Samsung unveils S26 Series

Samsung has introduced its new Galaxy S26 Series at a global unveiling in the US, which will make its way to South Africa early March.

The new Galaxy S26 and S26+ will be powered by an Exynos 2600 chipset, while the flagship S26 Ultra will feature a Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chipset.

All devices offer 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage on the base models, with the Ultra going up to 16GB of RAM and 1TB of storage.

There are slight design tweaks to the devices, featuring a boxy, sharper corner and back cameras with a raised panel around the lenses.

All devices feature its new built-in Privacy Display which Samsung says is an industry first that can be controlled per app, the whole display, or on certain parts of the display, like to hide notifications.

The South Korean smartphone maker has put emphasis on its Galaxy AI features with this year’s S26 Series, as most of the hardware specs remain the same as the Galaxy S25 Series.

TM Roh, President and CEO of Samsung says: “With the Galaxy S26 series, we focused on making AI feel effortless by designing it to complete tasks naturally, working quietly in the background so people can focus on what matters.”

AI features include upgraded Photo Assist that let users describe what changes they want; Creative Studio for turning ideas into visuals; Document Scan that removes distortions; Now Nudge for timely suggestion, a more proactive Now Brief; and Circle to Search gets multi-object recognition.

Cameras remain mostly the same spec with minor tweaks like a better aperture, and battery life is also the same as its predecessor.

The 6.9-inch S26 Ultra introduces a redesigned vapour cooling chamber that is more efficient, keeping the device cool during gaming, video capture and multi-tasking.

The Ultra has a 5000mAh battery, which now supports 60W Super-Fast Charging. It takes the device up to 75% in 30 minutes.

The 200MP wide camera, 50MP Telephoto and 50MP Ultra-Wide and 10MP Telephoto remain the same as the S25 Ultra, but with wider aperture, enhanced Nightography and an upgraded Super Steady mode.

It is also the first Galaxy to support APV, a professional-grade video codec to deliver efficient compression for high-quality production.

Meanwhile, the 6.7-inch S26+ and 6.3-inch S26 have the same 50MP Wide Angle, 12MP Ultra Wide and 10MP telephoto lenses, while all three handsets carry the 12MP wide-angle selfie camera.

The larger handset has a 4900mAh battery while the base features a 4300mAh battery.

All handsets offer 5G connectivity, dual eSIM, WiFi 7, Bluetooth 5.4, NFC, and a dual USB Type-C earphone and charging port. Software support includes 7 years of Android upgrades and 7 years of Security updates until 2033.

PRICING AND AVAILABILITY

The S26 Series is available to pre-order immediately with an offer of double the storage at no extra cost for the 246GB and 512GB variants. Devices will in-store and order will ship by 4 March.

The S26 Ultra starts at R30 999 for 512GB, and R38 499 for 1TB, while the S26+ starts at R25 999 and the S26 at R20 999.

All three devices come in violet, blue, black and white.

Visit Samsung South Africa for more info.