Samsung just unveiled the Galaxy S26 series! Check out the load of new features and Czech prices

Months of speculation, hundreds of leaks, and dozens of conflicting pieces of information – Samsung swept it all off the table today with one stroke. At the Galaxy Unpacked event in San Francisco, the South Korean giant officially unveiled the flagship smartphone series Galaxy S26. The lineup is ultimately traditional: Galaxy S26, Galaxy S26+, and Galaxy S26 Ultra. No Pro, no Edge. Along with the phones, a new generation of headphones, Galaxy Buds4 and Buds4 Pro, also arrived.

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Where, when, and for how much?

Before we look at the phones themselves, let’s go straight through the prices (in the table) and bonuses that the South Korean giant will offer us this year.

Model Storage / RAM Recommended price Galaxy S26 Ultra 256 GB / 12 GB RAM 35 699 Kč 512 GB / 12 GB RAM 40 599 Kč 1 TB / 16 GB RAM 47 999 Kč Galaxy S26+ 256 GB / 12 GB RAM 30 699 Kč 512 GB / 12 GB RAM 35 699 Kč Galaxy S26 256 GB / 12 GB RAM 23 999 Kč 512 GB / 12 GB RAM 29 499 Kč Galaxy Buds4 – 4 399 Kč Galaxy Buds4 Pro – 6 199 Kč

Samsung is launching pre-sales today, February 25th at 7:00 PM. Interested parties will have the opportunity to order the device until March 10th at 11:59 PM. The new product will enter regular distribution on March 11th, 2026, when official sales begin.

As with previous generations, the manufacturer has prepared a discounted launch offer. As part of the introductory promotion, a higher memory variant can be obtained for the price of a lower configuration. The campaign also includes the option to trade in an old device, which can further reduce the final price.

Customers who publish a review after purchase can also receive a bonus gift. Options include, for example, a Samsung Music Frame speaker or a Samsung Jet 65 stick vacuum cleaner. However, the number of these rewards is limited, so order speed may be a deciding factor.

Additional benefits are also prepared for students – ISIC cardholders can apply an additional 7% discount at selected retailers.

Galaxy S26 and S26+: mild evolution

Let’s start with the duo that traditionally forms the basis of the offering. If you were expecting a revolution, you can sit down – Galaxy S26 and S26+ bring rather cosmetic changes, although some of them are definitely worth mentioning.

The most visible novelty is the redesign of the rear side. Samsung said goodbye to lenses freely protruding from the back and replaced them with a vertical camera module that groups all three sensors into a single island. It looks cleaner and practically should mean less dust collection around the lenses. The rest of the design is more or less a continuation of last year’s philosophy – angular sides, an aluminum frame (Samsung calls it Armor Aluminum), a glass back, and IP68 resistance.

Both new models share a set of four colors: Cobalt Violet, Sky Blue, Black, and White. Online exclusively, Samsung will offer Silver Shadow and Pink Gold shades on its e-shop.

Displays and performance: Exynos returns

The Galaxy S26 comes with a 6.3″ Dynamic AMOLED 2X panel with FHD+ resolution and a dynamic refresh rate of 1–120 Hz. The larger S26+ will offer a 6.7″ QHD+ display with the same technology. In both cases, this is a slight increase in diagonal compared to last year. Samsung has switched to M14 OLED panels for the new generation – the same ones used by Apple and Google in their flagships. Practically, this should mean higher brightness and better energy efficiency.

And now for what shuffled the cards this year. While last year’s Galaxy S25 phones across the entire lineup were powered by Snapdragon 8 Elite, with the S26 series, Samsung returned to regional processor division. In North America, China, and Japan, the phones will run on Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5, while in Europe – and thus in the Czech Republic – we will get Exynos 2600 manufactured with a 2nm process. This time, Exynos does not have its own modem, so Samsung connected the Exynos Modem 5410.

Is this a cause for concern? According to initial benchmarks, not necessarily. The Exynos 2600 holds its own against Snapdragon in both Geekbench and Basemark tests, even slightly surpassing it in some graphics tests. However, real-world usage will show more than synthetic tests – we’ll wait for the review for the verdict.

Both models will receive 12 GB RAM. Both the S26 and S26+ start at 256 GB, and both new models will also offer a 512GB version.

Battery and charging: a small step forward

The base Galaxy S26 received a 4,300 mAh battery, which is an increase of 300 mAh compared to last year. The S26+ remains at 4,900 mAh. In the context of Chinese competition, which easily packs 5,500 or even 6,000 mAh into similarly sized bodies, this is still not a showstopper.

As for charging, the base S26 supports Super Fast Charging and Fast Wireless Charging 2.0. The S26+ adds Super Fast Charging 2.0 (45 W) and Super Fast Wireless Charging with support for up to 20W wireless charging – an upgrade from last year’s 15 W.

