Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra rumors: release date, price, specs, and everything you should know
Rounding up everything we know (so far) about Samsung's next flagship
📱 Samsung is expected to release the Galaxy S26 Ultra in early 2026
📐 The phone will reportedly look a lot like last year’s Galaxy S25 Ultra
⚙️ It’ll be powered by the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5
📸 The camera bump could be bigger, but have the same hardware as last year
✍️ No, the S Pen isn’t expected to go anywhere
💰 Samsung could increase the price by about $50
Samsung is sticking to a familiar formula with its next Galaxy S devices. While rumors initially suggested a major shake-up for this year’s devices, it now appears that the company’s Galaxy S26, S26 Plus, and S26 Ultra will be minor iterations of the Galaxy S25 series from last year.
The Galaxy S26 Ultra in particular will feel familiar to anyone who’s seen the S25 Ultra, at least according to rumors. We’ve been tracking leaks and reports for months now, and there’s been no indication that Samsung will introduce a redesign or other major changes with the device. Instead, it’ll be more akin to a “Galaxy S25 Ultra (2nd generation),” if you will.
We got a lot of questions about the upcoming Galaxy S26 Ultra during The Shortcut Live, so we wanted to make it easier to find all the information we know about the device in a single place. Below, we’re breaking down all the rumors we’ve heard about the phone and what you can expect.
Galaxy S26 Ultra release date and price
📆 Later than usual. The big story with the Galaxy S26 family is how late it’s arriving this year. Samsung went through some development headaches when working on the S26 series after it tried to revamp the trio of phones with new names and market positioning. After its experimental stage, the company reverted to its original formula and committed to producing the S26, S26 Plus, and S26 Ultra. Thanks to that, the S26 series got pushed back to around mid-March, according to rumors. We expect it to be unveiled in late February (perhaps on February 26), then launch sometime around March 11 worldwide.
💰 $50 more? Reports suggest that because of factors like RAM shortages and inflation, the Galaxy S26 may go up in price. It’s expected to go up around $50 per storage tier, although it could be more. That being said, most smartphone companies have been able to hold off on increasing prices, so there’s a chance Samsung could dodge the bullet and keep the same pricing as last year, which started at $799.99 for the regular S25 and $1,299.99 for the S25 Ultra.
Galaxy S26 Ultra design rumors
👀 Instantly familiar. The Galaxy S26 Ultra will look a lot like the Galaxy S25 Ultra. Samsung appears to be sticking with flat sides and a big, rectangular design for its next Ultra phone, along with an S Pen at the bottom. The camera system will still sit in the top left on the back, and the screen will still be huge at 6.9 inches.
🤏 A little bit thinner. The dimensions of the S26 Ultra might be a bit different. Rumors say that the phone could be between 7-8mm thick, which is a bit skinnier than the S25 Ultra’s 8.1mm form factor. It might also be a tad taller and/or wider, but it’s unclear by how much.
📐 Curvier corners. Many of the renders and mockups we’ve seen depict the S26 Ultra as having corners with more aggressive curves than the S25 Ultra, leaning more in the iPhone’s design direction than a boxier look like older Galaxy S Ultra phones.
🤔 No more titanium? Color options for the S26 Ultra also leaked, and their names include Black Shadow, White Shadow, Ultraviolet, and Galactial Blue. Notably, they don’t include the word “Titanium,” which could imply that Samsung will follow Apple’s lead and drop titanium materials from the Ultra’s design in favor of aluminum or stainless steel. It’s unclear what Samsung will decide to do at this point.
Galaxy S26 Ultra camera rumors
📸 Better lighting for all 200 megapixels. The same 200MP camera is expected to hang around on the Galaxy S26 Ultra, save for one key detail: the aperture. It’s supposed to get wider to f/1.4, which will allow for a lot more light, color, and detail to hit the sensor in every lighting condition. That could mean 47% more light exposure, which should make a big difference for your photographs.
