Samsung’s live Galaxy S26 Unpacked launch event starts. The company introduces its latest flagship lineup with a clear focus on refinement and integration. Samsung emphasizes a lighter Ultra design, expanded AI capabilities, a new hardware-based privacy display, and more. Here is what Samsung is bringing to the Galaxy S26, S26+, and S26 Ultra.
Attractive, Slimmer, Lighter
Samsung has aligned the design language across the Galaxy S26, S26+, and S26 Ultra. All three share the same corner curvature and a camera module design that visually emphasizes the camera system without dramatically altering the silhouette.
The Ultra is described as “the slimmest and lightest Ultra to date”. In hand, it immediately feels surprisingly light for its class. Samsung replaced last year’s titanium frame with an upgraded Armor Aluminum. The company says this is its strongest aluminum formulation so far.
Gorilla Armor 2 protects the Ultra’s front display, while the base and Plus models use Gorilla Glass Victus 2. Samsung also increased the number of recycled materials used in construction.
Immediately feels surprisingly light for its class
One notable design decision is the absence of built-in magnets. Samsung chose to preserve thinness and weight, integrating magnets into many of its official cases instead. For users who rely on magnetic accessories, this shifts functionality to the accessory layer rather than the phone itself.
Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 for Galaxy and Thermal Update
All models are powered by the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 “for Galaxy”. The Ultra uses Snapdragon globally, while the base and Plus models use it in “select regions”.
This platform features Qualcomm’s 3rd Gen Oryon CPU, Adreno GPU, and Hexagon NPU. Samsung emphasizes that this is a deeper collaboration with Qualcomm than in previous generations, hence the “for Galaxy” in some official language. I interpret it as Qualcomm spending more engineering resources to tune things for Samsung.
The customization extends to camera processing and AI workloads, with a clear focus on responsiveness and efficiency. Connectivity is handled by Qualcomm FastConnect 7900. Ultra and Plus models also include integrated Ultra-Wideband.
To support sustained performance, Samsung redesigned the Ultra’s vapor chamber. Despite the thinner chassis, the cooling system now covers a larger surface area. This matters because many of the S26 features, including AI processing and video stabilization, rely on sustained computational performance.
Camera
Samsung describes the S26 as its best Galaxy camera yet. This is represented by the Ultra. Its main wide-angle lens features a brighter f/1.4 aperture and a 200MP sensor. Samsung worked closely with Qualcomm to optimize the image signal processing pipeline.
For video creators, the Ultra introduces support for the Samsung APV professional codec. Samsung says this enables high-quality, near-lossless workflows up to 8K at 30 frames per second. This is the first time the codec appears on a Galaxy device.
Brighter f/1.4 aperture and a 200MP sensor
Real-time horizon lock video stabilization is the real surprise
One of the most interesting additions is real-time horizon lock stabilization. Using gyro and accelerometer data, the phone can maintain a level horizon even if you rotate the device around its depth axis. The effect resembles a built-in gimbal. It is a thoughtful UX feature because it improves perceived production quality without requiring user expertise or extra hardware.
Editing tools in the Gallery app also expand. Photo Assist now supports natural language prompts for editing, including multimodal inputs. You can combine elements from different images through simple instructions.
Creative Studio centralizes sticker and content creation tools. Audio Eraser, introduced previously, now works in select third-party apps. Samsung also added a screenshot organizer that automatically categorizes screenshots into practical groups such as receipts or QR codes.
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