Samsung Galaxy S26, S26 Ultra launch soon: Leaked design, price, camera, battery and more

With the Samsung Galaxy S26 launch said to be lined up for late February, early reports are now talking about possible price changes, visible design tweaks, camera upgrades and some long-awaited improvements in charging and battery life, especially on the Galaxy S26 Ultra model.

Samsung's next flagship phones may be closer than many expected, and leaks around the Galaxy S26 series are already painting a fairly detailed picture. With a launch said to be lined up for late February, early reports are now talking about possible price changes, visible design tweaks, camera upgrades and some long-awaited improvements in charging and battery life, especially on the Galaxy S26 Ultra model. Here is everything you need to know about the upcoming Samsung flagship phones.

According to reports from South Korea, Samsung is likely to unveil the Galaxy S26 lineup next month, possibly on February 25 at an event in San Francisco. While the company has not confirmed anything officially, multiple leaks suggest the Galaxy S26, S26 Plus and S26 Ultra are entering the final stages before launch. Pricing details for Samsung’s home market have already surfaced, hinting that this year’s flagships may not be as affordable as their predecessors.

A report from Korean outlet FN News claims Samsung is planning to raise prices in South Korea. The base 256GB variants of the Galaxy S26 series could see a hike of around KRW 44,000 to KRW 88,000 compared to the Galaxy S25 lineup. For reference, the Galaxy S25 launched at KRW 1,155,000, the S25 Plus at KRW 1,353,000 and the S25 Ultra at KRW 1,698,400. Even a small jump within that range would be noticeable, especially since Samsung has largely tried to avoid major increases over the past few years.

Interestingly, the same report suggests that Samsung may not roll out these higher prices everywhere at launch. In markets like the US, the Galaxy S26 series could debut at familiar price points, roughly $800 for the S26, $1,000 for the S26 Plus and $1,300 for the S26 Ultra. However, these prices may be tied to early launch offers, and it remains unclear how long they would last or which other regions might benefit from similar deals.

India-specific pricing is still a question mark. The Galaxy S25 series started at Rs 80,999 for the base model, Rs 99,999 for the S25 Plus and Rs 1,29,999 for the S25 Ultra. Last year, Samsung kept the Plus and Ultra prices unchanged compared to the Galaxy S24, while the base model saw only a minor increase. With the Galaxy S26 Ultra tipped to bring several hardware upgrades, a price hike in India would not be surprising, though Samsung has often tried to keep its flagship phones cheaper than Apple’s Pro iPhones.

The reason behind a possible price increase is largely tied to rising component costs. The memory prices have gone up sharply, with reports claiming the cost of 12GB LPDDR5X RAM has more than doubled in a year and could rise further. NAND storage prices are also climbing. On top of that, the Korean won has weakened against the US dollar, pushing up the cost of imported parts. Samsung reportedly spent a record KRW 11 trillion on smartphone chipsets in the second half of last year, much of it paid to Qualcomm.