Samsung Unpacked will be on Feb. 25 in San Francisco, California.
We finally have the date of the unveiling of the Galaxy S26, the company’s next series of phones, and it turns out that the rumors of a late February release were true. Samsung Unpacked officially starts on Feb. 25, 2026, at 10 am PT (1 pm ET).
Samsung has already made a splash this year, releasing the Galaxy Z Trifold for $2,899 in the US at the end of January, the first hinged folder that sold out quickly after sales. The company has not revealed which products will be shown at Samsung Unpacked in San Francisco, although we expect to see the Galaxy S26 and other devices.
Samsung’s event comes a week before the start of the year’s biggest smartphone show, Mobile World Congress, in Barcelona. It may be late for Samsung, but it’s early enough in 2026 to set the stage for some of the best Android phones this year.
The numbers are higher on the S26 phones. People want the top of the line when they pay top dollar for premium phones, especially under today’s financial crisis. Samsung is under pressure to introduce enough new features to keep its flagship phones at the top of the charts, especially after the iPhone 17 series released several upgrades.
When it comes to productive AI, which is very common in other categories of gadgets, Samsung has been tasked with finding new, exclusive uses to continue to differentiate their phones among the fierce competition at the premium level.
We expect the Galaxy S26 lineup to be similar to last year’s: the standard S26, the larger S26 Plus and the top-of-the-line Galaxy S26 Ultra. Although the rumors do not suggest any radical redesign, there will probably be external changes and hardware upgrades, including the processor and cameras.
Let’s dive into the details of everything we know about the launch of the Galaxy S26 series.
Galaxy S26 system overview
Samsung Galaxy S25.
Galaxy S26
Despite initial rumors from Android Authority suggesting that Samsung might ditch its flagship phone in favor of a higher-priced, more specced Pro model, the latest leak suggests that Samsung will keep its regular Galaxy S26 model. We don’t expect too many changes in the design of the model, although it could see the return of the raised camera bump after the Galaxy S25 kept them full on the back cover. Some rumors suggest that it could get a larger 6.3-inch display and a smaller design. The Galaxy S25 has a 6.2-inch display, by comparison.
Rumors differ on whether the phone’s cameras will be upgraded, with some suggesting it will get an upgraded 50-megapixel ultrawide and others saying it will retain its predecessor’s 12-megapixel shooter. The phone is expected to use a Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 chip in the US and China or Samsung’s Exynos 2600 processor elsewhere. Otherwise, rumors suggest that the S26 will pack 12GB of RAM, 512GB of maximum storage and a 4,300-mAh battery, according to notable leaker @UniverseIce.
Galaxy S25 (left), next to S25 Plus (center) and S25 Edge (right).
Galaxy S26 Plus and S26 Edge
Samsung is said to be debating whether to replace its larger S26 Plus with the super-slim S26 Edge, but reportedly low sales of last year’s Galaxy S25 Edge suggest the pendulum may swing the other way: we might just get the S26 Plus this year, as 9to5Google suggests.
The Galaxy S26 Plus is expected to have a 6.7-inch display like its predecessor and will be 7.35mm thinner, but it won’t have a noticeable change. Like other S26 phones, they are expected to get Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 in the US and China or Exynos 2600 elsewhere.
Last year’s S25 Edge came out in May, so it’s likely we’ll see the launch of the S26 Edge later. If we do, a leak reported by Android Authority suggested it will be 5.5mm thick, which is 0.3mm thinner than its predecessor — and, luckily, 0.1mm thinner than the iPhone Air. Speculation also predicted that it will have the same 6.7-inch display but a larger 4,200-mAh battery.
Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra.
Galaxy S26 Ultra
Like the other S26 models, the Galaxy S26 Ultra is expected to feature the new Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 in the US and China, while Samsung will use its Exynos 2600 chip in other markets. Otherwise, rumors point to a phone packing 16GB of RAM, up to 1TB of storage, a 5,000-mAh battery and advanced charging — up to 60 watts wired and 25 watts wireless, as reported by SamMobile.
Some rumors from PhoneArena suggest that the phone will return to an aluminum frame from its titanium predecessors, just like Apple did with the iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max.
Samsung Galaxy Buds 3.
The new Galaxy Buds 4
Rumors suggest that Samsung will release new models of the Galaxy Buds 4 and Buds 4 Pro alongside their phones. The product images published by Android Authority show the redesign of both models, each of which receives what looks like heated metal strips without the stems, which should make them look less like Apple AirPods than Galaxy Buds 3. As in previous generations, the standard Buds 4 look completely plastic, while the Pro models will have silicone ears.
New AI features and Bixby updates
The latest Galaxy phones often come with new AI features, and rumors suggest that the Galaxy S26 series will be the same. Samsung itself referred to a new privacy shield coming to future phones (probably the S26 series) that will block parts of the display when viewed at an angle, protecting notifications or all apps from the onlooker’s view.
The leak suggests that the AI ​​is tipping its hand to provide images only to those looking directly at the phone. Presumably, this will come to all S26 models, and the leak doesn’t suggest otherwise.
The S26 phones may be able to use artificial intelligence to render images faster than ever before. Samsung’s partnership with Nota AI was announced in November, which aims to improve genAI on devices. This means bringing its EdgeFusion (version of Stable Diffusion) to speed up the production of text to image by using it only on Galaxy S26 handsets (rather than partially or completely in the cloud), PhoneArena suggested, integrating Nota AI technology at the processing level.
