TL;DR According to leaks, Samsung is expected to unveil the Galaxy S26 series on February 25, with open sales starting March 11.
A new leak says the Galaxy S26 series will be available for pre-order from February 26 to March 4 and will also be on a “pre-sale” period from March 5 to March 10.
While this leaked timeline is for South Korea, it could also apply to the USA, as both regions have long been among Samsung’s first-wave markets for past Galaxy S flagship releases.
We’re almost through January, and Samsung’s widely anticipated Galaxy S26 series flagships haven’t launched yet, defying the release timeline of its recent predecessors. Leaks suggest the Galaxy S26 series could launch on February 25 and go on sale on March 11. Now, a new leak corroborates this timeline for another key region and fills in some gaps.
Don’t want to miss the best from Android Authority? Set us as a favorite source in Google Discover to never miss our latest exclusive reports, expert analysis, and much more.
to never miss our latest exclusive reports, expert analysis, and much more. You can also set us as a preferred source in Google Search by clicking the button below.
Leaker Ice Universe has shared Galaxy S26’s launch and release timeline for South Korea.
According to the leaker, Samsung will hold an Unpacked event on February 25, while the phone will go on open sale on March 11. This aligns with previous leaks, but those were for Europe. South Korea is one of Samsung’s primary markets, and it is usually part of the first wave of releases alongside the USA, so we can cautiously expect the same timeline to extend to the US as well.
The leaker mentions that the Galaxy S26 series will be on pre-order from February 26 to March 4. The new flagship series will also be on a “pre-sale” period between March 5 and March 10 — the leaker did not clarify what changes there are between pre-order and pre-sale periods. If we’re allowed to guess, some pre-order benefits might not extend into the pre-sale period, but that remains to be seen.
Previous Galaxy flagships have launched earlier in the year. For instance, the Galaxy S25 series was unveiled on January 22, 2025, while the Galaxy S24 series was unveiled on January 17, 2024.
... continue reading