Amid the Greco-Roman grandeur of the Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco, Samsung announced the Galaxy S26, S26 Plus and S26 Ultra at its Galaxy Unpacked event on Wednesday. The phones are a follow-up to last year's Galaxy S25 series and have a unified design, top-of-the-line Snapdragon processors and AI features that seem truly useful, such as the ability to order an Uber with your voice from the lock screen.
The Galaxy S26 and S26 Plus also come with a $100 price hike, with the S26 starting at $900 and the Plus at $1,100 (that's just $200 less than the $1,300 S26 Ultra). It's unclear if tariffs or the ongoing RAM shortage were to blame for the price increase, but Samsung has a number of preorder deals to make up for the difference.
At a time when phone-makers are sprinting to incorporate AI into their phones and develop features that connect with people, Samsung is making a renewed push with its third-generation Galaxy AI. Whether it's taking better selfies, swapping out a shirt you're wearing in a photo for another, or delivering relevant info and resources at your fingertips when you need them, the Galaxy S26 and S26 Plus might be that turning point that convinces people skeptical of AI to give it a try.
During a briefing on the new phones, a Samsung representative said that the Galaxy S26 and S26 Plus have "AI all over the place," and based on my time with them so far, I couldn't agree more.
The Galaxy S26, S26 Plus and S26 Ultra are available to preorder and will be in stores on March 11. Be sure to read CNET senior reporter Abrar Al-Heeti's Galaxy S26 Ultra hands-on story to learn more about it.
Watch this: The Galaxy S26 Has a Bigger Screen, Battery and Price 04:04
Galaxy S26 design: Bigger but slim
The Galaxy S26 has a 6.3-inch screen and is slightly taller than last year's Galaxy S25. Vanessa Hand Orellana/CNET
The base model of the Galaxy S26 has a new design, but the S26 Plus, not so much. The S26's display grew from 6.2 inches on the S25 to 6.3 inches. The phone is a hair taller and wider as a result. It simultaneously seems much bigger, thanks to that extra screen real estate, and yet feels just as slim as the S25, at 7.2mm thick.
The S26 Plus has the same 6.7-inch screen as last year's S25 Plus. Both phones (and the Ultra) come in cobalt violet, white, sky blue and black.
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