TL;DR
- Galaxy S26 breaks records, with Samsung pulling in 1.35 million pre-orders in one week in South Korea.
- The Galaxy S26 Ultra accounted for 70% of pre-orders, showing buyers overwhelmingly prefer the top-tier model.
- Samsung’s Galaxy AI Subscription Club (with Samsung Care+ and theft protection) also saw over 30% of buyers sign up.
Samsung just proved that even a price hike and a display controversy can’t stop the Galaxy juggernaut. Even with a less exciting hardware update and some last-minute changes to screen specs, the Galaxy S26 series broke pre-order records in South Korea, selling 1.35 million units in just one week.
The main takeaway isn’t just that Samsung sold more phones, but which models are popular. The Galaxy S26 Ultra, the top model, dominated with 70% of all pre-orders, Yonhap News reports. That left the regular S26 and S26 Plus with only a small share of the sales.
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For context, the S25 Ultra took about 52% of the pie last year. Owners are clearly signaling that if they’re going to upgrade, they want the kitchen sink, even if it means paying more than they did for the previous generation.
What’s causing all the excitement? It’s not only the new Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5, even though its 39% better NPU performance is impressive. The main attraction is the Privacy Display, a new feature that narrows viewing angles so people nearby can’t see your messages.
Samsung is also focusing on agentic AI. This is more than a chatbot; it’s an assistant that understands what you want and acts across different apps. To keep interest high, Samsung introduced the new Galaxy AI Subscription Club, which includes Samsung Care+ and theft protection. The Chosun Daily reports that more than 30% of buyers signed up, showing that people value extra peace of mind.
If you’re waiting to get your hands on one, the global rollout kicks off on March 11 across 120 countries, including the US, UK, and India.
Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra
Privacy display • Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 for Galaxy • Power AI features •
Powerful flagship with top-tier cameras, AI, and privacy features.
The Galaxy S26 Ultra is Samsung’s slimmest and lightest Ultra yet, pairing a 6.9-inch 10-bit display with the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 for Galaxy and a redesigned cooling system. It doubles down on imaging with a brighter 200MP main camera, upgraded zoom, advanced 8K video features, and Ultra-exclusive privacy and Galaxy AI tools.
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