It’s almost January, which means a whole load of new Samsung Galaxy flagships are (probably) just around the corner.
We don’t yet know whether the Galaxy S26 line will arrive in January or February (the initially touted March release date now seems unlikely), but we do at least have a pretty good idea of what to expect from these next-gen Android phones thanks to a host of leaks and rumors.
Chipset changes
One confusing quirk of Samsung’s flagship phone line is that different regions often get different chipsets, and that looks set to be the case again next year.
According to several rumors, Samsung plans to use its own Exynos 2600 chipset in its home country of South Korea, and a Samsung-tuned version of the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 in models sold everywhere else.
So, unless you’re reading this article from Korea, you can probably expect to find Qualcomm’s latest mobile silicon powering your Galaxy S26, though Samsung has been known to use its Exynos chipsets in Europe too.
In any case, the Exynos 2600 is tipped to be a genuinely powerful alternative to the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5, which would explain why Samsung could be happy to use it in the S26 Ultra in Korea. For reference, Exynos chipsets haven’t been used in any Ultra models in any region since 2022, so next year could be a major milestone for Samsung’s in-house silicon.
A (slightly) bigger battery
The Galaxy S25 Ultra was the sixth Ultra phone in a row to get a 5,000mAh battery, but 2026 could finally be the year that Samsung breaks through that seemingly self-imposed barrier.
The latest leaks suggest the S26 Ultra will sport a 5,200mAh or 5,300mAh battery, and while neither increase would set the world alight (especially when the OnePlus 15 boasts an almighty 7,300mAh cell), the S26 Ultra will almost certainly be the longest-lasting Galaxy Ultra phone yet.
The standard Galaxy S26 also looks set to get a battery boost next year, with one report pointing to a 4,300mAh cell. Again, that’s not particularly large, but in both cases, these capacities are larger than those in the iPhone 17 Pro Max and base iPhone 17. So, while we would obviously prefer to see Samsung adopting silicon-carbon technology in its upcoming flagships, they should at least be longer-lasting than Apple’s iPhones.
Minor camera improvements
The Galaxy S25 Ultra is a photography powerhouse, but there is still room for improvement when it comes to the number of megapixels in each of its sensors. So, will the S26 Ultra get better cameras? The short answer is, ‘maybe’.
Rumors suggest we can expect the same 200MP main sensor, 50MP ultra-wide camera, and 50MP periscope camera with 5x zoom, though the S25 Ultra’s additional 10MP telephoto could be upgraded to 12MP.
We might also see that new 12MP telephoto camera added to the base S26 and S26 Plus, so all three phones look set to have improved zoom capabilities versus their respective predecessors.
Beyond that, there aren’t many (if any) camera rumors to report on, but don’t rule out a last-minute wide or ultra-wide upgrade for all three phones.
Magnetic charging
Thankfully, there’s slightly better news when it comes to charging.
The Galaxy S26 Ultra is rumored to get 60W wired charging and 25W wireless charging, which would mark a welcome upgrade on the S25 Ultra’s 45W and 15W speeds.
Even more exciting, though, is the rumor that Samsung could finally be about to bring built-in magnetic charging to the entire Galaxy S26 lineup. A new report suggests Samsung is working on its own Qi2 magnetic wireless charging dock and cases for the S26 series, which sound very similar to Google’s Pixelsnap accessories for the Pixel 10 line.
Currently, Galaxy users need to use a Qi2-ready case to benefit from magnetic charging, but the existence of first-party Samsung Qi2 accessories suggests these magnets could finally be built into Samsung’s S26 devices. Rejoice!
Base model upgrades
So far, the rumored upgrades for the base S26 haven’t sounded all that exciting, but there are a couple more improvements that could see it properly rival the iPhone 17 (which we described as “the best-value iPhone ever” in our review).
Firstly, the vanilla S26 is tipped to get a slightly larger 6.3-inch AMOLED display than its 6.2-inch predecessor, which would bring it in line with both the iPhone 17 and Google Pixel 10 in terms of screen real estate.
The S26 is also rumored to be noticeably slimmer, at 6.9mm, and Samsung could follow Apple’s lead by upping the phone’s minimum storage capacity from 128GB to 256GB.
These aren’t super flashy upgrades, but they should improve the value proposition of the Galaxy S26 specifically (especially if the Ultra model once again starts at $1,299 / £1,249 / AU$2,149).
Outlook
Honestly, based on these rumored upgrades, I’m not on the edge of my seat with excitement for the Galaxy S26 line.
The expected improvements for the Galaxy S26 Ultra – namely the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chipset, magnetic charging, and a small telephoto camera upgrade – would certainly make it an objectively better phone than the S25 Ultra. But I can’t see myself recommending a generational upgrade (or even an upgrade from the S24 Ultra) based on those rumors alone.
The base Galaxy S26 seems a bit more exciting, if only because it will almost certainly get the same superfast chipset as its pricier sibling, the same magnetic charging, and a much-welcome increase to its starting storage. If Samsung holds firm on the S25’s $799 / £799 / AU $1,399 price, then the S26 could be a winner.
My hunch, though, is that the entire S26 needs a wow factor – something that hasn’t yet been rumored. The iPhone 17 Pro had its hype-inducing Cosmic Orange color, while the Google Pixel 10 line earned headlines for Google’s long-awaited adoption of magnetic charging technology (which won’t be so newsworthy if and when Samsung does the same thing).
Of course, the upgrades listed above are not set in stone, and Samsung likely (read: hopefully) has plenty more improvements up its sleeve to make buyers fall for the Galaxy S26 when it lands in January or February next year.
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axel.metz@futurenet.com (Axel Metz)
