First Look at the Samsung Galaxy S26: Prices, Features, and Plans

Samsung has officially unveiled its Galaxy S26 lineup at Galaxy Unpacked in San Francisco. This year isn’t about radical redesigns or revolutionary camera hardware. Instead, the Galaxy S26 series leans hard into AI, contextual automation, and quality-of-life refinements within its software, saving its boldest innovation for the Galaxy S26 Ultra.

To no surprise, the Galaxy S26 lineup includes the Galaxy S26, Galaxy S26+, and Galaxy S26 Ultra. While the base models focus on incremental improvements paired with a growing suite of AI tools. That said, the Ultra carves out its own identity with a first-of-its-kind Privacy Display and meaningful upgrades aimed at creators and power users.

All three devices are launching in the US on March 11, with preorders available now. With some hands-on time with each of the devices, let's take a look at some of the most practical features and pricing of each device.

Galaxy S26 release date

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The Galaxy S26 series is available for pre-order, starting today. All three phones begin shipping in the US on March 11th.

Galaxy S26 price

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Samsung’s Galaxy S26 pricing is largely consistent with last year’s Galaxy S25 lineup, with modest increases tied to storage upgrades. Here are the starting prices of the Galaxy S26 series:

• Galaxy S26: From $899.99
• Galaxy S26+: From $1,099.99
• Galaxy S26 Ultra: From $1,299.99

The above breakdown covers the starting prices per model with the lowest storage option. This year, Samsung is once again offering multiple SKUs with increases in storage capacity. As expected, pricing is then adjusted based on higher storage. Here's a thorough breakdown of each model.

Galaxy S26 features

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Samsung’s approach this year focuses on refinement rather than reinvention. The Galaxy S26 and S26+ receive minor design tweaks, performance improvements, and battery upgrades, while the S26 Ultra debuts new privacy display technology and upgraded nightography settings.

The Galaxy S26 features a slightly larger 6.3-inch AMOLED display, up from 6.2 inches on the S25, with rounded corners inspired by Samsung’s foldables. The new armor aluminum chassis adds durability but also slightly increases weight, with the base model tipping the scales at 167g. 

Both the Galaxy S26 and S26+ feature a triple camera array, including:

•  50MP main
• 12MP ultra-wide
• 10MP 3x telephoto

The Galaxy S26 Ultra maintains its 6.9-inch display, but it’s thinner (7.9mm) and 8% lighter than its predecessor. It also adopts Gorilla Armor 2, improving durability and glare resistance. The Galaxy S26 Ultra carries over last year's camera, including the 50-megapixel main lens, the 200-megapixel wide camera, the 50-megapixel 5x telephoto shooter, and the secondary 3x telephoto camera. 

Samsung continues its push into creator-focused features on the S26 Ultra with incremental camera improvements. This includes wider apertures for brighter night photography. The S26 Ultra's wide-angle lens now offers a f1.4 aperture, making it 47% brighter. The telephoto lens has been upgraded, including an f2.9 aperture for 37% brighter photos. Additionally, the Galaxy S26 Ultra features APV codec support for cinematic 8K video, AI ISP enhancements for smoother selfies, and Pro Scaling engine for upscaling older videos.

Samsung’s S26 lineup is powered by the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 processor, delivering performance gains across CPU, GPU, and AI workloads. Samsung claims the new chip provides the following improvements:

• 19% CPU
• 24% GPU
• 39% NPU

As far as battery capacity goes, the Galaxy S26 has been upgraded from its 4,000mAh battery to 4,300mAh. Galaxy S26 Ultra continues to support a 5,000mAh battery with 60W wired fast charging and 25W wireless charging. Samsung says the Ultra can reach 70% charge in 30 minutes with wired charging.

Horizontal Lock

One of the more subtle but intriguing camera features on the Galaxy S26 series is Horizontal Lock, a stabilization tool designed for cinematic video and landscape shooting.

Horizontal Lock keeps your video level and steady, even if you tilt the phone mid-recording. For example, if you’re filming in landscape and rotate the device, the camera can maintain the horizontal framing, reducing shaky transitions and keeping the subject properly aligned. This feature is especially relevant for content creators filming in landscape mode. Also, videographers looking for level horizons while shooting will also find a lot of value in this feature.

While not a major hardware upgrade, Horizontal Lock reflects Samsung’s push toward creator-friendly software features, which may matter more to everyday users than incremental sensor improvements.

Galaxy S26 Ultra Privacy Display

The Galaxy S26 Ultra introduces one of Samsung’s most novel smartphone features in years: a built-in Privacy Display. Exclusive to the high-end model, the Privacy Display blocks screen visibility from both horizontal and vertical viewing angles. The user sees the screen normally, but anyone sitting beside them sees a darkened, unreadable display.

