At Samsung Unpacked in San Francisco, the company revealed its new Galaxy S26 series phones, including, in line with previous generations, the S26, S26+, and S26 Ultra. Referring to the devices as “effortless AI phones,” Samsung is leaning heavily into an AI-driven experience with several enhancements unique to these devices.
Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra Upgrades
The most enhanced model in the line, of course, is the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra, which comes with a Privacy Display for mobile that prevents others from viewing what’s on the screen when looking off angle. It works by controlling how pixels disperse light so content is clear, bright, and comfortable for you while limiting what others can see. Unlike traditional stick-on privacy films, this integrated feature preserves full viewing quality from all directions when off. You can leave it on all the time, set it to only activate for certain applications, like banking, or activate it when you enter a password or PIN.
All three models deliver a customized AI experience, supporting by a powerful processor and upgraded thermal management. The Galaxy S26 Ultra comes equipped with the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 Mobile Platform for Galaxy, able to handle complex workloads, gaming, and multitasking without lag. This is supported by the new Vapor Chamber with thermal interface material positioned along the sides of the processor, allowing heat to spread more efficiently across a larger surface area. This, says Samsung, improves heat dissipation to keep the device cool and consistent.
To support all-day use, Galaxy S26 Ultra retains the same 5,000mAh battery as its predecessor but increases the charging speed to up to 60W (with a compatible charger) via Super Fast Charging 3.0 and 25W Super Fast Wireless Charging. It continues to include Wireless PowerShare.
The cameras include a 50MP ultra-wide, 200MP wide, 50MP telephoto, 10MP telephoto, and 12MP front camera. Wider camera apertures allow more light to reach the sensor, delivering clearer photos with richer details in low-light conditions, even when zoomed in. For selfies, AI improvements ensure more natural skin tones and finer details in mixed lighting. Enhanced Nightography Video keeps footage clearer and more vibrant in dim scenes, Samsung claims.
Video capture is further enhanced with upgraded Super Steady capabilities, which adds a really neat horizontal lock option that ensures consistent framing, even with bumpy trails or fast-paced activities, and even if you rotate the phone while filming.
AI Enhancements for the Series
When it comes to editing photos, you get an AI-enhanced experience. There’s the upgraded Photo Assist suite so you can simply describe what you want to change in your own words. It can also add to images and restore missing elements like a bite taken out of a cake. Personal details, like a stain, can be cleaned up with Galaxy AI’s new ability to change outfits in photos. Edits can now be made continuously, reviewed step by step, and easily adjusted or undone along the way.
With Creative Studio, you can start with a sketch, photo, or prompt and turn the idea into a compelling visual as a sticker, invitation, wallpaper, and more. Document Scan, meanwhile, has been improved to remove distortions, like creases, folds, and fingers. Multiple images can be organized automatically into a single PDF, making it easy to digitize receipts, forms, or notes.
The idea behind the enhancements to Galaxy AI is to reduce the number of steps between intent and action, working more proactively to help you get things done. Based on context, it can surface the right information and automate tasks, like booking a lunch with friends or planning a vacation.
With Now Nudge, timely and relevant suggestions help you avoid distractions. If a friend asks for photos from a recent trip to New York, for example, Galaxy S26 automatically suggests photos from the Gallery, removing the need to search through albums or switch between apps.
Now Brief has become more proactive and personalized as well. It surfaces timely reminders for important events, like reservations and travel updates, based on personal context.
Searching for information is also easier. Circle to Search with Google on the Galaxy S26 series has been upgraded with enhanced multi-object recognition, so you can now explore more deeply on multiple parts of an image at once. If you spot a look you love, the feature also identifies everything from the jacket to the shoes, all in one search.
An upgraded Bixby conversational device agent is more intuitive and makes it easier to interact with Galaxy devices. You can navigate devices and adjust settings using natural language, without the need for exact terminology or commands.
