Review: Samsung Galaxy S26 and S26 Plus

If the rumour is true, the Samsung Galaxy S26 Plus would not exist. The idea was that the third model in the S26 series would be the super-thin S26 edge, but when the S25 edge sold poorly, plans were changed and the plus model was revived.

Perhaps this explains why the Galaxy S26 Plus has identical dimensions to its predecessor, but the Galaxy S26 has new measurements. This means that the difference between the two has become even smaller than before, and we are testing both models together. 

The differences between Galaxy S26 and Galaxy S26 Plus

We can summarise the differences right away so you know which one you are most interested in before you read on. The Galaxy S26 Plus has a 6.7-inch screen compared to 6.3 inches for the S26. The battery is larger (4900 mAh versus 4300 mAh), but the larger screen also consumes more, so the screen time is about the same, but the S26 Plus can handle standby and power-hungry apps a little longer. The S26 Plus weighs 23 grams more and is harder to use with one hand due to its size. The S26 Plus has a higher resolution on the screen, so it doesn't look more pixelated because the screen is larger. The Galaxy S26 Plus has a new chip for connections that provides Bluetooth 6.0 instead of Bluetooth 5.4 in the Galaxy S26. Bluetooth 6.0 offers better precision when Bluetooth is used for distance measurement, but practically, you will mostly notice that the larger model uses less power when listening to Bluetooth. Finally, the Galaxy S26 has faster charging, 45 watts with a cable or 25 watts wirelessly, compared to 25/15 watts for the Galaxy S26. The price also differs, with the S26 Plus costing 2500 kronor more in the same memory configuration. 

Smaller but bigger

The smaller Galaxy S26 has become noticeably larger than its predecessor Galaxy S25. Not dramatically, 2.7 mm in height, 1.2 mm in width, the weight also increases by 5 grams. It's unclear what has been gained from this. The screen has become 6.3 inches compared to 6.2 inches in the predecessor, but it's hard to see this as a win; you don't choose the Galaxy S26 because you want the largest screen possible (then there's the S26 Plus) but because you want a phone that can be used with one hand. Now, another small step is taken away from that possibility. Samsung claims they did it to improve the battery life in the Galaxy S26, and sure, a problem with the product series has always been the short battery life, but they've only increased the capacity by 7.5 percent. More importantly, the Exynos 2600 chipset probably needed all the cooling area it could get.

A bit slower but still fast

Samsung has thus installed its own brand new top chipset, Exynos 2600, in the Galaxy S26 and S26 Plus. It is the first chipset manufactured in a 2-nanometer process, but at the same time, they have chosen to use Qualcomm's Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 in the S26 Ultra. Since it's Samsung's real flagship model, Samsung must have felt that their own chipset doesn't quite match the same level, and this is confirmed when we look at benchmark tests. Galaxy S26 and S26 Plus are top-class but don't quite reach the performance of the S26 Ultra. We also see that the Galaxy S26 Plus achieves slightly better results than the S26, which reinforces our suspicions that cooling is a factor for the size of the Galaxy S26.

These performance differences do not affect the user experience; the system is as fast as it can be, and how quickly apps start is probably more influenced by the speed of the memory circuits. AI analyses performed locally on the phone are likely faster the faster circuits you have. Samsung gives the example that the Exynos 2600 provides better camera images by, for instance, identifying eyes in the picture in real-time and taking a photo where no one in the subject is blinking. This doesn't stop me from taking multiple photos with the camera in portrait mode where the person in the subject manages to blink.

Same cameras, slightly better

When it comes to the camera setup, it has looked the same since the Samsung Galaxy S22 four years ago. A main camera with 50 megapixels with a 1/1.56-inch sensor, a wide-angle camera with a smaller sensor and no autofocus, and a telephoto camera with three times optical zoom but with a small sensor and only 10 megapixels resolution. Despite this, the cameras have become more intrusive in design in recent generations and now stick out quite a bit. It is most disturbing when you have the phone lying on the table, as it wobbles so much that it is unusable unless you have a mobile case.

But as mentioned, the result of the cameras is determined not only by the lenses and sensors but also by the computational power. Therefore, we still have the right to expect differences in image results from generation to generation.

And there are differences. When I compare photos taken with the Galaxy S26 and Galaxy S25, I almost never get the feeling that they were taken with the same phone. The colour reproduction is different, and the images from the Galaxy S26 often feel a bit cooler and brighter. Except when I photograph the vegetable counter, then the tomatoes and lemons become even more oversaturated in colours than with the S25. The images from the Galaxy S26 feel sharper when you zoom in on them, or perhaps rather more nicely sharpened. When it comes to images in low light, I think photos taken in twilight are noticeably sharper with the Galaxy S26, but when it transitions to complete darkness, it is instead the Galaxy S25 that is better.

