Samsung Galaxy S26 series: everything you need to know

There's that funny feeling you get when you know someone is peering over your shoulder on the train.

We've all been there, awkwardly tilting our phones away to hide a private text or a work email.

I was lucky enough to attend a Galaxy Unpacked briefing, and what I saw was a next-generation solution to this universal problem: the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra, headlined by its world-first privacy display.

This tech allows you to black out your screen for anyone not looking at it head-on, and seeing it in person was genuinely mind-boggling.

And while we are saying goodbye to the 'Edge' for now, the new lineup is more unified, powerful and built with more AI tools than ever.

Here's everything you need to know about the Samsung S26 series phones.

NOTE: Prices are accurate at the time of publishing.

Samsung Galaxy S26 series at a glance...

• Official release date: Pre-orders open February 26, with an official Australian launch on March 11, 2026.
• The lineup: Includes the 6.3-inch Galaxy S26, the 6.7-inch Galaxy S26+, and the 6.9-inch Galaxy S26 Ultra.
• Pricing: The S26 Ultra starts at $2199, with the base S26 at $1549 and the S26+ at $1849.
• Colours: Cobalt violet, sky blue, black, white, silver shadow, pink gold.
• Headline feature: World-first privacy display and a jump to 60W fast charging and 25W super fast wireless charging on the S26 Ultra.
• Performance: Powered by the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 for Galaxy (Ultra) and the Exynos 2600 (Base and plus).

Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra: Privacy for the win

The Galaxy S26 Ultra is the clear star of the show, and it offers more than just a spec bump this year. Holding the Ultra always feel great, and this year it's 0.3mm thinner and 0.7g lighter than last year's.

The biggest upgrade is undoubtedly the privacy display, which uses a new pixel structure for maximum privacy protection from unwanted angles.

You can turn this on through the quick settings, and it's completely customisable – whether you want to block out notifications, pins, the whole screen or just parts of it. I got to see this in action, and up, down, left, right – it works like magic.

Under the hood, it packs the much-anticipated Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 processor for Galaxy, which provides faster performance. We also see a jump to 60W wired fast charging, going from zero to 75 per cent battery in 30 minutes.

Plus, the new redesigned vapour chamber lets you keep your phone more consistent, and the phone will support 25W super-fast wireless charging (although you'll still need a case for a magnetic snap-on).

Pre-order from $2199

Samsung Galaxy S26 and S26 Plus: More unified

Samsung has unified the design language this year, giving the S26 and S26+ the same corner radii and colour palette as the Ultra, including dark magenta and black.

The standard Galaxy S26 offers an upgrade to a 6.3-inch display and a bigger 4300mAh battery. Both models here will feature the Exynos 2600 chip for better performance, and the S26 Plus gets the new super-fast wireless charging.

Galaxy S26 | $1549Galaxy S26+ | $1849

Finally, useful updates to the camera system

While Samsung isn't directly changing the megapixel line-up of cameras on their phones, they have designed them to deliver more consistent and natural results.

The Ultra now delivers the brightest aperture ever on a Galaxy flagship, with the 200MP sensor now being 47 per cent brighter and the 50Mp sensor being 37 per cent brighter.

If you're a video creator as well, or like to capture footage on the go, the new Super Steady 360 feature adds automatic locking. This lets you literally turn the camera upside down whilst still retaining a steady cam.

The S26 Ultra now also provides APV support, with up to 8k 30FPS video footage.

Another step towards an AI phone

Samsung's real story of this launch is another step towards an AI phone paradigm.

I'll start with the most practical feature, that being call screening. You can now have Galaxy AI answer unknown numbers to help identify who's calling and why they're calling.

Your in-built assistants will be getting upgrades too. Gemini can be used to perform daily tasks, like prompting the phone to book Uber. Bixby gets some love, too, using an advanced learning language model to help control your Samsung ecosystem better.

One of my personal favourite upgrades is in the Now Bar and Now Brief feature set. They'll be using a more personal data engine to surface relevant information, rather than spewing the same content.

We're getting another Now addition too: the Now Nudge. If you've seen Google's Magic Cue, it's the same feature. Based on the context, your device will now provide real-time suggestions, like setting a calendar invite when you're texting and making plans with a friend.

If you're someone who likes using the Photo Assist tools too, that's getting an upgrade! You'll be able to refine images with simple prompts, even letting you adjust your every action through a scrollable history.

Finally, if you're someone who likes using the Audio Eraser tool, you can now scrub through third-party apps like YouTube, Instagram, Netflix and more, using this tool.

So what's missing this year?

While I can see genuine value in all of these AI upgrades, and the privacy screen being a hit new feature, Samsung is arguably still playing it safe.

• Familiar camera setup: Again, we're seeing pretty much the same hardware at play. We're missing a serious hardware upgrade.
• No integrated magnetic charging: Even Google's Pixel 10 series has its own form of MagSafe.
• Base charging gap: The base S26 and S26 plus still see slower wired charging, missing out on the super-fast speeds.
• Base screen gap: It's a shame the S26 doesn't get a privacy screen as well.
• Last year's pricing: The base model has gone up in price.

Curious to know more? Check them out here

Galaxy S26 UltraGalaxy S26+Galaxy S26

Is it worth the upgrade?

If you're coming from an older device, or you can score a serious trade-in offer, Samsung's got a few good reasons to upgrade.

The Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra has the headline feature of its Privacy Display, which arguably has fantastic use cases if you're perturbed by people peering over you.

The Samsung Galaxy S26 and S26+ offer some modest upgrades, although the biggest feature will be their upgraded chipsets and immediate access to the new AI features.

If any of these new features sound great to you, then indulge and enjoy! Otherwise, it might be worth waiting another year, or perhaps for the next generation of foldable phones from Samsung.

READ MORE: Australia's thinnest foldable phone is (almost) perfect