Samsung Galaxy S26 and S26 Plus will predominantly use the Exynos 2600 silicon across the global market. Only China, Japan, and North America grab the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 version. These two phones have gone official now, and the upgrades lean heavily on the software side, rather than hardware. Here’s everything you need to know.
Samsung Galaxy S26
Exynos 2600 is the new 2nm hexacore CPU from Samsung’s own foundry, but it’s nowhere close to the performance of the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 4 (for Galaxy) version in single-core power. So most of the global market is getting the bitter end of the stick here.
There’s no longer a 128GB storage option in the mix for Galaxy S26, because that’s the thing of the past now. The base S26 starts at 256GB with 12GB RAM. The AMOLED screen’s a little bigger now (6.3”), though it’s still your FHD+ resolution and 120Hz LTPO refresh rate panel.
A 4,300 mAh battery is slapped inside the Galaxy S26 this time, and that’s up from last year’s 4,000 mAh cell. There’s no good news on the charging speeds, sadly, because the phone is stuck at 25W input of its forerunner. A 15W wireless input is also supported here.
There’s a Now Nudge Feature in their Galaxy AI package this time. That will bring up relevant photos you took or remind you of previous conversations during your chats. Now Brief pulls more details from your device with its Personal Data engine to show you at a glance.
The screenshots folder is always a mess on our devices, so they’ve made an AI tool to organize those photos by categories. Call screening works even better, and the Audio eraser now also works with media playing on your phone. The toggle is in Quick Panel, by the way.
Again, all the upgrades are software-heavy. Nothing much has really changed with the cameras. There’s a 50MP unit (main) with a 12MP ultrawide. The third lens is a Telephoto 10MP 3X, and the selfie shooter is a basic 12MP lens. They did bump the price for all three phones. So the Galaxy S26 now starts at €1000 (PKR 329,000).
Samsung Galaxy S26 Plus
The Plus version only differs in the hardware. So the soft features we’ve covered above apply here as well. Galaxy S26 Plus has the same chipset disparity, but the battery is obviously bigger at 4,900 mAh. This is not an upgrade, though, since Galaxy S25+ had the same cell.
There’s a small wireless charging bump to 20W, and the wired charging is still locked at 45W. This S26 Plus also has a bigger screen of 6.7” diagonal length. The resolution is 1440p or WQHD+ with a 1-120Hz LTPO refresh rate. They didn’t touch the brightness, as the phone features 2600 nits again.
Galaxy S26 Plus is strapped with the same camera gear as the basic Galaxy S26. All the sensors are identical. And all three siblings from the lineup have that Video 360-degree horizontal lock for super steady recording. That new and enhanced AI ISP boosts the selfie shots.
These phones are aluminum-built with an IP68 rating. Two speakers and WiFi 7 tri-band are added to each handset. Every phone has ultrasonic fingerprint ID and Samsung Dex. Galaxy S26 Plus is also a bit more costly this year. Its starter 12/256GB version is €1250 (~PKR 411,000).