The Galaxy S26 lineup and everything else we expect

January 31, 2026 by Cnznews

Samsung’s 2025 was full of new foldables, an ultra-thin new form factor, and the launch of Google’s XR platform. After making a few announcements at CES 2026, the company is expected to host its first Galaxy Unpacked of the year in February to introduce the Galaxy S26 lineup.

Engadget will be covering Galaxy Unpacked live, and we’ll likely get hands-on coverage of Samsung’s new smartphones soon after they’re announced. While we wait for the official invite, here’s everything we expect Samsung to unveil at the first Galaxy Unpacked event of 2026.

What’s happening in Unpacked 2026?

But first, when is Unpacked going to happen? A recent image shared by leakster Evan Blass indicates that Unpacked should be out on “February 25th, 2026.” Blass has a long history of reliable leaks, meaning this date is almost certain, and the main questions remaining will be – at what time and in what time zone? We’re still waiting for official details from Samsung, which should include answers to those questions.

Galaxy S26, S26+ and S26 Ultra

Hands-on photo of the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra (Photo by Sam Rutherford/Engadget)

Samsung’s restrained approach to updating its phones will likely continue with the Galaxy S26. Based on leaked images of the new lineup, the company is not expected to radically redesign the look of the Galaxy S26, Galaxy S26+, or Galaxy S26 Ultra, and will instead stick with the same design used on the Galaxy S25. The phone will have a flat front screen and frame, with rounded corners and cameras located in a vertical pill-shaped plateau on the back. Unlike Apple’s move from the iPhone 16 Pro to the iPhone 17 Pro, the biggest difference here will likely be the internal components like the screen, chips, and camera sensors used by Samsung.

Qualcomm’s new Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chip is expected to be in all Samsung Galaxy S26 phones, although the Korean news site yonhap news The report says Samsung’s relatively new Exynos 2600 chip could be used in some phones in the lineup depending on the region, a strategy Samsung has implemented in the past. Either way the new phones should be more performant than the previous generation, and in the case of models with the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5, should be especially good at on-device AI processing.

One notable difference between the Galaxy S26 and the Galaxy S25 could be the screens of the phones. The new phone will reportedly have a 6.3-inch FHD+ display, making it slightly larger than the 6.2-inch display used on the Galaxy S25, according to specs shared by leaker Ice Universe. The S26 will reportedly come with 12GB of RAM, 256GB or 512GB of storage, and a slightly larger 4,300mAh battery. However, Samsung isn’t changing the cameras on the entry-level phone: leaks suggest it will have the same 50-megapixel main camera, a 12-megapixel ultrawide, a 10-megapixel 3x telephoto, and a 12-megapixel selfie camera as the previous generation. The changes appear to be even more minor on the Galaxy S26+. Apart from the new Snapdragon chip, the phone will reportedly have the same 6.7-inch FHD+ screen, 4,900mAh battery, 12GB of RAM, and the same camera array used on the base Galaxy S26.

The differences between the Galaxy S26 Ultra and the Galaxy S25 Ultra are reportedly a bit obvious. according to Android HeadlinesThe cameras on the new phones will be slightly more prominent, and will stand out due to the new metallic finish. After using a titanium frame on both the Galaxy S24 and S25 Ultra, Samsung may also switch back to using an aluminum frame on the Galaxy S26 Ultra. Most importantly, for the phone to actually support Qi2 rather than just technically working with the standard when the case is attached, rumors suggest Samsung will remove the S Pen digitizer layer in the phone and adopt a new method for accepting stylus input. It’s unclear what exactly that new method will be, but it could let the Galaxy S26 Ultra work more easily with Qi2 accessories without losing its stylus.

galaxy buds 4

Case in point Galaxy Buds 3 Pro. (engadget)

Samsung released the Galaxy Buds 3 and 3 Pro in 2024 with a major redesign that brought them in line with Apple’s AirPods. According to leaked images from the Samsung Tips app, the Galaxy Buds 4 and Buds 4 Pro rumored to be announced by Samsung soon won’t necessarily change, although they will have a more compact case and less angular stems.

Support for head gestures to accept and reject calls, a feature that Apple included in the AirPods Pro 3 and AirPods 4, is also rumored to be in the works on both versions of the new Galaxy Buds. sammobile The report says that the Galaxy Buds 4 and 4 Pro may also come with a new ultra wideband chip that will make them easier to find with Google’s Find Hub network.

Galaxy Z Trifold

Yes, the trifold has one crease, two actually. But they still don't ruin the experience. — Yes, the trifold has one crease, two actually. But they still don’t ruin the experience. (Sam Rutherford for Engadget)

Samsung announced the Galaxy Z Trifold for late 2025, without giving any concrete information about when the new smartphone that folds into a tablet will be available in North America. This information came on January 27, when the company announced that the Trifold would be available in the US on January 30 for a whopping price of $2,900. Considering we’ve already seen the device in person at CES 2026 and people will likely get a chance to see it if they haven’t bought the foldable for themselves by the time Unpacked arrives, we don’t expect Samsung to spend too much time on it.

Galaxy S26 Edge

Measuring just 5.8mm thick, the Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge is one of the thinnest smartphones ever made. (Sam Rutherford for Engadget)

When the Galaxy S25 Edge was announced in 2025, it seemed possible that Samsung might replace its “Plus” smartphones with a unique form factor, like Apple has opted to do with the iPhone Air. There have been conflicting reports on the matter, but it looks like Samsung won’t be doing this with the Galaxy S26 Edge.

Instead, the smartphone will reportedly remain another option, like the foldable, for customers who aren’t impressed with Samsung’s traditional smartphones. The Galaxy S26 Edge is rumored to have a slightly different design than last year’s model Android HeadlinesWith a large rectangular camera plateau that’s reminiscent of Google’s Pixel phones, and the raised oval used on the Apple iPhone Air. Additionally, the phone is also expected to be slightly thinner at 5.5mm compared to the 5.8mm Galaxy S25 Edge.

Bixby and other AI features

Samsung already serves as the first place for Google to show off new AI features for Android, but the company is reportedly exploring other AI partnerships as well. In June 2025, bloomberg The report says Samsung is close to a deal with Perplexity to integrate its AI-powered search engine into OneUI and its homegrown mobile browser. Perplexity already has a deal with Motorola on its Razr phone, so the only thing that makes the deal with Samsung unusual is the company’s already close relationship with Google.

The company also accidentally announced a new version of its Bixby AI assistant, which will likely integrate with Perplexity and could serve as an alternative to Google Gemini. The new Bixby and deeper integration with Perplexity both seem like natural new software features to show off at Galaxy Unpacked.

Update, January 27, 2026, 11:55 am ET: This story has been updated to reflect the latest news about pricing and availability of the Galaxy Z Trifold in the US.

Updated, January 30, 2026, 12:45 PM ET: This story has been updated to include the latest leaks on potential dates for Unpacked 2026.

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