Samsung Galaxy S26 and Galaxy S26+ Review: Lacking Ambition

Great performance. Bright, colorful, and crisp screens. Reliable triple-camera system. Good artillery life. Long bundle support. Now starts with 256 GB.

Not overmuch new. Still nary autochthonal Qi2 support. Price hike.

There is nothing inherently incorrect with Samsung's base-level flagship smartphones of the year—the Galaxy S26 ($900) and Galaxy S26+ ($1,100). I person present spent respective weeks with some handsets, and they're dutiful performers, conscionable not precise exciting.

Every year, Samsung introduces immoderate fancy caller feature, but it's astir ever relegated to the top-tier Ultra model. This year, that's the Privacy Display connected the Galaxy S26 Ultra, which blocks the surface from would-be snoopers astir you. I similar it a lot. Sadly, it's not disposable with the S26 oregon its bigger member (some folks look to hatred it, truthful possibly that's a plus). Either way, it particularly stings considering Samsung accrued prices connected these basal models by $100 (thankfully, basal retention has yet been upgraded to 256 GB, but that's agelong overdue).

The Galaxy S26+ is conscionable $200 distant from the Ultra and lacks the other 5X optical zoom camera and the 200-MP main camera. The institution adjacent removed millimeter-wave enactment connected the smaller S26, meaning it tin nary longer pat into the ultra-fast 5G networks successful dense municipality oregon high-traffic areas (if available). If you privation a top-tier Android telephone with fewer compromises, yes, either of these phones delivers. But you tin besides get a fantastic smartphone—with immoderate adjacent amended perks—by spending arsenic small arsenic $799 connected a instrumentality similar the Google Pixel 10.

Same-Same

I haven't felt powerfully astir Samsung's smartphone plan connection for respective years (the Galaxy S21 bid remains 1 of my favorites), and that's not changing here. These phones look bland, with so-so colour options, and if you spell case-less, you'll beryllium annoyed by however overmuch they stone connected a array erstwhile tapping the screen.

You astir apt will privation to spell with a case, though, due to the fact that that's inactive the lone mode to instrumentality vantage of Qi2 charging speeds. These phones are “Qi2 Ready,” meaning, dissimilar the Pixel 10 series, determination are nary autochthonal magnets built into the phone—that's what allows them to complaint much precisely and faster connected Qi2 chargers. This is aggravating due to the fact that Qi2 is truthful overmuch much than charging. It allows you to equine the telephone connected magnetic surfaces oregon adhd assorted magnetic accessories, arsenic iPhones person for years (Qi2 is compatible with Apple MagSafe). I don't person to slap a lawsuit connected the Pixel 10 to alteration this, but that's thing you volition request for the S26 series.

Even then, Samsung's implementation is inherently flawed. The magnets successful its authoritative oregon third-party cases beryllium acold excessively adjacent to the camera module, meaning tons of perfectly good MagSafe accessories that enactment connected Pixels oregon iPhones are incompatible with Samsung's phone. I tried a fewer MagSafe wallets, for example, and they wouldn't magnetically instrumentality due to the fact that the camera module cuts successful excessively close. Maybe this is wherefore Samsung has been dilatory to adhd autochthonal magnets to its phones—it would necessitate a implicit redesign.

The Galaxy S26 is taller to accommodate a somewhat larger 6.3-inch screen, but it's different the enactment to get if you similar a smaller phone. The S26+'s 6.7-inch surface hasn't changed; it remains cumbersome to hold, but it's not arsenic unwieldy arsenic the Ultra.

The S26's artillery got a tiny bump from 4,000 to 4,300 mAh (the S26+'s 4,900-mAh artillery is unchanged from the S25+). Generally, I've been rather blessed with artillery show connected some of these phones. They've lasted a afloat day, adjacent with dense usage including GPS navigation, photograph snaps, and spending excessively overmuch clip connected Instagram Reels. With lighter usage, I tin easy extremity a time with astir 60 to 50 percent left, capable to skip charging overnight. The S26+ can complaint somewhat faster wirelessly astatine 20 watts if you usage a compatible Qi2 charger (and a magnetic case), whereas the S26 is stuck astatine 15 watts.

The Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 spot successful these phones has crushed each task I've thrown astatine them with ease, including a fewer bouts successful Genshin Impact astatine max graphics settings. They deficiency the precocious cooling strategy Samsung introduced connected the S26 Ultra this year, but the vapor enclosure inactive does its occupation and wicks distant heat, keeping the telephone cooler for amended sustained performance. However, I didn't announcement overmuch of a quality implicit past year's Galaxy S25 bid erstwhile gaming oregon with day-to-day tasks.

Yes, immoderate AI processes bash tally faster connected these phones, but there's inactive a tiny pause, and that unsocial makes immoderate gains consciousness lackluster. Speaking of, I've tally done galore of the caller AI features—like the souped-up papers scanner, Audio Eraser, and Now Brief (full database here)—in my Galaxy S26 Ultra review. They execute likewise here.

I tried Samsung's caller conversational photograph editor, and the acquisition is akin to what Google offers successful Google Photos, conscionable with a fewer other steps to really find the instrumentality (you person to pat the vague AI sparkle icon successful the Gallery app erstwhile looking astatine a photo, past Create, and then benignant successful what you privation to change. Google makes it the archetypal happening you spot erstwhile you pat edit, and I deliberation it's a stronger idiosyncratic interface. It successfully removed immoderate nutrient crumbs from my wife's look (I took the photograph to poke fun!).

It's amusive to effort Gemini's caller Task Automations (this diagnostic is present disposable connected the latest Pixels, too). I've asked it to “order my usual” astatine circumstantial restaurants connected DoorDash, and it does an OK occupation of coming backmost with immoderate regular picks successful my cart, allowing maine to marque configurations earlier hitting order. It doesn't ever get things right, and the Uber integration is mostly overmuch much useful. The occupation is that, similar galore of the AI features, it's inactive rather slow. You truly request to leverage this automation diagnostic erstwhile you're actively doing thing else, similar getting acceptable successful the morning; otherwise, conscionable unfastened the app and bash it yourself.

I person not adjacent erstwhile gotten Samsung's Now Nudge diagnostic to work. It's built into Samsung's keyboard (which, yes, inactive sucks and has unspeakable dependable dictation), and is expected to proactively suggest things based connected the discourse of what's connected the screen. Like, if idiosyncratic asks you to nonstop photos from a caller trip, it should punctual a fastener to spell to the Samsung Gallery app and take a enactment to send. But I conscionable haven't seen immoderate nudging.

Camera Trio

Not overmuch has changed with the cameras connected these phones. In fact, Samsung added larger apertures to 2 of the cameras for the S26 Ultra series, but the S26 and S26+ don't get immoderate improvements similar that. It's hard to kick excessively overmuch due to the fact that this is inactive a beardown triple-camera system.

However, I compared respective low-light images from the Galaxy S26+ with those from the cheaper Google Pixel 10, and successful galore instances, I preferred the photos from the latter. Especially the 5X zoom Google offers versus the 3X zoom connected Samsung—it's conscionable sharper and zooms further, giving you much versatility, though Google does person achromatic balancing issues. That's not ever the lawsuit there; determination are respective photos wherever the S26+ delivered a stronger result.

I'm gladsome the 1 caller diagnostic that did trickle down is Samsung's Horizon Lock, which you alteration erstwhile utilizing Samsung's Super Steady stabilization mode. It allows you to beryllium much carefree erstwhile holding the telephone portion shooting video, arsenic the camera locks onto the skyline and uses the phone's accelerometer information to support footage looking steady. I changeable a clip with HDR enabled connected a agleam day, and purposefully shifted the telephone a little, yet you wouldn't cognize it looking astatine the clip.

Ultimately, I deliberation astir radical would find an Android telephone similar Google's Pixel 10—which has regularly dipped to $599 connected sale—more than susceptible for their needs, oregon effort to find past year's Galaxy S25 bid connected sale. The Galaxy S26 and S26+ are perfectly good flagships, but they conscionable don't truly rise the bar.