This feature is designed for commuters, professionals, and anyone concerned about someone peering over their shoulder in public spaces. With digital privacy becoming a growing concern, and for those who handle sensitive data or documents, Privacy Display is a killer feature.

The best part is that Samsung offers a lot of autonomy over this feature. For instance, within the settings, you can toggle specific apps that will use Privacy Display. For instance, you can use Privacy Display on a banking app or your Photos app while keeping YouTube or Netflix completely free. Additionally, you can have Privacy Display active for only the notification pop-up window or password fields if you desire.

For users handling sensitive data, like financial apps, confidential documents, or unreleased content, Privacy Display could be one of the most practical S26 Ultra upgrades.

Galaxy S26 and AI

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Samsung is positioning the Galaxy S26 lineup as an “AI phone,” introducing a suite of contextual and agentic tools designed to automate tasks and surface relevant information. This year's family of new phones offers a few standout Android-powered AI tools.

Now Nudge

Now Nudge lives in the keyboard and messaging apps, pulling context from conversations to suggest actions. For example, Now Nudge can:

• Suggest creating a calendar event from a text
• Surface restaurant details when mentioned in chat
• Offer quick actions in messaging apps like WhatsApp and Instagram

Now Bar and Now Brief dynamically surface contextual information based on your schedule and habits. For instance, they can suggest when to leave for an appointment based on traffic or pull up ride-sharing options. At launch, Now Nudge supports Uber integrations. Samsung is working to collaborate with more third-party apps to automate your day-to-day schedule.

Circle to Search 3.0

The latest version of Circle to Search scans the entire screen and identifies multiple elements simultaneously. You can search for items on screen, identify products in photos, or find information without leaving the app. This is one of the most handy AI tools I've used. On multiple occasions, I've seen an outfit in a TikTok video and have been curious where it's from. Circle to Search 3.0 can scan the entire display and find purchasing links to each piece of the outfit, if available.

Call screening

Samsung adds an AI call screening tool that answers unknown calls, asks for the caller’s identity and reason, and displays the transcript so you can decide whether to answer. This is very similar to the recently introduced call-screening feature in Apple's iOS 26.

Perplexity voice assistant

Galaxy S26 integrates Perplexity as a voice assistant for fact-checking and research, activated with “Hey, Plex.” Depending on the task, the phone will use Perplexity, Galaxy AI, or Bixby.

Galaxy S26 plans and providers

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T-Mobile, Verizon, and AT&T are all expected to offer pre-order deals for the Galaxy S26 line-up. Here's a breakdown of the major benefits you can expect each provider to offer.

Major carriers

Verizon delivers extensive nationwide coverage across the United States, reaching the vast majority of Americans with reliable 4G LTE and 5G service. The carrier offers a broad lineup of unlimited data plans that are well-suited for getting the most out of your Galaxy S26. Select Verizon plans also include talk, text, and data perks for travel in Mexico and Canada, with options for international usage.

Verizon is widely recognized for the strength and reach of its network, with Ultra Wideband 5G available in more cities and high-traffic areas than many competitors.

AT&T has built a reputation for dependable nationwide coverage, backed by a robust LTE network and steadily growing 5G availability. The carrier delivers consistent performance in cities and rural areas alike, making it a solid fit for Galaxy S26 users who stream, video chat, and work on the go.

AT&T offers multiple unlimited plan tiers, so you can choose the level of premium data and features that match your usage. Select plans also come with built-in entertainment perks, giving you added value beyond just wireless service.

MVNO carriers

MVNO carriers in the US don’t always offer the same device discounts as major carriers, but they can be a great way to save on your monthly phone bill. In many cases, MVNOs provide similar coverage to T-Mobile, Verizon, and AT&T, but at lower monthly prices—often saving $15 or more per month.

If you’re considering switching, it’s worth checking out how to move carriers while keeping your phone number. Some of the most popular MVNO plans are listed below.

FAQs

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When will the Samsung Galaxy S26 launch in the US?

The Galaxy S26 series launches in the US on March 11th with preorders available now.

How much does the Galaxy S26 cost in the US?

The base Galaxy S26 starts at $899.99 in the US and comes with 256GB of storage.

What are the key differences between the S26 and S25?

The Galaxy S26 offers a slightly larger 6.3-inch AMOLED display, a larger 4,300mAh battery and software improvements. Most notably, the Galaxy S26 supports a new Horizontal Lock feature as well as a suite of AI tools like Circle to Search 3.0.

Does the Galaxy S26 support expandable storage?

No, much like the Galaxy S25 series, Samsung is not supporting the use of a microSD card for expandable storage.