S26 and S26+ Cameras: copy-paste from last year

Many fans will be disappointed here. Samsung kept the identical camera setup for both models as in the S25 series: a 50Mpx main sensor (f/1.8, OIS), a 12Mpx ultrawide (f/2.2), and a 10Mpx telephoto lens with 3× optical zoom. The front camera remains at 12 Mpx. No new sensor, no increase in ultrawide resolution. Improvements are expected to come purely through software – via a better ISP in the new chipset.

Galaxy S26 Ultra: Samsung really tried here

If anything in this year’s lineup stands out, it’s the Ultra. Samsung presents it as the “thinnest Galaxy Ultra ever” with a thickness of 7.9 mm and a weight of 214 grams – that’s 4 grams less and 0.3 mm less than its predecessor. The display remains at 6.9″ with QHD+ resolution (3,120 × 1,440) and is covered by Corning Gorilla Armor 2.

The Ultra is the only model in the series guaranteed to receive the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 for Galaxy even in our market – combined with up to 16 GB RAM and storage up to 1 TB. Samsung reports a performance increase of 39% for the NPU, 24% for the GPU, and 19% for the CPU in the chipset compared to its predecessor. It also includes a new Customized Image Enhancer and an improved thermal architecture with a redesigned vapor chamber.

Ultra Cameras: brighter, but not fundamentally different

Samsung re-equipped the Ultra model’s optics. The main 200Mpx wide-angle sensor received an aperture of f/1.4, making it, according to the manufacturer, 47% brighter than its predecessor. The telephoto lens with 50 Mpx and 5× optical zoom is then 37% brighter, with Samsung stating “10× optical quality” for it.

The remaining two sensors stayed the same as last year: a 50Mpx ultrawide (f/1.9) and a 10Mpx 3× telephoto lens (f/2.4). The front camera is again 12 Mpx. The setup is thus similar on paper to the S25 Ultra, but brighter optics combined with an improved ISP and the Nightography feature should bring noticeably better results in low light. Additionally, the Ultra is the only one capable of recording in APV format – a virtually lossless video format – up to 8K at 30 fps. This is a big deal for the Android world, essentially competing with Apple ProRes on iPhones.

60W charging and 5,000 mAh: Ultra finally adds more

The Ultra’s battery remains at 5,000 mAh, which is the same capacity as last year, but Samsung this time finally increased the charging power to 60 W (Super Fast Charging 3.0). The phone gets from zero to 75% in 30 minutes. Wireless charging is also faster – the Ultra supports Super Fast Wireless Charging with Qi2 standard support, reportedly up to 25 W. Wireless PowerShare for charging accessories is also present.

Is 60 W a revolution? For Samsung, yes – flagships have been stuck at 45 W since 2019. For the market as a whole, it’s more about catching up with the competition, where 90W and 120W charging have long become standard. Nevertheless – better late than never.

Privacy Display: a screen no one looks at

Undoubtedly the most interesting novelty of this year’s generation. The Galaxy S26 Ultra is the world’s first smartphone with integrated pixel-level privacy protection. The Privacy Display feature (Samsung internally refers to it as Flex Magic Pixel) functions like a hardware privacy film – when viewed from a side angle, the display significantly darkens.

Unlike classic films, this is a solution built directly into the AMOLED panel. It is activated via quick settings, allows setting the level of privacy, and can even be applied only to specific applications – typically banking or messages. Samsung notes that the feature is not a 100% guarantee of invisibility, but as an additional layer of protection on public transport or in a cafe, it makes sense. Unfortunately – Privacy Display is exclusive to the Ultra model.

Software: One UI 8.5 and three AI assistants in one phone

The Galaxy S26 series comes with Android 16 and the One UI 8.5 overlay, which brings a redesign inspired by – how else – transparencies and Apple-esque effects. But that’s not the main story. The main story is artificial intelligence, to which Samsung dedicated most of its presentation.

A fundamental novelty is the integration of the AI search engine Perplexity directly into the system. The Galaxy S26 is thus the first phone where three assistants coexist: Gemini, Bixby, and now Perplexity. Perplexity works across system applications – Notes, Calendar, Gallery – and can also be activated by holding the side button.

