Samsung Galaxy S26 vs Galaxy S25: A big leap, or more of the same?
Samsung tends to refresh its high-end Galaxy S line of smartphones at the start of the year, which means that the Galaxy S25 series isn’t going to be the top dog for too much longer.
Typically, Samsung releases three models of Galaxy ‘S’ handset at the start of the year, and this time around we’re expecting the regular Samsung Galaxy S26, the larger Samsung Galaxy S26 Plus and the top of the range Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra. We might also see a super-thin Samsung Galaxy S26 Edge, but this is likely to show up later in the year, if at all.
Today, we’re looking at the cheapest of the four, the Samsung Galaxy S26. Will it be a big leap forward from the Galaxy S25, or more of the same? Here’s everything we know so far.
Samsung Galaxy S26 vs Galaxy S25: Specifications
| Row 0 – Cell 0 |
Samsung Galaxy S26 (rumored) |
Samsung Galaxy Galaxy S25 |
|
Display size |
6.27-inch FHD+ AMOLED |
6.2-inch FHD+ AMOLED |
|
Refresh rate |
120Hz adaptive |
120Hz adaptive |
|
Chipset |
Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 / Exynos 2600 (region dependent) |
Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy |
|
Memory |
12GB |
12GB |
|
Storage |
256GB, 512GB |
128GB, 256GB, 512GB |
|
Rear cameras |
50MP main, 12MP ultrawide, 10MP 3x telephoto |
50MP main, 12MP ultrawide, 10MP 3x telephoto |
|
Front camera |
12MP selfie |
12MP selfie |
|
Battery size |
4,300mAh |
4,000 mAh |
Samsung Galaxy S26 vs Galaxy S25: Release date and price
It sounds like the Samsung Galaxy S26 will arrive a couple of weeks later in 2026, with the corresponding Galaxy Unpacked event tipped for February 25. That would push the release of the handset into early March, though a more recent report suggests Samsung will make its usual January announcement after all.
This year, Samsung is rumored to be ditching the 128GB starting point altogether in favor of 256GB, and it’s possible that could coincide with a higher MSRP. Hopefully the $799 starting price will be maintained, so it can remain competitive with the identically priced 256GB iPhone 17, but if not, we wouldn’t expect it to start at more than $899.
Samsung Galaxy S26 vs Galaxy S25: Design and screen
If current leaks are to be believed, the Samsung Galaxy S26 will look practically indistinguishable from its predecessor. This is hardly surprising, as the design language of the Galaxy S series hasn’t seen any big, sudden changes since the Galaxy S21 introduced the traffic-light camera layout.
Nonetheless, there are subtle changes, with design renders from Android Headlines and OnLeaks showing slightly more rounded corners along with a vibrant bright orange design, which reminds me of the beloved canary yellow Galaxy S10e.
It appears the phone will be marginally taller and wider, but also a touch thinner. The leak claims the S26 will be 149.3 x 71.4 x 6.96mm, compared to the S25’s 146.9 x 70.5 x 7.2mm. As a result, the screen is expected to be slightly larger at 6.27 inches, compared to 6.2 on its predecessor. The Full HD+ resolution is expected to remain on the AMOLED screen, with the same 2,600-nit brightness.
Samsung Galaxy S26 vs Galaxy S25: Performance
The biggest improvements for the Samsung Galaxy S26 over its predecessor are expected to come in three areas: speed, storage and battery life.
The first of these could be guessed even without any leaks. Every new generation of Samsung Galaxy S gets Qualcomm’s latest flagship SoC (in the United States, at least — other regions sometimes are allocated the Exynos equivalent).
This year, it’s the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5, and it promises a solid boost to performance, judging by our own benchmarks on Qualcomm’s reference device.
