plus and Ultra (at 4,900 mAh and 5,000 mAh, respectively), but the base Galaxy S26 model features a 4,300 mAh battery, 300 mAh larger than its predecessor. Charging speeds are listed at 25W, 45W, and 60W. The three phones may not have magnets on the back, but a recent report claimed the Galaxy S26 series will support MagSafe-like Qi2 charging via magnetic cases. WinFuture notes that Qi2 charging speeds should reach 15W for the smaller handsets and 25W for the Ultra.
The report indicates that the camera upgrades are largely absent for the smaller models. The rear cameras will reportedly offer 50-megapixel wide, 12-megapixel ultra-wide, and 10-megapixel telephoto (3x optical zoom) lenses. The Galaxy S26 Ultra should have four sensors with similar resolution to the Galaxy S25 Ultra: 200-megapixel wide, 50-megapixel ultra-wide, 50-megapixel periscope lens (5x optical zoom), and 10-megapixel telephoto lens (3x optical zoom). This year’s Ultra might also feature larger apertures, which could improve low-light photography.
The Galaxy S26 prices
WinFuture also lists the purported price structure for Europe. The 256GB Galaxy S26 may cost €999 ($1,189), similar to the Galaxy S25’s €959 ($1,153) price tag. The 256GB Galaxy S26 Plus would be priced at €1,269 ($1,510), compared to €1,149 ($1,367) for the Galaxy S25 Plus. This may be a mistake from WinFuture. The 512GB Galaxy S25 Plus cost €1,269 last year. Finally, the 256GB Galaxy S26 Ultra should cost €1,469 ($1,748), almost matching the 256GB Galaxy S25 Ultra’s €1,449 ($1,724) price. It’s important to remember that European prices include tax. The direct conversions to U.S. dollars will not give you the official U.S. Galaxy S26 price structure, assuming Quandt’s figures are accurate.
However, some Galaxy S fans may not appreciate these prices. The removal of the 128GB storage option will not sit well with buyers looking for the cheapest possible Galaxy S flagship. They’ll have to spend more money than they may have expected. Reserving the Galaxy S26 of your choice before the Unpacked event will help you score $30 in Samsung Credit. Preorders may bring additional perks to early buyers that could make the higher starting price tags more tolerable. While those deals have not leaked, WinFuture did mention the purported color options for the three phones: white, blue, black, and purple.
