Rumors about Samsung Galaxy S26 line of telephones has been circulating for several months now. For a while, it looked like Samsung might replace its base phone with the Pro. Then we heard that the Plus will be discontinued in favor of the S26 Edge, with the Ultra remaining. And then there are reports that the S26 Pro will be the new S26 and that the S26 Plus will replace the S26 Edge. It quickly became confusing, to say the least.

Now that the launch of the Galaxy S26 is around the corner, it seems that the leaks are on the mend, with some speculations finally correcting everything.

Here’s a quick rundown of the latest Galaxy S26 talk to make sense of it all.

Galaxy S26 series release date

Samsung usually hosts several Unpacked events each year, with the first usually taking place in January or February. Most this year S25 handsets informed by a Galaxy Unpacked event on Jan. 22, 2025, and was released on Feb. 7.

This year, however, there seems to be a slightly delayed timeline. Lots of reports said there might be a Galaxy Unpacked event on February 25 in San Francisco.

It’s also possible that more S26 releases could happen throughout the year. In 2025, for example, Samsung released two more S25 handsets — the S25 Edge and the S25 FE — in two separate events in May and September, respectively.

Galaxy S26 Ultra

With all the uncertainty surrounding the Galaxy S26 (or Pro) and the Galaxy S26 Edge (or Plus), the Galaxy S26 Ultra is the only model that doesn’t seem to have changed. According to the translations discovered by Android Headsthe S26 Ultra looks to have a slightly different design than its predecessor.

The images appear to show that the Galaxy S26 Ultra will have curvier corners compared to its predecessor and a slightly different rear camera layout. The four cameras are positioned in the same locations, but three of them are placed on a raised vertical bump. There is also speculation that the Ultra will be slightly slimmer, at 7.9mm thick, which is 0.3mm thinner than the current S25 Ultra. Android Headlines also says that the phone’s 6.9-inch display will use the new M14 OLED panels, which are brighter and more power efficient.

Recent rumors suggest that the S26 Ultra will have the same but slightly upgraded camera specs. ETNews claims that it will still include a 200-megapixel main camera, a 50-megapixel ultrawide lens, a 10-megapixel 3x telephoto lens and a 50-megapixel 5x telephoto lens. The front-facing 12-megapixel camera also appears unchanged. However, Android Heads reports that the S26 Ultra may have a wider aperture, which will allow for better low-light shots.

Like the Galaxy S26, the Galaxy S26 Ultra is said to ship with the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 in the US and China, and with the Exynos 2600 chip in other markets. Other rumored specs include 16 GB of RAM, up to 1 TB of UFS 4.0 storage, a 5,000-mAh battery and faster 60-watt wired charging.

SamMobile reports that the Galaxy S26, the Galaxy S26 Plus and the Galaxy S26 Ultra will have satellite communication capabilities. The outlet discovered this fact through FCC documentation, which shows that these three handsets have the ability to send and receive messages via satellite even without cellular networks.

We also recently learned from SamMobile that the new Galaxy S26 Series will support up to 25W fast wireless charging. According to the publication, Samsung will come out with a new 25W Qi2 charger to do that. SamMobile has even revealed its exclusive photos. But it is also said that the full 25W output of the charger is probably only supported by the Galaxy S26 Ultra. The base S26 and the S26 Plus, on the other hand, can only support up to 20W charging with this charger.

Like colors, Universe of ice recently reported that the S26 Ultra will come in “black shadow, white shadow, galactic blue and ultraviolet (or purple).” Leaker Evan Blass said the colors would be “black, white, silver shadow, sky blue, cobalt violet and pink gold.” There were also early renders that showed the S26 Ultra in the same orange color as Apple’s iPhone 17 Pro, but that color doesn’t appear in the current lineup.

Galaxy S26

For months, one of the biggest rumors surrounding the Galaxy S26 was that it might be gone. The internal code of the build was discovered by Android Authority Samsung is proposing to ditch the base model entirely and replace it with the S26 Pro. That may sound strange at first, but it may signal Samsung’s plan to position the S26 line as a more premium offering than its predecessors.

Now, however, it seems that the S26 Pro rumors are untrue. New reports shows that Samsung is following the convention and will call its upcoming flagship Galaxy S26 after that.

The leaked renders of the S26 show a design very similar to the S25, with one key difference: the rear camera. The S26 appears to have a vertical bump on the back housing the three camera lenses, while the S25 has no bump at all, with its lenses fitted directly to the body.

According to Android Headsthe S26 has a 50-megapixel ultrawide camera, which represents a significant upgrade from the S25’s 12-megapixel ultrawide camera. There are conflicting rumors about it, though. The others it is speculated that the S26’s camera specs will remain unchanged from the S25.

Other speculations about the S26 include a slightly larger 6.3-inch screen, along with an overall slightly larger and slimmer build. And Android Headlines reports that the S26 could have a 4,300-mAh battery, up to 12 GB of RAM and up to 512 GB of storage.

Check it out: Don’t buy the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra. Save Money With A Used S24 Ultra However

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As for the processor, Samsung’s VP of its Mobile Experiences Division, Daniel Araujo, said in an earnings call that the S26 lineup “will transform the user experience with user-centric, next-gen AI, a second-generation custom AP, and stronger performance, including new camera sensors.” This focus on AI may be the reason why Samsung may hold the Galaxy Unpacked event in San Francisco, which is widely considered to be the center of AI activity.

This is a strong indication that the Galaxy S26 series is powered by Exynos 2600 processor at least in some regions, according to Android Heads. However, rumors suggest that the S26 will use the latest Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chipset in the US and China. According to Qualcomm, the new Snapdragon chip is about 20% faster and 35% more power efficient than its predecessor.

As for potential software updates, Samsung’s A UI 8.5 (expected to debut in S26) may have a “Privacy Display” feature. It can detect viewing angles when in sensitive apps like banking, so passers-by can’t see your private information. This leak is finally Confirmed by Samsung itself through a recent press release.

Galaxy S26 Edge and Plus

The Galaxy S25 Edge debuted with a lot of excitement this year, thanks to its ultraslim form, so it is not easy to imagine that Samsung will come out with a successor next year. However, there are conflicting rumors as to whether this will happen.

Within months, there were leaks suggests that Samsung will replace the Galaxy S26 Plus with the Galaxy S26 Edge. The S26 Edge is expected to have a super-slim profile of around 5.5mm, making it 0.3mm thinner than the S25 Edge. That’s also 0.1mm thinner than the iPhone Air. There is further speculation that it will have the same 6.7-inch screen, a larger 4,200-mAh battery and the newer Snapdragon processor.

Now, however, this rumor seems to be on shaky ground. According to SamMobile and 9to5Googlethe company may drop the Galaxy S26 Edge from the 2026 lineup due to poor sales of the Galaxy S25 Edge, especially compared to the rest of the Galaxy S25 series. However, Samsung may replace the S26 Edge with Galaxy S26 Plus.

According to a leak received by Android Headsthe Galaxy S26 Plus has a flat 6.7-inch display with thin bezels surrounding it. At the back, three cameras are placed inside a raised vertical bump, similar to how the S26 is rumored to have them.

Android Headlines estimates that the S26 Plus will be 7.35mm thin, which is slim but certainly not as thin as the previously rumored Edge. Other rumors about the S26 Plus include the inclusion of Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 processor in some regions and Samsung’s own Exynos 2600 processor in others.