Galaxy S26 Rumor Roundup: Samsung Could Be Shaking Up Its Flagship

The yr is not over but, and there are already loads of wild rumors concerning the upcoming Galaxy S26 line of telephones. 

Months in the past, there was hypothesis that Samsung would change its base telephone with the Professional. It was rumored that the Plus could be discontinued in favor of the S26 Edge (very like how Apple dropped its Plus telephone for the skinny iPhone Air), and the Extremely would stay with none title change. 

However just some weeks in the past, new reviews emerged. Phrase is that the S26 Professional will merely be the S26, and the S26 Edge could be on its means out. 

This is a fast rundown of the most recent Galaxy S26 speak to make sense of all of it.

Galaxy S26 line launch date

Samsung sometimes hosts just a few Unpacked occasions every year, with the primary occasion often going down in both January or February. Most of this yr’s S25 handsets have been introduced at a Galaxy Unpacked event on Jan. 22, 2025, and launched on Feb. 7, so we are able to anticipate an identical timeline for the Galaxy S26 collection.

Nonetheless, it is doable that further S26 releases might happen all year long. In 2025, for instance, Samsung launched two extra S25 handsets — the S25 Edge and the S25 FE — at two separate occasions in Could and September, respectively. 

Galaxy S26 Professional

For months, one of many greatest rumors surrounding the Galaxy S26 was that it won’t exist in any respect. Inner construct code uncovered by Android Authority prompt Samsung might be scrapping the bottom mannequin fully and changing it with the S26 Professional. That may sound unusual at first, but it surely may have signaled Samsung’s plan to place the S26 lineup as a extra premium providing than its predecessors.

In accordance with a brand new report from SamMobile, the Galaxy S26 Professional may truly simply be the usual Galaxy S26. Given that the majority different rumors recommend the telephone will likely be fairly entry-level, that might very effectively be the case.

Leaked renders of the S26 (whether or not the bottom or Professional mannequin) present a design similar to the S25, with one key distinction: the rear digital camera. The S26 seems to have a vertical bump on the again housing three digital camera lenses, whereas the S25 has no bump in any respect, with its lenses fitted straight into the physique.

In accordance with Android Headlines, the S26 will characteristic a 50-megapixel ultrawide digital camera, representing a big improve from the S25’s 12-megapixel ultrawide digital camera. There have been conflicting rumors about this, although. Others have speculated that the S26’s digital camera specs will stay unchanged from the S25. 

Different speculations concerning the S26 embody a barely larger 6.3-inch display, together with an total barely bigger and slimmer construct. Android Headlines additionally reviews that the S26 Professional may have a 4,300-mAh battery, as much as 12 GB of RAM and as a lot as 512 GB of storage.

As for the processor, Samsung’s VP of its Cell Experiences Division, Daniel Araujo, stated in a current earnings name that the S26 lineup will “revolutionize the consumer expertise with user-centric, next-gen AI, a second-generation customized AP, and stronger efficiency, together with new digital camera sensors.” 

This can be a sturdy indicator that the Galaxy S26 collection will likely be powered by the Exynos 2600 processor at the least in some areas, based on Android Headlines. 

That stated, rumors recommend that the S26 will use Qualcomm’s newest Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chipset within the US and China. In accordance with Qualcomm, the brand new Snapdragon chip is about 20 % sooner and 35 % extra power-efficient than its predecessor. 

Galaxy S26 Edge and Plus

The Galaxy S25 Edge debuted with loads of fanfare this yr, due to its ultra-slim type issue, so it isn’t a stretch to think about Samsung will come out with a successor subsequent yr. Nonetheless, there have been conflicting rumors about whether or not it will occur in any respect. 

For months, there have been leaks suggesting Samsung would change the Galaxy S26 Plus with the Galaxy S26 Edge. The S26 Edge was anticipated to have a brilliant slim profile of round 5.5 mm, making it 0.3 mm skinnier than the S25 Edge. That is additionally 0.1 mm thinner than the iPhone Air. There was additional hypothesis that it might have the identical 6.7-inch display, a bigger 4,200-mAh battery and the newer Snapdragon processor. 

Now, nonetheless, this rumor appears to be on shaky floor. In accordance with SamMobile and 9to5Google, the corporate might be dropping the Galaxy S26 Edge from its 2026 lineup resulting from poor gross sales of the Galaxy S25 Edge, particularly compared to the remainder of the Galaxy S25 collection. As an alternative, Samsung might be changing the S26 Edge with the Galaxy S26 Plus. We at the moment do not know an excessive amount of concerning the S26 Plus, but it surely’ll probably have the identical 6.7-inch display as its predecessor.

Galaxy S26 Extremely

With all of the uncertainty surrounding the Galaxy S26 (or Professional) and the Galaxy S26 Edge (or Plus), the one handset seemingly freed from confusion is the Galaxy S26 Extremely. In accordance with renders uncovered by Android Headlines, the S26 Extremely appears to have a barely completely different design than its predecessor.

The pictures seem to point out that the Galaxy S26 Extremely has curvier corners in comparison with its predecessor and a barely completely different digital camera structure on the rear. The 4 cameras are positioned in the identical places, however three of them are housed in a raised vertical bump. There’s additionally hypothesis that the Extremely might be barely slimmer, at 7.9 mm thick, which is 0.3 mm thinner than the present S25 Extremely. Android Headlines additionally says that the telephone’s 6.9-inch show may use new M14 OLED panels, which might be brighter and extra energy environment friendly. 

Sadly, present rumors recommend that the S26 Extremely will characteristic very comparable digital camera specs. ETNews claims it’s going to nonetheless have a 200-megapixel important digital camera, a 50-megapixel ultrawide, a 10-megapixel 3x telephoto and a 50-megapixel 5x telephoto. The front-facing 12-megapixel digital camera additionally seems unchanged. 

Like with the Galaxy S26, the Galaxy S26 Extremely is alleged to ship with the aforementioned Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 within the US and China, and with the Exynos 2600 chip in different markets. Different rumored specs embody 16 GB of RAM, as much as 1 TB of UFS 4.0 storage, a 5,000-mAh battery and sooner 60-watt wired charging.