The Samsung Galaxy S26 is already the worst phone of 2026

The more we hear about the upcoming Galaxy S26 series, the more underwhelming this launch feels. For a second there, Samsung had all of us fooled with dreams of a refreshed line-up consisting of a new Galaxy S26 Pro, an Edge, and an Ultra, which would’ve been a nice departure from its traditional S, S Plus, and S Ultra plans. Then, the Galaxy S26 Pro was unceremoniously killed before it was even launched (not that it seemed that exciting to begin with), and the rumors converged back to the same ol’ brand new Galaxy S26, S26 Plus, and S26 Ultra.

This internal confusion and identity crisis at Samsung has left the company scrambling for last-minute plans, and it shows. Every leak we’ve heard so far points to the Galaxy S26 Ultra being a semi-decent upgrade to the S25 Ultra, since it was always part of the company’s plans, but the S26 and S26 Plus are practically repackaged and unchanged from their S25 counterparts. This is why I don’t need to wait for 2026 to be over before claiming what I already know: The Galaxy S26 and S26 Plus will be the worst phones of 2026.

The image above from u/Sajid_GG ridiculing the Galaxy S26’s lack of camera upgrades compared to the four year older S22 has sparked a lot of conversation on Reddit about the S series’ stagnation, specifically how neglected and forgotten the base model has been over the last few years. Rumors of Samsung giving its next phone a much-needed camera boost next year have died, supposedly for cost-cutting reasons.

Cameras are only one part of the equation, though, as Samsung has rehashed and repackaged many features of its Galaxy S and S Plus for years now, barely giving them a cosmetic lift and some minor upgrades to warrant selling them again under a new name.

The Galaxy S26 won’t be a bad phone, per se, and those who upgrade from a three- or four-year-old phone will notice nice improvements. But it’s shortsighted to consider that success. This phone is poised to be the worst of 2026 on a relative scale: no flagship features, less value for money, and more interesting competition.

It’s laughable how a much smaller hardware manufacturer like Google with less experience and fewer resources is already able to blast most of Samsung’s efforts on its base flagship. The already-out Pixel 10 has a larger 4,970mAh battery, faster 27W wired charging, significantly brighter 3,000 nits display, and way more useful 10.8MP 5x telephoto lens. It’s heavier and thicker, but it also has built-in Qi2 with the magnets, and the Tensor G5 versus Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 debate will always be a personal preference of raw performance versus convenient features. Samsung’s only saving grace is that it’s finally making 256GB the base storage on its cheaper model.

If the Pixel 10 already landslides the Galaxy S26 in many facets today in 2025, then imagine what a few more upgrades to the Pixel 11 will do to this battle in 2026. It wouldn’t even be fair.

Beyond Google, every other company is doing its best to move forward and innovate somewhere with its phones to avoid stagnation. Apple’s base iPhone 17 has been a huge hit thanks to its 120Hz ProMotion LTPO display, innovative selfie camera, and better battery life with the A19 chip. The iPhone 18 is rumored to get a 2nm-based A20 processor with massive leaps in efficiency and thermal management, which are bound to make more Apple fans happy.

Meanwhile, other Android competitors like OPPO, OnePlus, Xiaomi, and vivo upgraded their displays’ brightness to at least 3,000 nits, brought up the IP68 rating to IP69 for resistance against high-pressure water jets, and switched to Silicon-Carbon batteries, which pack much larger capacities in a smaller footprint. Almost everyone has leapfrogged Samsung’s charging speeds, with 80W being a new norm and baseline. And phones like the OPPO Find X8 or vivo X200 have a triple 50MP camera that make the Galaxy’s 50-12-10MP combo look like a 2022 joke.

The Galaxy S26 Plus has literally no reason to exist

I’m going to let you enjoy the comparison table below between this year’s Galaxy S25 Plus and the upcoming Galaxy S26 Plus.

Can you spot the difference? There’s really only two: the processor and the name. Nobody asked for a Galaxy S25 Plus v2, but here we are, with another repackaged phone that seems to be the exact carbon copy of last year’s. Of course, we’ll get a unified camera bump and maybe a wireless charging upgrade from 15W to 20W, but there’s literally nothing there to justify this phone’s existence.

It’s so obvious that the Galaxy S26 Plus was developed as a Plan B for Samsung. It wasn’t supposed to exist; the super slim Galaxy S26 Edge was meant to become 2026’s middle peg in the Galaxy S26 line-up, bridging the gap between the S26 Pro and the S26 Ultra. But this year’s Plus versus Edge sales numbers prove that people want a large workhorse, not a thin, expensive, and underpowered fashion statement, so Samsung had to pivot, call up the intern working on Plan B and ask them to find the Galaxy S26 Plus CAD files they’d trashed a few months ago. At least, this is what it looks like from the outside. Brush up a few corners, make a new color and wallpaper, then package and ship.

This phone is a laugh in the face of “green” initiatives, to be honest. Samsung might as well keep selling the Galaxy S25 Plus to its customers for another year and no one in the intended demographic would complain about not getting 20W of wireless charging, a grouped camera bump, or a marginally faster processor.

I’m sorry for being so harsh, but I say this out of love for the company: 2026 might be the death of Samsung as we know it. There was a time when I looked forward to every new Galaxy S phone like Christmas day; now, I just skim through specs like I already know them. I loved my Galaxy S3, S7 Edge, and Galaxy S24 Ultra, which is why I’m so saddened to see Samsung lack inspiration, innovation, and ambition.

I also want the company to succeed because it’s been the crown jewel of Android for over a decade now, especially in Western markets. Without it, or if it flounders, the field is free for Apple to just suffocate the duopoly out and reign supreme in the smartphone mind share and market share. It’s already doing that to a certain extent. As an Android fan, that tech future is the bleakest I could imagine.

When I look back at 2025, I feel like there was a bit of hope for Samsung. The excellent Galaxy Z Fold 7 was a slam dunk, but it came after how many years of stagnation in the Z Fold series, while Chinese competitors ran laps around Samsung’s foldables?! And sure, the Galaxy S26 Ultra will pack a few notable upgrades next year, like 60W wired charging, 25W wireless charging with Qi2, and a new Private Display mode, but all of that feels merely reactionary, not trailblazing like I expect from the biggest Android leader.

Look, the Galaxy S26 and S26 Plus will certainly sell millions of units each, but will they be the best of 2026? Will this be the epitome of tech innovation and ambition next year? No. They’re already the worst by the mere fact that they’re exactly what we didn’t want to see from Samsung — safe, easy, pointless. And there’s no worse time to play safe than when your competitors are just laughing at your door.