On Wednesday, Samsung officially introduced the latest Galaxy phone series. We were there for the premiere reveal on Monday. Here are our first impressions and fresh insights.
During the presentation, we often felt like Samsung decided to tidy up its own wardrobe. For the first time in a while, the entire line feels like one big family. Unified design, similar curves, and a huge emphasis on user comfort. Galaxy S26, S26 Plus, and S26 Ultra differ mainly in the details. It might sound boring, but in reality, it makes a big difference. The differences are where they actually matter.
S26 and S26+: Small Differences, Big Comfort
The basic S26 surprised us mainly with how small and light it is. In hand, it feels like a prototype, yet it doesn’t lack that premium vibe. Perfect phone for folks who don’t want to carry half a tablet in their pocket. The materials and build feel clean, solid, and mature. Construction-wise, the S26 only made minor leaps—just millimeters and a tenth of an inch in screen size, while the S26+ remains mostly unchanged. The most noticeable upgrade is a slightly larger battery bumping up to 4300 mAh, a real treat that means a full day of standard usage without worrying about running out of juice. Specs talk about roughly 37 hours of active use. Otherwise, it’s all about a fine-tuned operating system and deeper AI integration, now noticeably present at every turn.
The S26+, logically, is the same model, just bigger. Bigger screen, more space, more comfort for your eyes and fingers. It’s the model that traditionally makes sense for people who read a lot, work with emails, maps, or just want a bigger screen without going for the Ultra model. In both cases, Samsung is pushing top displays with high refresh rates and brightness this year. In practice, this means smooth scrolling and better readability outdoors—benefits that don’t sell on a table, but on the street.
S26 Ultra: The Biggest Leap
This year's Ultra isn’t just the priciest. It’s the model where Samsung shows it can pack serious tech while keeping it elegant.
Not surprisingly, this model sees the most significant changes. It has a new body made from improved Armor Aluminum for better heat dissipation. As mentioned earlier, the design is unified, but Ultra is surprisingly light and slightly thinner than its predecessor. Some might complain that Ultra looks just like its smaller siblings this year, but honestly, the new design suits the phones well. Plus, there’s a very sleekly integrated stylus.
One of the coolest new features is the Privacy Display. Samsung describes it as pixel-level protection against “shoulder surfing,” meaning no one in public transport can read your notifications or emails over your shoulder.
The principle is simple: the phone can actively manage the display so the content isn’t readable from certain angles. Since it blocks at the hardware level, there are various settings to even partially protect content within notifications. It’s precisely the kind of feature you appreciate when you’re in a packed train and handling something you’d rather not broadcast to the public.
The stylus on the Ultra is still one of those features that others often try to mimic but rarely manage to nail naturally. The stylus is now cleverly integrated into the body, doesn’t disrupt the design, and the phone remains super thin. It’s also one of those details that catch your eye immediately, and the only thing we struggled with a bit was correctly pressing the stylus to eject it. But hey, you can be sure it won’t get lost easily.
Photo and Video: Ultra as a Camera
Samsung traditionally gambles on camera capabilities with the Ultra, and this year they’ve doubled down on numbers. The new system offers a 200 MP main sensor and 50 MP telephoto lens, emphasizing better light sensitivity and smarter processing. The goal is more light, more details, and more usable pics when other phones struggle.
For night shots, Samsung is pushing Nightography with Enhanced AP for proactively recognizing and reducing noise, aiming for a clearer image without it looking like a blurry watercolor. We all know how phones struggle with night photography, so this is another plus.
In video, the horizontal lock and stabilization caught our attention. Samsung showed off Super Steady Video with horizontal locking and even automatic correction up to 360 degrees using gyro and accelerometer data. The result? Fewer shaky shots if you love filming while snowboarding or doing other extreme sports. Plus, there’s now the option to shoot in APV format, supporting up to 8K at 30fps for the pros who mean business.
Performance and Battery
Today’s top phones often aren’t limited by performance but by how quickly they heat up and start lagging. Here, Samsung suggests they want to keep performance more stable, even when you’re multitasking with video and AI. That’s why the Ultra has redesigned cooling with a new vapor chamber.
From a hardware standpoint, Samsung went straight for the new generation processor—Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 for Galaxy, specially optimized for the Ultra. The Exynos 2600 aims to restore the line’s reputation and offer high performance for lower models too.
The phones will see a slight improvement regarding charging as well. The Ultra model gets Super Fast Charging 3.0, reaching 75 percent in half an hour. Wireless charging speeds will increase too. All models are gradually moving toward quick energy top-ups during the day, rather than lounging on a nightstand until morning.
AI and a Truly Smart Phone
This year, Samsung isn’t pushing AI as just another icon, but as something deeply embedded in the system that reacts to context. They showed off a feature called Now Nudge: real-time suggestions when you need them across everyday situations (calendar, messages, photo management). For me, it’s possibly the best AI use since photo gimmicks, potentially impacting how we interact with our phones.
Editing a picture? Here’s something to erase. Got a message? Check your calendar for free time. Someone wants photos from you? You might want to jump into the gallery. AI now saves time and makes the UX much snappier, feeling way more natural than just an initial “gimmick” function.
Galaxy Buds 4 and Buds 4 Pro: New Design, Better Sound
Finally, new Galaxy Buds 4 and Buds 4 Pro were quietly introduced, getting a complete overhaul in design, look, and overall comfort. Personally, we’re big fans of the new style; the aluminum stem is chic, and the earbuds now comfortably house the control surface you won’t have to hunt for.
The Pinch Control feature (quick interaction, swipes) reminded us of AirPods, letting you easily manage basic elements. Hardware-wise, Samsung worked on a larger effective driver area and a 2-way speaker setup (woofer + tweeter) supporting 24-bit/96 kHz hi-fi audio. In practice, this means deeper bass and better frequency response across the board. We’ll need to wait for a full review for the final verdict.
The retail price is set at 4,399 CZK for the Buds 4 and 6,199 CZK for the Buds 4 Pro. You can also check out the prices for all Galaxy models below.
| Prices and Versions | 256 GB + 12 GB RAM | 512 GB + 12 GB RAM | 1 TB + 16 GB RAM |
| Galaxy S26 | 23,999 CZK | 29,499 CZK | |
| Galaxy S26 Plus | 30,699 CZK | 35,699 CZK | |
| Galaxy S26 Ultra | 35,699 CZK | 40,599 CZK | 47,999 CZK |
Conclusion
The Galaxy S26 line feels mature and unified this time, with no sense of Samsung fumbling around. The S26 and S26+ shine with their lightness and top-tier displays, while Ultra is the real crowd-pleaser with new materials, a privacy display, refined video with horizontal locking, and AI that finally strives to be a more natural part of daily life.
