Samsung’s new Galaxy S26 lineup is official: Here is everything you need to know

Samsung has officially unveiled their next generation of mobile devices, the Galaxy S26, S26+, and the premium S26 Ultra, alongside the brand new Galaxy Buds4 series. While there are plenty of iterative year-over-year changes to the camera hardware and software, the S26 lineup brings some performance upgrades and software enhancements that make this a compelling release.

All of the devices unveiled at Unpacked are already available for pre-order and are slated to hit store shelves on March 11th. If you are trying to catch up on the news, here is a high-level overview of everything Samsung announced.

Galaxy S26 and S26+ get a price bump

We need to address the bad news right out of the gate. Thanks in part to ongoing memory shortages, the Galaxy S26 and S26+ are both seeing a $100 price increase over last year’s models. The S26 now starts at $900, while the S26+ starts at $1,100, though both models do come equipped with 256GB of base storage.

For that price, you are getting a slightly tweaked design with rounded corners that better align with the flagship Ultra model. The base S26 features a slightly larger 6.3-inch display and a bumped-up 4,300 mAh battery, while the S26+ retains its 6.7-inch higher-resolution screen. Under the hood, units in North America will be powered by Qualcomm’s new Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chipset.

While the physical camera hardware remains identical to the S25 series, Samsung is pushing a lot of software-side upgrades. Devices will utilize a new Object Aware Engine for improved skin tones and hair textures, alongside ProScaler image upscaling and advanced video stabilization to keep the horizon level during action shots.

The flagship Galaxy S26 Ultra has a standout feature

Thankfully, the premium tier avoided the price hike: the Galaxy S26 Ultra will remain at its $1,300 starting price. The device sports a massive 6.9-inch AMOLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate and is powered by a 5,000 mAh battery. Frustratingly, Samsung still has not included built-in Qi2 magnetic charging on the Ultra, which is a huge bummer for a flagship phone in 2026.

The most interesting addition to the Ultra is the new Privacy Display. This is a first-of-its-kind feature for smartphones that physically prevents people from viewing your screen at acute angles. You can set it to automatically trigger when you open banking apps or enter passwords. We haven’t tested it yet, but this looks to be an incredibly useful new feature.

On the camera front, the Ultra retains the same resolutions as last year, but the main 200MP sensor and the 5x telephoto lens now feature wider apertures to pull in more light for nighttime photography.

Redesigned Galaxy Buds 4 and Buds 4 Pro

Alongside the smartphones, Samsung also revealed the Galaxy Buds4 and Buds4 Pro. These new earbuds feature a redesigned, ergonomic “blade” aesthetic that Samsung says is based on millions of ear data points and should ensure a secure, comfortable fit for all-day wear.

The Buds4 Pro specifically also received a major hardware upgrade, featuring a 20% wider woofer to deliver richer bass and an enhanced Adaptive EQ that tunes out background noise more effectively. The Pro model also supports hands-free Head Gestures, allowing you to answer calls or trigger your chosen AI assistant without ever having to reach for your newly purchased S26.

Agentic AI and Android Updates

Speaking of AI, Samsung and Google had quite a bit to share regarding software. The S26 lineup will allow users to set Perplexity as their default AI agent, utilizing a “Hey Plex” wake phrase. Google’s Gemini is also getting a beta update that enables agentic, multi-step tasks. You will be able to offload complex requests directly to the AI, like booking a rideshare or compiling a grocery order, and let it run in the background.

Additionally, Circle to Search is being upgraded to handle multiple objects at once. And finally, the S26 series will also benefit from Gemini-powered, on-device Scam Detection to monitor phone calls and alert you to potential fraud in real-time.

For those wanting to test drive the new software before upgrading their hardware, Samsung also announced an update to its Try Galaxy app. By scanning a simple QR code, you can emulate the new S26 interface, complete with the updated Galaxy UI and AI features, directly on your current smartphone.