I loved last year’s Galaxy S25. Its small size and lack of weight felt refreshing after years spent with Samsung’s Ultra phones. I should love the Galaxy S26, then. It’s still small, it still weighs practically nothing, and it has a larger battery than last year. Despite those changes, I’m disappointed by the Galaxy S26, not because of what it is, but because of what it could have been.
Should Samsung have made a Galaxy S26 Pro
2 votes
The Galaxy S26 Pro: What might have been
Hadlee Simons / Android Authority
With how quickly the rumor mill accelerates, I wouldn’t blame you for forgetting about the Galaxy S26 Pro. Last summer, the rumored Galaxy S26 lineup looked drastically different from what Samsung launched. For a time, it looked like Samsung was going to release a Galaxy S26 Pro, S26 Edge, and S26 Ultra, and as we know, only one of those phones exists.
I had visions of Samsung making an equivalent to the Pixel 10 Pro or iPhone 17 Pro.
There weren’t any rumored specs to go along with the Galaxy S26 Pro, but the name gave us a lot to speculate on. For years, Samsung fans have been asking for something smaller than the Ultra model without losing out on all of its features. I personally had visions of Samsung making an equivalent to the Pixel 10 Pro or iPhone 17 Pro.
Imagine it: a small and compact 6.3-inch Samsung phone with a 200MP primary cam, 50MP ultrawide-angle, and 50MP 5X telephoto lens. A camera-focused phone that doesn’t break your fingers when you try to use it with one hand and doesn’t feel like a brick in your pocket. The S Pen and 10MP 3X lens could be scrapped to save space and allow the Ultra to keep some of its uniqueness. The S Pen likely wouldn’t have fit anyway, and the 3X lens is tired and useless even on the Ultra.
The Galaxy S26 is just more of the same
Zac Kew-Denniss / Android Authority
Reality turned out very different from this fantasy. The Galaxy S26 is an S25 with a new chip, higher base storage, and a display and battery that have gotten marginally bigger. It’s the same phone we’ve seen from Samsung for years now, and that isn’t an exaggeration. The Galaxy S26 has identical rear cameras to the Galaxy S22 from 2022. They’re not awful cameras, but compare them to any competitor in this price range, and things fall apart, especially when you factor in the shutter lag that plagues all of Samsung’s phones.
Samsung Galaxy S26Samsung Galaxy S26
Powerful performance • New Galaxy AI features • Bigger Battery
Compact flagship with Galaxy AI and strong performance
The compact flagship of the lineup, pairing a slightly larger display with solid battery life, fast performance, and the full suite of Galaxy AI features in a more affordable package.
I’m not saying the Galaxy S26 is a bad phone. As I said at the outset, I loved the Galaxy S25, and I’m sure I’d love the Galaxy S26 if I had one, too. But you can still point out the flaws in something you love, and the Galaxy S26 is an inherently flawed device that costs more than last year, despite the fact that it carries few meaningful upgrades.
We can speculate about why the Galaxy S26 Pro never happened. Component costs, supply shortages, or maybe it was a false rumor to begin with. It doesn’t matter. I couldn’t care less about why the Galaxy S26 Pro doesn’t exist. What I do care about is the Galaxy S26 being a disappointing parts bin special, and that Samsung’s customers deserve so much better than this.
How do you feel about the Galaxy S26? Do you think Samsung missed a trick by not giving it the overhaul it deserves? Please let us know.
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