Samsung Galaxy S26 preorder: How to get the S26, S26 Ultra, S26+

Table of Contents

After months of extensive leaks and teasers, Samsung officially unveiled its latest AI-forward smartphones at Galaxy Unpacked Wednesday. The new Galaxy S26, S26+, and S26 Ultra are set for release on March 11 alongside some new Galaxy Buds4, and preorders are now live. Starting prices range from $899.99 to $1,299.99.

Preorder deals are plentiful — and better beyond Samsung’s website. Reservations made through Amazon include a free storage upgrade as well as a free gift card worth $100 to $200. Best Buy is offering the same storage bonus and up to $1,100 off with a qualifying trade-in.

Buying a Galaxy S26 series phone directly from Samsung nets you a trade-in discount of $500 to $900. If you don’t want to give up your old phone, you’ll just get $150 off the Galaxy S26 Ultra. You can save an extra $50 by paying with PayPal and entering the coupon code PAYPAL50 at checkout.

Among major carriers, AT&T and T-Mobile are both offering the 256GB Galaxy S26 Ultra for free (via monthly bill credits) with a qualifying trade-in and an unlimited data plan. Meanwhile, Verizon is giving away the 256GB Galaxy S26+ with a new line on select unlimited plans — no trade-in required. We’re also seeing deals on the S25 models with the announcement of the S26 line.

The Galaxy S26 series runs on a custom Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 4 for Galaxy chipset, and all models now start with at least 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage. Their design is slimmer and less boxy than their predecessors, last year’s Galaxy S25 series, and they’re made from aluminum instead of titanium. They all offer integration for Google Gemini and Perplexity alongside an upgraded Bixby assistant.

The Galaxy S26 Ultra got the most noteworthy updates, including a redesigned vapor chamber for better heat dissipation, faster charging, Corning Gorilla Armor 2, and an industry-first Privacy Display feature. (No need for a physical screen protector.)

All retailers will sell the Galaxy S26 series in four colors: cobalt violet, sky blue, black, and white. Samsung will carry two additional finishes called silver shadow and pink gold.

Samsung Galaxy S26: Specs and pricing

Samsung’s entry-level phone is no longer available with 128GB of storage.
Credit: Chris Taylor / Mashable

The standard Galaxy S26 is configurable with 12GB of RAM and 256GB or 512GB of storage, and it starts at $899.99. That’s not a price bump from the previous generation, by the way: The Galaxy S25 base model was $799.99, but it only had a 128GB storage capacity.

Here’s what that gets you:

• Display: 6.3-inch AMOLED display with FHD+ (2340 × 1080) resolution and 1-120Hz adaptive refresh rate

• Camera setup: 50MP main camera, 12MP ultra-wide lens, and 10MP telephoto lens

• Battery capacity: 4,300mAh

Samsung Galaxy S26+: Specs and pricing

The Samsung Galaxy S26+ is the only model that got a true price hike from the previous generation.
Credit: Chris Taylor / Mashable

The mid-tier Galaxy S26+ has the same memory and storage options as well as the same camera setup. It starts at $1,099.99, which is a $100 increase from the Galaxy S25+. Compared to the vanilla Galaxy S26, it has a bigger, nicer display and a larger battery:

• Display: 6.7-inch AMOLED display with with a QHD+ (3120 x 1440) resolution and a 1-120Hz adaptive refresh rate

• Battery capacity: 4,900mAh

Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra: Specs and pricing

The Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra will compete with Apple’s iPhone 17 Pro.
Credit: Chris Taylor / Mashable

The high-end Galaxy S26 Ultra comes in three configuration options: 12GB RAM/256GB storage, 16GB RAM/512GB storage, or 16GB RAM/1TB storage. It has the same $1,299.99 starting price as the 2025 Galaxy S25 Ultra despite its upgrades. (Read our deeper dive into their differences.)

Compared to the other Galaxy S26 phones, the Ultra has the biggest display, added stylus support, the biggest, fastest-charging battery, and an extra telephoto lens:

• Display: 6.9-inch AMOLED display with with a QHD+ (3120 x 1440) resolution and a 1-120Hz adaptive refresh rate

• Camera setup: 200MP main camera, 50MP ultra-wide lens, and 50 and 10MP telephoto lenses with up to 5x optical zoom

• Battery capacity: 5,000mAh with 60w charging

Head to Mashable’s Samsung Galaxy Unpacked live blog for the latest updates as the newest Samsung products and features are unveiled.