Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra rumours and everything you need to know

The Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra could be one of the best phones of 2026, if rumours are anything to go by.

Samsung is rumoured to be hard at work on the 2026 flagship behind closed doors, with rumours suggesting key upgrades in design, camera tech, performance, and even battery life that, combined, could maintain Samsung’s dominance at the top end of the Android smartphone market. 

Here’s everything there is to know about the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra right now, including both rumours and leaks.

Last updated: 14th January to include new information on release date and pricing, along with details about a new camera mode.

Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra rumours at a glance:

• Likely reveal on 25 February with release in March
• Similar design to S25 Ultra, but thinner
• 6.9-inch QHD+ AMOLED panel with better anti-reflective tech and a Privacy Display
• Upgraded main and 3x telephoto cameras
• Slimmer rings around the rear cameras
• Possibility of an under-display selfie camera
• Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5/Exynos 2600 chipset split
• 5000mAh battery and faster 60W charging

Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra release date rumours

Samsung is one of those companies that like to keep to a tight yearly schedule for its releases, with only a little variation since the company shifted to its early-year release back in 2019.

Most recently, the Galaxy 25 Ultra was revealed on 7 February 2025, a week later than the S24 Ultra’s 31 January 2024 reveal.

That said, rumours suggest that Samsung has pushed back the reveal date to as far as 25 February 2026, with one source getting even more specific, claiming it’ll launch at 6pm GMT on the day. Other sources claim similar, with suggestions that the phone won’t actually hit the shelves until weeks later in March 2026.

When it comes to pricing, however, things aren’t quite as clear. Some, like Ice Universe, claim that the S26 series will cost the same as the S25 equivalents, which means the S26 Ultra should start from £1249 / $1299.

However, other sources suggest this year’s flagship could be even more expensive, likely due to the rapidly increasing cost of RAM. Over in South Korea, Samsung’s home base, that price bump is said to range from around 44,000 won to 88,000 won (around £22 to £45) depending on the exact model.

The US is expected to be shielded from these price hikes as a crucial market for Samsung, but there’s no word yet on whether European fans will get the same courtesy.

Design

Don’t expect a massive redesign of the Galaxy S26 Ultra if current rumours are to be believed. 

Android Authority seemingly uncovered the renders for the entire Galaxy S26 series, including the upcoming flagship S26 Ultra, in the code for Samsung’s OneUI 8.5 software. 

Codenamed “M3”, the supposed render for the Galaxy S26 Ultra lines up with the previous claims from notorious (and trusted) leaker, OnLeaks via X. If the rumours are to be believed, Samsung isn’t planning on reinventing the wheel with the S26 Ultra, as the handset will sport the same flat display with rounded corners as its predecessor. 

While at first glance, we can expect the rear camera system will look similar to its predecessor, OnLeaks claims that there will be a few differences. Via Android Headlines, it’s said that the “three cameras on the left will be vertically aligned” like previous years, but the camera island they’re sat on will protrude by “4.5mm total”.

In addition, OnLeaks claimed that the fourth camera will be placed “next to the middle camera” but it will “not protrude directly from the backplate”. The same is thought to go with the LED flash and the additional cutout for the sensors too. 

Finally, it is expected that the S26 Ultra’s rear cameras will boast a more premium-looking finish than before. This, according to Universe Ice, is thanks to the slimmer, metal rings that surround the lenses, which look similar to the likes of the iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max. 

Considering the S25 Ultra was criticised by many for its so-called “vinyl record” ring design around the rear cameras, this could be a welcome upgrade for many.

Of course, unless the camera lenses of the S25 Ultra were a huge dislike of yours, it’s pretty unlikely that you’ll factor in a phone’s camera rings when deciding whether or not you want to splurge. Having said that, it’s always good to see a more premium-looking finish – especially on a top-end handset.

Otherwise, according to Universe Ice on X, although the S26 Ultra will technically be thinner and lighter than the S25 Ultra, the difference will be pretty minimal. If the leak is to be believed, then the S26 Ultra will be 7.9mm and weigh 214g while the S25 Ultra is 8.2mm and 218g.

That reduction in thickness could come at the cost of S Pen functionality, however, with leaker PandaFlashPro claiming that the S Pen would no longer feature a digitiser, which is responsible for pressure sensitivity and hovering options. 

Lastly, since the reveal of the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max’s eye-catching orange colour, rumours have suggested that the S26 Ultra will see its own bright orange iteration.

That hasn’t just been backed up by leaked real-world images, but an early Galaxy S26 Ultra case listing. It appears to confirm not only the general look of the phone, but look closely and you’ll see a signature flash of orange on those camera rings.

Screen

Rumours suggest a very similar screen to that of the Galaxy S25 Ultra, but given that it’s one of the best on any smartphone right now, that shouldn’t really be a problem for most. 

That means we should expect a 6.9-inch AMOLED screen with an LTPO-enabled 120Hz refresh rate, a pixel-packed QHD+ resolution and a maximum brightness of 2600nits.

