I’m not asking Samsung to reinvent the smartphone every year. If we’re being honest, it feels like the era of genuinely “new” phones is behind us – aside from occasional outliers like the Clicks Communicator and Samsung Galaxy Z TriFold – and that’s fine.
What I do want, however, is for Samsung to stop treating genuinely useful, quality-of-life upgrades like optional extras.
And if the latest Galaxy S26 chatter is on the money, Samsung is about to make a very avoidable mistake by launching yet another flagship lineup without built-in magnets for proper Qi2 wireless charging.
Yes, faster wireless charging is nice, but magnetic wireless charging is the bit that actually changes how you use your phone day-to-day. It’s something I’ve experienced not only on the iPhone side of things but also with this year’s Google Pixel 10 range, and it made using the phones so much easier.
Leaks suggest a very familiar smartphone collection
The big S26 leak doing the rounds reads like the most Samsung thing imaginable: a spreadsheet of small, sensible upgrades that won’t exactly cause much excitement.
If it’s accurate, we’re looking at the expected Galaxy S26, S26 Plus and S26 Ultra trio, with no S25 Edge successor in sight. The chipset split is said to return, with UK and EU users getting the Exynos 2600 while US users get the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5, paired with 12GB of RAM across the board.
The regular Galaxy S26 is getting a slightly larger 6.3-inch screen, while the 6.7-inch S26 Plus and 6.9-inch S26 Ultra remain unchanged. That slightly larger screen means the S26 can pack a slightly larger 4300mAh cell, but the S26 Plus and Ultra’s cells remain the same as those of the S25 equivalents.
There are a few minor camera improvements, but expect the same trio of 50MP main, 10MP telephoto and 12MP ultrawide sensors on the S26 and S26 Plus. The Ultra is said to get an improved f/1.4 aperture on its main lens, along with tweaked zoom and ultrawide lenses, but the resolutions similarly stay the same across the board.
Now, don’t get me wrong; none of that is explicitly bad. It’s just very familiar, for what feels like the millionth year in a row. And when a range feels this iterative, the smaller usability wins matter even more – which brings us nicely to charging.
Full Qi2 was rumoured, but it’s not looking good
For a while, it sounded like the Galaxy S26 range might finally go all-in on the “proper” version of Qi2 – you know, the one that works like you’d expect, with magnets inside the phone so accessories snap nicely into place.
We’ve seen it from multiple generations of iPhone and Google’s Pixel 10 series, including the Pixel 10 Pro Fold, so it should be relatively easy for Samsung to do the same, right?
Unfortunately, the latest chatter around certification suggests otherwise. The Galaxy S26 models are indeed tipped to support the Qi 2.2.1 standard, which is a genuine step forward, but the listings make no mention of the Magnetic Power Profile marker you’d see if magnets are actually inside the phone.
And, without that, you end up right back where we are now; if you want a neat snap-on experience with chargers, mounts and accessories, you’ll need to stick the phone in a magnetic case first.
That’s not exactly the end of the world, but it is annoying. And it’s exactly the sort of annoyance that shouldn’t exist on a phone you’re paying proper flagship money for – especially when the competition on both sides of the iPhone/Android divide are beginning to offer it on similarly-priced handsets.
Magnets make accessories much easier to use
The best thing about magnets in a phone is the sheer lack of drama it brings.
Wireless charging without magnets is the kind of ‘convenience’ that somehow still needs managing. You put the phone down, you shuffle it a bit, you glance for the charging icon and you hope that your cat doesn’t nudge it off-centre when you don’t notice. With magnetic alignment, however, you drop it on and it lands where it should. Every. Single. Time.
Then there’s everything else to consider. Car mounts become something you can use one-handed without wrestling with a fiddly spring-loaded clamp, battery packs stop sliding around like a bar of soap in your pocket and wallet add-ons ensure you’ve always got your phone and cash in one place.
It’s also great for content creators, with magnetic tripod mounts that make setting up shots a doddle, and you can even get dedicated camera grips to turn your phone into something more like a classic digital camera.
Essentially, it turns accessories into things you actually want to use, rather than things you tolerate because you’ve already bought them.
Yes, a case can give you most of that – but “most of that” is doing a lot of work there. A case adds cost and bulk and forces you to shop around for the right one, which means Samsung still hasn’t really delivered on the feature.
Still getting faster Qi2 charging, but it’s not enough
Let me be clear; faster wireless charging would still be a welcome change to the Galaxy S26 collection.
If the S26 range does indeed land with Qi 2.2.1 support and boosted wireless charging rates – leaks suggest 15W on the S26 and S26 Plus, with 25W on the Ultra – that’s a change you’ll likely notice, especially if you’re coming from an older model of Galaxy S.
However, I’d argue that speed isn’t the frustration that Qi2 is meant to fix; it’s alignment.
If Samsung improves the numbers but still makes you buy a magnetic case to get the ‘it just works’ experience, it’ll feel like a feature implemented with one hand tied behind its back.
The worst part is that it’ll be easy for Samsung to market it as Qi2 charging, while a lot of people will discover the catch after they’ve bought a charger or mount and wonder why their £1000/$1000 phone doesn’t behave quite like they expected.
If the Galaxy S26 range really is shaping up to be yet another year of sensible, incremental upgrades, then Samsung needs at least one change that feels properly modern in daily use.
Built-in magnets are that change. Not flashy, not headline-grabbing, but the kind of smart, practical improvement that you’ll genuinely appreciate in day-to-day use.
