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While the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra was the highlight of the Korean tech giant\u2019s first Galaxy Unpacked launch this year, we haven’t forgotten about its non-Ultra variants: the Samsung Galaxy S26<\/b> and Galaxy S26+.<\/b><\/p>\n
Sure, they didn\u2019t get the cool Privacy Display found on the Ultra, but they still come with a new processor, a larger display and battery for the base Galaxy S26 model, and software trickle-downs like Horizon Lock<\/b> and new AI features<\/b>.<\/p>\n
Are these incremental updates worth the S$150 sticker price increase this year? Let\u2019s find out.<\/p>\n<\/p>\nStory Contents<\/p>\n
<\/default:svg><\/button><\/p>\n\n1. More of the same Galaxy?<\/li>\n 2. Refinements for less AI friction<\/li>\n 3. Camera performance<\/li>\n 4. Benchmark performance<\/li>\n 5. Battery life<\/li>\n 6. Conclusion<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/section>\nMore of the same Galaxy?<\/h2>\n\nThe biggest design change is their camera housing.<\/p>\n
Photo: HWZ<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
Design-wise, folks who aren\u2019t religiously following Samsung\u2019s releases will find it hard to see what\u2019s new. While the camera housing is consistent with the Galaxy S26 Ultra\u2019s camera bump, they are otherwise mostly identical to their predecessors. <\/p>\n
Keen-eyed users, however, would notice that the base Galaxy S26 is slightly larger and heavier than before, accommodating the slightly larger 6.3-inch display and upsized 4,300mAh battery. By contrast, the Galaxy S25 had a 6.2-inch screen and a 4,000mAh battery. \u00a0<\/p>\n\nThe screen is still bright and legible. <\/p>\n
Photo: HWZ<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
When in hand, the added heft is unnoticeable. These phones look and feel just like they did last year, with the same flat Armor Aluminum 2<\/b> metal sides and Gorilla Glass Victus 2 <\/b>glass panels while also retaining their IP68<\/b> dust and water resistance rating.<\/p>\n
Base model Samsung Galaxy S26 gets a new 6.3-inch FHD+ display, while the Galaxy S26+ retains its 6.7-inch QHD+ display. Both screens still have a peak brightness of 2,600 nits<\/b>, and on-screen content is very legible under bright sunlight thanks to Samsung\u2019s Vision Booster feature.<\/p>\n\nFirst 2nm smartphone processor in use<\/p>\n
Photo: Samsung<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
When compared to the Ultra flagship model, the biggest difference is the chipset brand and choice. Samsung uses the world\u2019s first 2nm smartphone processor, the Exynos 2600<\/u> (made by Samsung). It powers both Galaxy S26 and Galaxy S26+. <\/p>\n
Because these Exynos chips are Samsung\u2019s flagship processors at the time of writing, and are new, we\u2019ll need to compare them against the likes of MediaTek Dimensity 9500<\/u> and the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5<\/u> (more on this below).<\/p>\n
Besides boasting one of the most modern mobile processors, the real draw is Samsung’s promise of the same seven years of software and security updates<\/b>, which is one of the longest in the market. <\/p>\nRefinements for less AI friction<\/h2>\n
With upgrades like Now Nudge<\/b> and an updated Now Brief, Samsung is focusing on tweaking its AI features to make them more useful and seamless to use on its phones. We won\u2019t go into too much detail as we\u2019ve carved them out here and tested others in the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra review.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Now Nudge is supposed to be a smart assistant living in the keyboard. It will scan what\u2019s on the screen, then suggest actions in the Samsung Keyboard.\u00a0In theory, this sounds like a great AI feature that checks whether you\u2019re available at a certain time without opening the calendar app, saving you a step. <\/p>\n
However, it doesn\u2019t always work consistently, even when using Samsung Keyboard and Samsung\u2019s native Calendar app. As with many AI tools and features on the market, the technology itself still faces teething issues, even when used for good.<\/p>\n
Now Brief<\/b> has been a simplified one-glance overview companion to check what\u2019s coming up, as well as offering some related practical elements such as weather, audio track recommendations, mapping info for your next meeting location, and more at a glance. Whether it\u2019s useful depends on the individual and one\u2019s expectations. There\u2019s a new \u201cGet richer insights\u201d option, where you can choose to share personal data to get more personalised content in the Now Brief. Unfortunately, those insights were nowhere near the level of help I expected.<\/p>\n
For example, connecting my YouTube only pushed videos and shorts from channels I\u2019m already subscribed to. That doesn\u2019t add any more value than checking the app directly or its notifications. I\u2019m also not getting any \u201ctravel insights\u201d from Gemini, despite performing a ton of searches for flights to San Francisco and itinerary suggestions.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Beyond that, the other Galaxy AI features are thankfully practical. Document Scan<\/b> saves you the trouble of downloading or paying for a third-party app to scan your documents or receipts.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Call Screening<\/b> is another great one, especially if you receive a lot of calls from unknown numbers or if you just don\u2019t like picking up calls without prior context. The call transcription<\/b> even offers support for multiple languages.\u00a0<\/p>\n
AI photo editing features, such as Generative Edit and Photo Assist<\/b>, are mostly rebrands and consolidations of Samsung\u2019s older AI photo-editing tools, like Sketch to Image. However, Photo Assist now allows for text prompt editing, which is very helpful for adding things into images.<\/p>\n\nBefore Photo Assist<\/p>\n
Photo: HWZ<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\nAfter Photo Assist<\/p>\n
Photo: HWZ<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
It also works very well at subtracting distractions, like the people crowding in front of the Merlion. Unfortunately, it worked too well and removed the bridge in the middle of the water, adding random bollards to the steps. <\/p>\n
As always, the photo will get the \u201cAI-generated content\u201d watermark on the bottom left to indicate that it\u2019s been edited with AI.\u00a0<\/p>\n