However, it is thought that Samsung will introduce a privacy display on the S26 Ultra. According to multiple outlets, including The Verge, Privacy Display is designed to dim or hide the display altogether when the screen is viewed at an angle. 

According to SammyGurus, the feature will work inside of One UI 8.5, the software that the S26 is expected to launch with. This means you’ll be able to turn Privacy Display on or off through the display settings, and even automate it depending on which app you’re using. 

Otherwise, Universe Ice claims the upcoming 6.9-inch panel will feature “CoE depolarizer technology and third-generation anti-reflective glass” that should make it even easier to use in bright environments. With both a brighter screen and Privacy Display enabled, this should mean the S26 Ultra will offer a good balance of visibility and privacy when in use.

Cameras

There were rumblings in 2025 that Samsung could bring back the variable aperture for the Galaxy S26 Ultra – a feature last seen on the Galaxy S10 back in 2018.

However, more recent rumours suggest that the S26 Ultra will instead sport a fixed f/1.4 200MP main lens. It’s said that the wider aperture should boost light intake by a decent 47%, which should have a knock-on effect on low-light photos and videos. 

Elsewhere, there are claims that Samsung is working on an upgraded 12MP 3x telephoto sensor, up from the current 10MP zoom lens. It could even feature a new AF sensor for faster focusing speeds, along with the next iteration of Samsung’s proprietary ProVisual Engine to boost image processing. 

It looks like the 50MP ultrawide and 5x periscope lenses will remain unchanged, however. 

Interestingly, it’s not just the main lenses due for an upgrade this year; Samsung is also rumoured to use an under-display selfie camera on the Galaxy S26 Ultra. It’s usually a staple of Samsung’s big-screen foldables, but it was ditched from this year’s Galaxy Z Fold 7, so take that rumour with a pinch of salt. 

It’s also said to be working on a new 24MP camera mode to match Apple’s updated offering on the iPhone 17 range. Right now, you get a pixel-binned 12MP image by default, with options to crank the resolution to 50MP and 200MP.

A 24MP option would improve overall quality compared to 12MP alternatives without making the files unnecessarily large, though questions remain as to whether this will be the default shooting mode or something you’ll need to toggle in the Settings menu.

Performance

Although Samsung has yet to confirm any details on the processor expected to run the S26 Ultra, nor any of the S26 series for that matter, we can make a guess based on its predecessors. 

Recent years have seen the premium Ultra edition of the Galaxy S-series sport a custom version of Qualcomm’s flagship mobile chipset. For example, back in 2024, the S24 Ultra ran on Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 for Galaxy, while the S25 Ultra ran on Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy.

With this in mind, we can reasonably expect the S26 Ultra to run on Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 for Galaxy. In fact, leaked benchmark tests pretty much confirm this. However, what remains to be seen is whether all regions will benefit from Qualcomm’s top-end chipset.

You might remember that last year’s Galaxy S24 and S24 Plus saw a regional split with processors. While US customers benefited from Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 for Galaxy across the entire series, the rest of the world had to make do with Samsung’s own Exynos 2400 processor instead. 

While in everyday use we found the difference between Exynos 2400 and Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 for Galaxy to be minimal, the benchmarking scores confirmed the latter was much more powerful. 

Unfortunately, although yet to be confirmed by Samsung, rumours suggest we might see a similar dreaded regional split again with the S26 series. Leaker and analyst JunkanIosreve claims that the Galaxy S26 Ultra will run on Samsung’s Exynos 2600 chipset in Europe, with those in the US and other countries will get Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 instead. Leaked firmware backs up the latter.

This, however, might not be a huge issue. In fact, according to a recent X post, Junkanlosreve claims that when compared to Snapdragon 8 Gen 5, “Exynos 2600 shows about 30% higher NPU performance and up to 29% higher GPU performance”. Of course, this is all speculation at the moment, so we’ll have to wait and see.

Software

It’s expected that Samsung will launch the S26 series with OneUI 8.5, which will also roll out to compatible Samsung handsets too. At the time of writing, the OneUI 8.5 beta program is now rolling out across the US, UK, Germany, Korea, India and Poland, and will first open for the S25, S25 Plus and S25 Ultra.

According to Samsung, the OneUI 8.5 beta will include enhancements to Quick Share, the ability to edit images continuously in Photo Assist, Theft Protection and much more. To download the OneUI 8.5 beta, you can apply via the Samsung Members app.

Battery

Battery and charging are two areas where the top-end Galaxy has stagnated over the past few years, with all models sporting the same 5000mAh battery and 45W charging. In a world where rivals sport 6000mAh+ cells, it’s looking slightly dated.

There were hopes earlier this year that, with Samsung rumoured to finally implement high-capacity silicon-carbon battery tech, the capacity could finally increase.

However, it seems instead that Samsung wants to slim the battery down while matching the current 5000mAh capacity. There is some good news though; leaked code from One UI 8.5 suggests that charging speeds will jump from 45W to 60W with the upcoming flagship.

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