Other AI novelties include:

• Now Nudge – proactive real-time suggestions based on context (works in WhatsApp, Signal, Instagram, and others). However, it does not yet work in Czech.
• Photo Assist – AI generation and editing of photos directly from the Gallery (with a watermark on the output)
• Creative Studio – templates for creating stickers, invitations, and wallpapers
• Audio Eraser – now also works in third-party applications like YouTube, Netflix, or Instagram
• Document Scanner – automatic document scanning with minimal distortion and organization of screenshots into eight categories
• Circle to Search – enhanced with multi-object recognition simultaneously
• Call Screening – AI answers unknown numbers and finds out who is calling (13 languages including Polish, but not yet Czech)
• Scam Detection – real-time alerts for scam calls (currently Korean, expansion to English)

Samsung also improved the Now Bar and Now Brief features, which now offer deeper personalization thanks to the Personal Data Engine. The S Pen remains with the Ultra model and should receive new functions related to magnetic accessories and Qi2.

Galaxy Buds4 and Buds4 Pro: new headphones with Hi-Fi ambitions

Along with the phones, Samsung also introduced a new generation of headphones. Galaxy Buds4 and Buds4 Pro come with a design called Blade – reportedly slimmer and more stable in the ear, which Samsung figured out by analyzing over 100 million data points on ear shapes from around the world.

Sonically, Samsung relies on a two-way speaker (woofer + tweeter) with support for 24-bit/96kHz Hi-Fi audio. The effective driver area has increased by almost 20%. Active Noise Cancellation (ANC) is adaptive and automatically adjusts to the surrounding environment – whether you’re walking down the street or standing on a construction site.

Among the smart features, head gesture control is noteworthy – nod to answer a call, shake your head to decline. The headphones also function as a real-time interpreter and offer direct access to voice assistants including Bixby. Control is performed by pressing and swiping gestures directly on the headphones.

Colors: Buds4 in Black and White, Buds4 Pro add online exclusive Pink Gold. Prices for the Czech market: Buds4 for 4,399 CZK, Buds4 Pro for 6,199 CZK.

Czech prices and availability

Pre-orders start today, February 25th, from 7:00 PM and will last until March 10th, 11:59 PM. The official sales launch is scheduled for March 11th, 2026. As part of the introductory promotion, Samsung again offers higher memory for the price of a lower variant, trade-in of an old device, and a bonus for a review (Samsung Music Frame speaker or Samsung Jet 65 vacuum cleaner, limited quantities). Students with an ISIC card can get an additional 7% discount at selected partners.

Model Storage / RAM Recommended price Galaxy S26 Ultra 256 GB / 12 GB RAM 35 699 Kč 512 GB / 12 GB RAM 40 599 Kč 1 TB / 16 GB RAM 47 999 Kč Galaxy S26+ 256 GB / 12 GB RAM 30 699 Kč 512 GB / 12 GB RAM 35 699 Kč Galaxy S26 256 GB / 12 GB RAM 23 999 Kč 512 GB / 12 GB RAM 29 499 Kč Galaxy Buds4 – 4 399 Kč Galaxy Buds4 Pro – 6 199 Kč

Specifications at a glance

Specifications Galaxy S26 Ultra Galaxy S26+ Galaxy S26 Display 6.9″ QHD+ Dynamic AMOLED 2X, 3,120 × 1,440, 500 ppi, 1–120 Hz, S Pen 6.7″ QHD+ Dynamic AMOLED 2X, 3,120 × 1,440, 516 ppi, 1–120 Hz 6.3″ FHD+ Dynamic AMOLED 2X, 2,340 × 1,080, 411 ppi, 1–120 Hz Processor Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 for Galaxy (3 nm) / Exynos 2600 (2 nm)* Exynos 2600 (2 nm) / Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5* Exynos 2600 (2 nm) / Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5* RAM / Storage 12/16 GB | 256/512 GB/1 TB 12 GB | 256/512 GB 12 GB | 128/256/512 GB Rear Cameras 200 Mpx f/1.4 (wide) + 50 Mpx f/1.9 (ultra wide) + 10 Mpx f/2.4 3× zoom + 50 Mpx f/2.9 5× zoom 50 Mpx f/1.8 (wide) + 12 Mpx f/2.2 (ultra wide) + 10 Mpx f/2.4 3× zoom 50 Mpx f/1.8 (wide) + 12 Mpx f/2.2 (ultra wide) + 10 Mpx f/2.4 3× zoom Front Camera 12 Mpx f/2.2 12 Mpx f/2.2 12 Mpx f/2.2 Battery 5,000 mAh, 60 W wired, Qi2 wireless 4,900 mAh, 45 W wired, Qi2 wireless 4,300 mAh, wired, Qi2 wireless Dimensions / Weight 163.6 × 78.1 × 7.9 mm / 214 g 158.4 × 75.8 × 7.3 mm / 190 g 149.6 × 71.7 × 7.2 mm / 167 g Colors Cobalt Violet, Sky Blue, Black, White | Online: Silver Shadow, Pink Gold System Android 16, One UI 8.5

What do you think of this year’s Galaxy S26 series? Has Samsung convinced you to upgrade?

Source: Samsung Galaxy Unpacked Press Conference