Samsung’s upcoming Galaxy S26 series details have been leaked ahead of the devices’ launch that is expected to take place early next year. These details suggest that Samsung has replaced the Plus smartphone in the S-series with the Edge, will equip the S26 Ultra with new display technology, and more.
Samsung Galaxy S26 Series Details: What We Know
According to Korean outlet “The Elec,” the Galaxy S26 series will consist of three devices as usual, but there will be no Galaxy S26+. Instead, it will be replaced by the Galaxy S26 Edge, which will be the successor to this year’s Galaxy S25 Edge. Further, the report added that the Galaxy S26 will have a 6.27-inch display, the EDGE will have a 6.66-inch panel, and the Galaxy S26 Ultra will have the biggest 6.89-inch panel.
Speaking of displays, the Galaxy S26 Ultra will employ new display technology according tipster Ice Universe. This will be a CoE OLED panel, short for Color Filter on Encapsulation. This advanced display technology replaces the traditional polarizer with a color filter and swaps the usual Pixel definition layer (PDL) for a black PDL. The result is a thinner panel design that improves light transmittance.
Thanks to this new structure, the display is expected to be more power-efficient while delivering higher peak brightness. In other words, the screen not only becomes slimmer but also contributes to better battery life. Additionally, the tipster claims that Samsung will apply its latest anti-reflective coating on the Galaxy S26 Ultra’s display, further enhancing visibility and overall user experience.
Coming to cameras, German publication WinFuture revealed the optics’ details for model names NPA1, NPA2, and NPA3, which are believed to be the codenames for the three Galaxy S26 series phones. According to the leak, Galaxy S26 Ultra (NPA3) may have a 200MP main camera and a 50MP telephoto sensor with 5x optical zoom. The Galaxy S26 Edge (NPA2) could be getting a 50MP ultra-wide angle sensor, while the base model S26 may not receive any camera upgrades at all. The cameras may also become slimmer thanks to the use of inkjet printing with matte ink, which replaces the traditional film used to block light reflections and prevent light overlap within each lens module.
The 200MP sensor on the Ultra may be an upcoming sensor from Sony this time, instead of Samsung using its own HP2 sensor. The 50MP ultra-wide angle sensor on the S26 Edge would be a welcome upgrade over the 12MP sensor on the S25 Edge. The disappointment could lie in the base model S26, where the sensor setup would remain the same as the Galaxy S23 from nearly 3 years back at the time.
Battery details remain scarce for the Galaxy S26 and S26 Edge but for the S26 Ultra, it was recently revealed through a leak that the Galaxy S26 Ultra battery size is expected to be the same as previous seven generations of Ultra flagships, and that is 5000mAh. However, Samsung may have increased the battery density this time around, which means the battery size is substantially decreased.
This allows for more space within the device but Samsung hasn’t made use of it to add any new features. Instead, the leak said that the company may have used this advantage to make the device slimmer. Same battery size as the flagships from past 4 to 5 years could look like a disappointment but paired with the new efficient display and a more efficient chip, the performance may not be as bad as one would be expecting.
As for processor, it is rumoured that the Galaxy S26 series could pack the Exynos 2600 Chipset but only in Europe. After seeing a potentially successful rollout out of Exynos 2400 in the S24 series and potentially Exynos 2500 in the Galaxy Z Flip 7, Samsung may opt for Exynos in Europe again this time. However, rest of the world may get the Snapdragon 8 Elite 2 chip-powered models.