The wide-angle camera in the Galaxy S26 is quite poor, no computational power can change that, but even here I notice a bit nicer sharpening. The effect is most noticeable when I take zoomed-in photos. Photos with up to three times zoom are good, after that it's only digital zoom that applies, but the Galaxy S26 does the digital zoom so that the images at least look a bit less noisy and they become acceptable with up to ten times zoom even if you naturally don't get more information in the images after three times zoom.

Overall, it's an okay camera setup, but you start to feel that so little has happened for so long. Iphone 17, seen as the main competitor, takes better pictures in most circumstances except at three times zoom, for example. I particularly miss an equivalent to Iphone's 24-megapixel mode, which provides sharper images without them becoming too large. I had hoped for a revamp with the cameras in the Galaxy S26, but that was not the case.

Screen and system

The screen is also the same as in the predecessors. Galaxy S26 has a resolution of 2340 x 1080 pixels, Galaxy S26 Plus 3120 x 1440 pixels, which more than compensates for the larger screen. The fast refresh rate of 120 Hz makes scrolling smooth, but that's nothing new. The screen glass hasn't become more durable since last time. The brightness of up to 2600 nits is sufficient in daylight, but it's mainly in this area that you can feel that the S26 risks falling behind, as Iphone 17 and other top models now have higher brightness, providing even better readability in daylight. The anti-reflective treatment that Galaxy S26 Ultra has is also missing here, as is, of course, the incognito screen that prevents anyone from peeking at the content from the side. By now, Apple has anti-reflective treatment even on its cheapest Iphone 17e, so it's something for Samsung to consider for the next generation.

The system in the phone is Android 16 with Samsung's interface One UI 8.5. The half-step in the numbering suggests that this is a minor update, and that's true. Most things feel very familiar if you've used a phone with One UI 8.1. Samsung's interface is well thought out and tries to place the buttons you need to interact with at the bottom of the screen so that it's easier to use the mobile with one hand. Samsung's own services often duplicate Google's, but I prefer, for example, Samsung Wallet with its wide bank support and the password service Samsung Pass over Google's equivalents.

Samsung didn't talk as much about AI at the launch this time, and indeed there isn't much new here. The call assistant feature that lets a robotic voice answer for you and textually relay the caller's purpose so you can decide if it's something to respond to is a novelty, but so far there is no Swedish language support for the feature, which makes it less useful.

Instead of mainly relying on Gemini as a voice assistant and integrating as many of the phone's functions as possible into it, as in the Galaxy S25, Samsung has once again highlighted its own Bixby (which doesn't support Swedish) and also its collaboration with Perplexity, which Bixby can use in the background. It becomes more confusing rather than simpler.

The Now Brief feature, which was launched with the Galaxy S25 and with AI was supposed to be a helper in everyday life, seemed potentially promising at the time, but now appears quite unsuccessful. For example, when I open it one morning, I get the cheerful message that it is a new day (true), a weather forecast for the night that has just passed and is therefore moderately relevant, today's calendar events, and today's most important news, which for some reason is gossip from the Australian parliament. AI should be able to do better than that.

The Now Nudge feature is supposed to make Now Brief more proactive, so that it can remind me of important things, for example, act on meeting invitations and check if they clash with anything in my calendar when it analyses my day, but during the test period Now Nudge not once..

Samsung Galaxy S26 and S26 Plus are not bad at anything, but it is difficult to come up with something that distinguishes them from the Galaxy S25 in a decisive way. They get one year longer system updates because both models get seven years of system updates, but the Galaxy S25 was launched with Android 15. This is compensated by the fact that the Galaxy S25 is now cheaper in stores. Mobile development is not moving as fast as it used to, but it is not standing still, and then the feeling with the Galaxy S26 is that Samsung is starting to fall behind. Not only in relation to the iPhone but, for example, Google's Pixel series or Xiaomi's phones have advantages both in terms of cameras and screens. Perhaps a little unfair, the Samsung Galaxy S26 in particular is still the best compact Android phone you can get hold of. Although a little less compact this time.

Questions and answers

Does the Samsung Galaxy S26 support magnetic charging? No, there is no Qi2 support for magnetic charging this time from Samsung either, but you can still get it if you buy a case.

How much storage memory does the Galaxy S26 have and can I expand it? The S26 series has no slot for memory cards, but both models are now sold with 256 or 512 GB storage, not 128 GB in the cheapest variant anymore.

Is the Samsung Galaxy S26 slippery in the hand? As slippery as its predecessor, that is, the slipperiest phone I have tested. A protective case is a must.

An alternative

If you like compact phones, the Samsung Galaxy S25 is very similar but even a bit more compact. If you're eyeing the Galaxy S26 Plus, the Galaxy S25 FE could be a cost-effective alternative with slightly inferior cameras.

Camera example

This time, Samsung has chosen slightly cooler colour reproduction, but the sharpness is better.