🔭 Sharper telephoto pictures. Other rumors say that Samsung will trade the 10MP 3x telephoto sensor for a new 12MP sensor, which could help to make close-ups sharper. It’ll also come with laser autofocus for better stabilization.
🤳 Ultra-wide and selfies stay the same. It doesn’t sound like the 50MP ultra-wide or 50MP periscope telephoto cameras will be getting upgrades on the S26 Ultra, and neither will the 12MP selfie camera. If we hear anything about potential upgrades here, we’ll let you know.
⚙️ AI tweaks and tuning. Samsung usually improves its post-processing algorithm with its new smartphones to ensure that your photos are processed to the highest quality possible, and we anticipate the company to announce some sort of update in this regard for the S26 series. We could also see new AI tricks for photos and videos, given how much focus there’s been on AI over the past few years. Samsung could also increase the default photo mode from 12MP to 24MP so you get less compression on your pictures.
Galaxy S26 Ultra specs rumors
📱 A brighter, more colorful screen. The Galaxy S26 Ultra will likely keep the same 6.9-inch AMOLED screen size as the S25 Ultra, but it could use a different panel that offers higher brightness and better colors. We’ve seen references to “COE” and “M14” screen technologies in leaked specs for the S26 Ultra, too, so it seems like the screen will indeed get an update this generation.
🚀 Latest and greatest from Snapdragon. As is tradition, the Galaxy S26 Ultra will use the latest flagship chip from Qualcomm. This time around, it’s the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5, which is rumored to get a special “for Galaxy” version that’s optimized for Samsung’s devices. The processor impressed us when we tested it in the OnePlus 15, and we anticipate a similar feeling with the Ultra.
🤖 Samsung x Perplexity. There’s chatter that Samsung could give Bixby a big upgrade by integrating Perplexity’s AI models. This could enable a lot more intelligence-driven features to make using your phone feel smarter and more intuitive. It would work alongside Google Gemini and make using your phone feel more natural.
🔋 The same battery… While other companies like OnePlus experiment with silicone-carbon batteries for higher capacities (sometimes upwards of 7,000mAh), Samsung is rumored to stick to regular lithium-ion batteries for the S26 series. The S26 Ultra, therefore, is expected to have the same 5,000mAh battery as the S25 Ultra. It could last a full day on a charge in the S25 Ultra, but no more than that, and we don’t expect the S26 Ultra to make any strides in endurance as a result.
⚡️ … but faster charging. Fortunately, charging is expected to get a boost. Rumors suggest that the device could be capable of 60W wired charging, a notable increase over the 45W charging on the S25 Ultra. It’s also faster than the iPhone 17 Pro Max’s 40W charging support.
🧲 Finally Qi2? Guys, it might finally be time: there are rumors that Samsung will adopt Qi2 charging on the S26 Ultra, and potentially on the S26 and S26 Plus. That means 25W fast wireless charging plus built-in magnets for connecting accessories. So far, the Pixel 10 is the only Android phone we’ve tested with proper Qi2 support, and many customers have been waiting for Samsung to adopt the feature. It looks like this could be the year that changes.
💾 Even more RAM. Samsung could introduce a version of the Galaxy S26 Ultra with 16GB of RAM, which hasn’t been done since the S21 Ultra years ago. Of course, with worldwide RAM shortages, there’s a chance this rumor doesn’t pan out to be true, but we’ll know as we get closer to the S26 Ultra’s launch.
Galaxy S26 Ultra coverage continues
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Max Buondonno is an editor at The Shortcut. He’s been reporting on the latest consumer technology since 2015, with his work featured on CNN Underscored, ZDNET, How-To Geek, XDA, TheStreet, and more. Follow him on X @LegendaryScoop and Instagram @LegendaryScoop.
Great roundup of the leaks. The f/1.4 aperture bump is actually a huge deal for low-light photography, way more impactful than most megapixel upgrades. I'm curios whether that M14 panel tech will finally address the auto-brightness inconsistency issues on the S25, because that's been driving me nuts in mixed lighting environemnts.