Samsung Galaxy Unpacked Highlights Feb ’26

After the usual multitude of leaks, today we got the official rollout of the Samsung Galaxy S26 series of smartphones with Galaxy Unpacked. Note that there are no folders today. Samsung generally releases those in late August, 2-3 weeks before Apple’s phone extravaganza. 9to5google. reports that maybe the biggest change is the pricing. We’ll get to that in a minute. The headline is that not much has changed from the S25 series. That’s not such a bad thing…the S25’s are great phones. The Galaxy S26 Ultra gets more rounded corners like the other top line S26 phones…which, in my opinion, it needed. It stays with the huge 6.9 inch display. The Ultra gets a unified camera bump, but visually, it’s pretty identical to last year’s model. 

The S26 and S26+ are virtually identical to the models they replace, again except for the updated camera module. The S26 and Plus both rock the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 system. The Ultra gets a new Vapor Chamber. One new feature on the Ultra is Privacy Display. What does it do for you? Well, if the system detects something that could be sensitive, like incoming notification, it obscures them from off-angle viewers. It is customizable, by the way. This is a good feature and it would be nice to be offered on the other two models. The S Pen on the ultra now only comes in black and white. 

The S26 does get a bigger battery, and the Ultra gets Super Fast Charging 3.0…up to 60W speeds. That’s great for people who seem to always forget to charge their phone overnight…we all know some of those people. You’re in the car and ‘Hey, can I borrow a cord and top off my phone…it’s about to die.’ The Plus and Ultra both get upgrades  to their charging speeds with Qi2 at 20W and 25W respectively. NO built in magnets, though. That is a drag. Both Google and Apple offer those. 

There are some minor software upgrades to the cameras, including the Ultra’s wider apertures and ‘Nightography Video’. Of course, Samsung is touting its more muscular AI. Samsung claims that with its One UI 8.5, it will ‘simplify’ your life. Nudge will make you ‘timely suggestions’ as you use the phone. Nudge…seriously? They named it Nudge. 

The phones will be out March 11th, with the same colors available on all three models. You can choose Cobalt Violet, Sky Blue, White, and Black, with Pink Gold and Silver Shadow kept as Samsung.com exclusive. Now for what we were waiting for…the prices. The Galaxy S26 Ultra starts at $12.99.99 for 256 gigs. The Galaxy S26 starts at $899.99 for 256 gigs, and the S26+ starts at $1099.99. You can get 512 gigs on all three models, or pick 1TB for the Ultra. 

I’m Clark Reid and you’re ’Technified’ for now.