It achieved Geekbench 6 scores of 3,832 in single-core tests and 12,208 in the multi-core equivalent. The Samsung Galaxy S25, for comparison, managed 2,916 and 9,886. It’s a similar story for the 3DMark Wild Life Extreme Unlimited graphical test. The S25 managed 33.9fps on this intensive test, while the reference Qualcomm device hits 40.83fps.
It’s possible that real-world scores will be even better if there’s another ‘For Galaxy’ version of the chipset specifically for Samsung phones with a slightly higher clockspeeds. Though it’s worth remembering that the reference device has 24GB RAM, and the S26 will have exactly half that: 12GB RAM, the same as the S25.
As mentioned earlier, it’s possible that territories outside the United States will get the Exynos 2600 instead of Qualcomm’s chip. That might raise alarm bells, but it sounds like that may not be such a bad thing this year with the chip delivering far better performance than you might expect.
Breaking: Exynos 2600 Performance LeakedAccording to reports from Korean media, the Exynos 2600 delivers the following performance: • Over 6× stronger NPU performance compared to Apple’s A19 Pro chipset • 14% higher multi-core CPU performance • 75%…October 20, 2025
Another improvement rumored to be coming with the Galaxy S26 is with the base level of storage. According to the leaker Ice Universe, the Galaxy S26 will come with either 256GB or 512GB of storage, removing the entry-level 128GB model you could get with the Galaxy S25.
While this isn’t necessarily a direct improvement, given you could get a 256GB version of the Galaxy S25, it’s a definite upgrade if the starting price of $799 is maintained. Previously, doubling the storage to 256GB would cost you an extra $60, after all.
Finally, there’s a rumored boost to battery life. According to the leaker Digital Chat Station, Samsung will go from a 4,000mAh cell on the Galaxy S25 to a 4,300mAh battery in the Galaxy S26. While an extra 300mAh is only around the same as a smartwatch’s battery, the boost is still welcome — especially when paired with efficiency savings the new chipset will bring.
Samsung Galaxy S26 vs Galaxy S25: Cameras
The Samsung Galaxy S26’s camera array is the most debated part of the phone, with a series of contradictory leaks leaving quite a muddled picture overall.
First up, the main camera is set to remain at 50MP, but it may use the newer ISOCELL GN sensor. The sensor may get less attention than raw megapixel count, but it can actually make a bigger difference overall, with larger sensors able to take in more light, boosting performance in tricky conditions.
For the ultra-wide sensor, there’s some debate over whether we’ll see an improvement or not. Alchemist Leaks believes that the 12MP sensor will be bumped to 50MP, while leaked firmware spotted by Smartprix indicates it will be staying at 12MP. Frankly, the latter seems more likely, but we’ll have to wait and see.
The same report suggests that the optical zoom will be jumping from 10MP to 12MP, while retaining the same 3x magnification. That would potentially be exciting, but the leaker Ice Universe has poured cold water on that, saying “with certainty” that all three Galaxy S26 devices will have the same 10MP 3x camera.
I can say with certainty that the Samsung Galaxy S26, S26+, and S26 Ultra all use the same 3x camera specification, which is as follows:3x camera : 10MP , ISOCELL , 1/3.94″ , 1.0μm , F2.4，36°Its effective pixel count is 10MP, not 12MP.Please take a screenshot and save it for… pic.twitter.com/PJoJOLLrQYNovember 10, 2025
Independent of hardware changes, the improved SoC could lead to better image processing too. Taken together, it seems likely that the S26 will be an improvement on the S25 — it’s just a question of how much of one.
Samsung Galaxy S26 vs Galaxy S25: Outlook
As things stand, it seems that the Samsung Galaxy S26’s biggest improvements are going to come on the inside, with an improved processor, a larger starting capacity of 256GB and a slightly bigger battery. The camera outlook is muddled at the moment, but even then, we’re likely to be looking at incremental improvements overall.
All of this combines to make the Samsung Galaxy S26 a strong early contender to be one of the best phones of 2026, but likely an unnecessary upgrade for happy users of the Galaxy S25.
