Samsung Galaxy S26 review

"However, for yet another year, the Galaxy S series gets a modest upgrade, so we don't foresee any surprises with the vanilla S26. On the other hand, the vanilla Galaxy S26 proper arguably gets a couple of extra upgrades compared to the Galaxy S26 Plus. Besides the yearly chipset upgrade, we also get a larger 4,300 mAh battery, which might be a modest jump from the 4,000 mAh last year."

"Speaking of chipset upgrades, Samsung returns to its dual-chip strategy after pausing for the Galaxy S25 family last year. In markets outside of the USA, China and South Korea, the regular S26 and the Galaxy S26+ (like our review units) use the latest Exynos 2600 SoC. We are about to see how it stacks against last year's Snapdragon 8 Elite silicon and against the S26 Ultra's SD 8 Elite Gen 5."

"And finally, another minute change in the Galaxy S26 is the display size, which has now grown to 6.3", up from 6.2" last year. However, fancy features like the anti-reflective DX coating and the Privacy Display remain an Ultra-exclusive."

The Galaxy S26 is a compact flagship phone receiving incremental improvements over its predecessor. Key upgrades include a display size increase from 6.2 to 6.3 inches, a battery capacity boost from 4,000 mAh to 4,300 mAh, and Samsung's return to a dual-chip strategy. Markets outside the USA, China, and South Korea receive the Exynos 2600 SoC, while other regions get the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5. The phone maintains premium build quality with Gorilla Glass Victus 2, IP68 rating, and Armor aluminum frame. However, exclusive Ultra features like anti-reflective DX coating and Privacy Display remain unavailable on the standard model.

Read at GSMArena.com