Samsung Galaxy S26 Series: What’s New and Improved Across the Lineup

Samsung’s Galaxy S26 series is here, powered by what Samsung calls the most intuitive, proactive, and adaptive Galaxy AI experience yet.

The goal here is simple, and reflective of the tech landscape right now. Samsung is looking to make everyday tasks easier, smarter and more accessible, alongside the usual refinement of the foundation that comes with a model refresh. There are improvements across performance, camera capabilities, display technology, and more.

The lineup includes the Galaxy S26, Galaxy S26+ and Galaxy S26 Ultra, giving you three clear options depending on whether you prefer a compact flagship, a bigger-screen all-rounder, or the Ultra with Samsung’s most advanced features.

Let’s explore what’s new and improved.

Intentional Galaxy AI Across the Lineup

Samsung’s focus this year is proactive help, not just AI features sitting in a menu. Because let’s face it, everyone’s got AI features now, but the ones that typically stand out offer minimal friction. If you’re not already utilising AI on your devices, well… you should be, and Samsung is trying to make it as easy as possible.

There are features like Now Nudge, which intelligently recognises what’s happening on your screen and suggests relevant actions, such as bringing up photos or shortcuts when you need them. Now Brief offers personalised reminders and snippets of information throughout the day based on your habits and context. Photo Assist lets you edit images using simple text prompts, and Creative Studio turns your lousy (or amazing) sketches, prompts, or photos into personalised creations, including more than just standard images. You can create stickers, invitations, or even wallpapers.

On-device AI also means greater responsiveness and multitasking, so apps launch faster and feel smoother to interact with.

Galaxy S26 and Galaxy S26+

Samsung Galaxy S26

Samsung Galaxy S26+

The Galaxy S26 and S26+ share a few improvements, bringing refinements in a range of areas which make the Galaxy S26 Series a great choice regardless of which model you go with.

Camera Enhancements

Both phones benefit from an advanced 50MP main camera with enhanced image processing, plus improved Nightography for brighter, clearer low-light photos. These enhancements help your everyday photography look richer and more detailed with minimal effort or know-how required from you.

Arguably the best part of this all is the AI functionalities available to you after you’ve taken a picture though. We touched on these earlier, but there’s so much control and creativity on offer that it honestly makes it feel like taking the picture is only just the beginning.

Thermal Management

A redesigned vapour chamber helps spread heat more effectively, keeping the devices cooler during long sessions. Both the Galaxy S26 and the Galaxy S26+ now see a huge improvement in heat dissipation.

While the heat management improvements may not jump out to casual users, it’s the kind of thing that would be annoyingly apparent if it wasn’t optimised, so this is definitely a meaningful upgrade.

Creative Studio turns your lousy sketches, prompts, or photos into personalised creations.

Now Brief offers personalised reminders and snippets of information throughout the day based on your habits and context.

Galaxy S26 Ultra

At the top end of the lineup, the Galaxy S26 Ultra delivers Samsung’s most comprehensive hardware and software package.

Built-in Privacy Display

The headline feature has been Samsung’s introduction of their built-in Privacy Display on a mobile phone. This display technology lets you control when and how your screen is visible to others by adjusting viewing angles when privacy is enabled, such as when entering PINs or using select apps, automatically shielding notifications, sensitive content, email apps and more.

This is a game-changer in the modern age and another great example of Samsung leading the pack with new technology.

Display without privacy option.

The new Privacy Display in action.

Pro-grade Camera System

The Galaxy S26 Ultra retains its 200 MP main camera, now with a f/1.4 aperture, allowing more light into the sensor for improved low-light photos and videos. You can expect up to 47% brighter shots using the Wide camera now, and up to 37% brighter shots with the Telephoto camera. Low-light video performance is further enhanced with noise reduction, which helps to deliver sharper and more vibrant footage, even in tricky conditions. There’s also the new Horizontal lock feature, which gets you cinematic stability and consistent framing, even with fast and unpredictable movements. If you’re planning on doing a lot of videography you will definitely appreciate the improvements here.

The Galaxy S26 Ultra delivers Samsung’s most comprehensive hardware and software package.

It’s sporting a Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5, with big improvements to CPU, GPU, and NPU performance.

Custom Performance for AI and Productivity

As always, the Galaxy S26 Ultra runs on a customised high-end chipset, the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5, with enhanced CPU, GPU, and NPU, tuned to handle AI workloads, multitasking, and demanding apps with greater responsiveness.

Faster Charging and All-day Power

The Galaxy S26 Ultra supports up to 75% charge in around 30 minutes, helping cut down on time spent plugged in while still delivering up to 31 hours of video playback on a single charge.