Alongside Bixby, the Galaxy S26 series integrates a choice of agents, including Gemini and Perplexity. Once set up, tasks can be completed with a single button press or voice prompt. Galaxy S26 can also handle multi-step tasks in the background, streamlining the process on your behalf. For example, with Gemini, booking a taxi is as simple as asking, reviewing the details, and tapping confirm. These agents support tasks like searching and carrying out complex tasks seamlessly across apps through natural interaction.
AI-powered Call Screening identifies unknown callers and summarizes why they called, making it easier to safely manage calls. Privacy Alerts uses machine learning to proactively notify you in real time when apps with device admin privileges unnecessarily attempt to access sensitive data, such as precise location, call logs, or contacts. These alerts help you quickly understand when apps are seeking deeper access, so you can manage permissions with greater clarity and control.
Private Album, built directly into Gallery, lets you hide selected photos and videos without creating a separate folder or signing into a Samsung Account. To stay ahead of emerging threats, the Galaxy S26 series also extends Samsung’s innovation in post-quantum cryptography (PQC) to critical system processes, including software verification and firmware protection, strengthening device integrity for the future.
Privacy and Security
New updates to Knox Matrix further strengthen protection across connected Galaxy devices, adding PQC-enabled end-to-end encryption for more services like eSIM transfers and clearer visibility into firmware update status across the ecosystem through Security Status of Your Devices.
These experiences are supported by Samsung Knox, the multi-layer security platform that protects Galaxy devices from the chip-level up. For on-device Galaxy AI, the Personal Data Engine (PDE)20 enables context-aware, personalized AI experiences. To keep this process safe, Knox Enhanced Encrypted Protection (KEEP) encrypts each app’s data, while Knox Vault adds a physical layer of protection that isolates sensitive data.
These updates build on Galaxy’s existing security and privacy portfolio, which includes Auto Blocker, Theft Protection, Private Sharing, Secure Wi-Fi, and more.
As with all the latest Samsung Galaxy phones, these new models come with seven years of security updates.
Samsung Galaxy Buds4 Series
Complementing the new phones are the Galaxy Buds4 series, which deliver rich, immersive hifi sound and support gesture control. When a Galaxy S26 phon is paired with Galaxy Buds, interactions can continue naturally while hands free. You can activate AI agents with voice and manage calls through simple Head Gestures on Buds4 Pro. The Galaxy Buds4 come in black or white for an MSRP of $250 and the Galaxy Buds4 Pro in black, white, or pink gold (e-store online) for $330.
Pricing and Basic Specs
Here’s a breakdown of the basics and pricing for these three models in Canada.
Samsung Galaxy S26
The base model comes in Cobalt Violet, Sky Blue, and Black with a 6.3-inch 2,340 x 1,080 FHD+ Dynamic AMOLED 2x screen. It is powered by the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 processor with 12GB RAM and has a 4,300mAh battery with 25W wired and 15W wireless charging. Cameras include a 50MP wide main, 12MP ultra-wide, 10MP telephoto with 3x optical zoom, and 12MP front. Get it in 256GB or 512GB capacities. It’s $1,250 for the 256GB version and $1,530 for the 512GB.
Samsung Galaxy S26+
This step-up model comes in the same three colour options with similar specs except a larger 6.7-inch 3,120 x ,1440 QHD+ Dynamic AMOLED 2x screen, bigger 4,900mAh battery with 45W wired and 20W wireless charging. It has the same cameras, processor, and storage capacities. The 256GB will sell for $1,530 and the 512GB for $1,810.
Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra
The top-line model comes with a 6.9-inch 3,120 x 1,440 QHD+ Dynamic AMOLED 2x screen, up to 16GB RAM, and a larger 5,000mAh battery with up to 60W wired and 25W wireless charging speeds. Available in the same colours with the same processor, you can get it in a 1TB version as well. The cameras are better, too, with a 200MP wide main, 50MP ultra-wide, 50MP telephoto lens with 5x optical zoom, 10MP telephoto lens with 3x optical zoom, and 12MP front camera. As the premium model in the line, the 256GB option will set you back $1,900, the 512GB $2,180, and the 1TB $2,600.