GSMCritic Take:
With its vibrant LTPO OLED display, smooth Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 performance, and long-lasting battery, this phone delivers a polished flagship experience, though its slower 25W charging means topping up takes longer than many competitors.
Screen:
6.3"
Weight:
167g
Waterproof
Charging:
25W
Optical Zoom:
3x
Thickness:
7.2mm
Screen covers
90% of body
Reviews
Overall rating and the reviews that impact it
Pros
Camera
High-Quality Rear Cameras: The camera system is capable of producing consistently high-quality photos.
Excellent Front Camera: The front-facing camera includes autofocus and is considered excellent for selfies and front-facing capture.
Advanced Video Tools: The phone supports video features such as LUTs and Horizon Lock for flexible video creation and stabilization.
Performance
Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 for Galaxy: The device is powered by the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 for Galaxy chipset, enabling exceptionally fast and responsive performance.
Good Thermal Management: The device maintains solid heat control under load with generally good thermal management relative to its performance.
Phone Appearance
Premium Build: The phone features a premium construction with a clean, modern aesthetic that feels polished and high-end.
Compact Flagship Design: Despite being a flagship device, it maintains a compact form factor while remaining thin and lightweight.
IP68 Water and Dust Resistance: The phone carries an IP68 rating, providing flagship-grade protection against dust and water.
Display
Bright LTPO OLED Display: The device uses a bright LTPO OLED panel that delivers vibrant colors and strong brightness in everyday use.
Battery
Larger Battery Than Previous Generation: The phone includes a larger battery compared with the previous generation model.
Strong Battery Endurance: Battery life is described as excellent in many scenarios and can last for days under certain conditions.
Improved Charging vs Galaxy S25: Charging speeds are faster than those of the Galaxy S25.
Software
Smooth System Responsiveness: The phone delivers extremely smooth and quick system behavior with consistently responsive interactions.
Intuitive Software Interface: The software interface is widely regarded as intuitive and modern.
Galaxy AI Features: The device includes upgraded Galaxy AI capabilities along with additional AI assistant options and AI-powered features.
Long Software Support: The phone is promised seven years of Android version updates and security patches.
Cons
Camera
Cameras Not Groundbreaking: Although capable of high-quality photos, the rear cameras are often described as competent rather than extraordinary.
Missing 4K 120fps Video: The phone does not support 4K video recording at 120 frames per second.
Unintuitive Night Mode: The dedicated Night mode implementation can feel unintuitive and may not behave as users expect.
Performance
Cooling Not as Strong as S26 Ultra: The cooling system does not reach the thermal performance level achieved by the Galaxy S26 Ultra.
Phone Appearance
Lower IP Rating Than Some Rivals: The device has an IP68 rating while some competing Android devices offer IP69 protection.
Display
No 10-bit Color: The display does not support true 10-bit color depth.
No Dolby Vision: The screen lacks support for Dolby Vision.
No High-Frequency PWM Dimming: The display does not include high-frequency PWM dimming technology.
No Privacy Display: The phone does not include a Privacy Display feature for protecting screen visibility in public.
Battery
Battery Not Class-Leading: While battery life is good, some impressions note it is not among the strongest available compared with other flagship devices.
25W Wired Charging: Wired charging is limited to 25W.
Price
$100 Price Increase: The phone introduces a $100 price increase tied to additional storage.
Software
No APV Video Codec: The device lacks support for the APV video codec available on the S26 Ultra.
Limited Perplexity Integration: Integration with the Perplexity assistant exists but remains limited in scope.
Connectivity
Minor Upgrade Over Galaxy S25: The device is very similar to the Galaxy S25 with only modest changes and incremental improvements.
Rankings
Where Samsung Galaxy S26 stands in 2026
Best Phone Of 2026
#15
Highest Optical Zoom
#16
Largest Screen
#33
Smallest Screen
🥈#2
Lightest
🥇#1
Thinnest
🥈#2
Fastest Charging
#34
Highest Screen Ratio
#20
Cheapest
#18
