The Samsung Galaxy S26 Extremely comes so near having all of it

Once I first bought my fingers on the Galaxy S26 Ultra throughout a preview occasion simply earlier than Galaxy Unpacked in February, I am going to admit I used to be pleasantly shocked by a number of the adjustments Samsung made this yr.

Truthfully, going into the S26 series launch, my expectations have been fairly low, given all of the leaks suggesting the telephones can be virtually similar to the S25 lineup. And sure, the S25 Ultra and S26 Extremely share a whole lot of similarities, however there are additionally a couple of sudden variations that assist the S26 Extremely actually stand out, together with the brand new Privateness Show characteristic and an up to date digicam design.

Now, I do not assume I am surprising anybody by saying this proper off the bat, but when you have already got an S25 Extremely, and even an S24 Extremely, the S26 Extremely most likely is not for you, because it’s simply one other iterative replace relatively than a significant overhaul. However in the event you’re coming from an older Samsung flagship, just like the S23, S22, or S21 Extremely, and have been patiently ready to improve, there’s so much to love concerning the S26 Extremely, particularly because it maintains the identical $1,300 beginning worth as final yr.

After spending the previous couple of weeks with the S26 Extremely, I’ve come away actually impressed. Sure, it has a few notable shortcomings (severely, the place are the magnets?), however the positives far outweigh the negatives right here. It is turn out to be my new favourite Android cellphone — and one I will have a tough time saying goodbye to after this evaluation interval.

4/5

SoC

Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5

Show

6.9-inch Dynamic Tremendous AMOLED 2X

RAM

12 or 16 GB

Samsung’s Galaxy S26 Extremely comes full of the most recent Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chipset, a brand new Privateness Show characteristic inside its 6.9-inch OLED display panel, and a strong quadruple rear digicam setup.

Professionals & Cons

• Highly effective efficiency
• Glossy design
• Privateness Show
• Glorious cameras

• No built-in magets for full Qi2 assist
• S-Pen lacks Bluetooth

Worth, availability, and specs

Samsung unveiled the Galaxy S26 Extremely in February, with the cellphone formally launching in March 2026, beginning at $1,300. It is out there in three storage choices: 256GB, 512GB, and 1TB, with the 1TB mannequin getting a bump to 16GB of RAM, whereas the 256GB and 512GB variations include 12GB of RAM.

The S26 Extremely is available in three commonplace colours: Cobalt Violet, Black, and Sky Blue. Samsung can be providing two online-exclusive colours on its web site: Pink Gold and Silver Shadow.

Just like the S25 Extremely, the S26 Extremely contains a 6.9-inch 3,120 x 1,440 pixel-resolution AMOLED show with a 120Hz refresh fee and a couple of,500 nits peak brightness. It measures 163.6 x 78.1 x 7.9 mm and weighs 214g.

Underneath the hood, the S26 Extremely is powered by Qualcomm’s newest high-end chipset, the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5, and contains a 5,000mAh battery.

As for the cameras, the S26 Extremely’s rear digicam array options an f/1.4 200-megapixel huge, an f/2.9 50-megapixel 5x telephoto, an f/2.4 10-megapixel 3x telephoto, and an f/1.9 50-megapixel ultrawide. On the entrance, it has an f/2.2 12-megapixel selfie digicam.

What I appreciated concerning the Galaxy S26 Extremely

Samsung nailed the design and efficiency

The very first thing I am going to reward proper off the bat concerning the S26 Extremely is its efficiency, which is no surprise, contemplating it is powered by Qualcomm’s top-tier Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chipset. I used to be already impressed with the Snapdragon 8 Elite in final yr’s S25 collection, in addition to within the Galaxy Z Fold 7 and Z Flip 7, so the leap to the 8 Elite Gen 5 right here is unbelievable.

In on a regular basis use, it dealt with every part I threw at it with out breaking a sweat, whether or not I used to be utilizing picture modifying instruments, enjoying video games, or juggling a number of apps directly. For many who just like the numbers, Geekbench 6’s CPU take a look at returned scores of three,677 for single-core and 11,225 for multi-core — a stable leap over the S25 Extremely’s 3,104 single-core and 9,833 multi-core outcomes.

Subsequent up, I need to deal with the design of the S26 Extremely, which I believe is the best-looking flagship Samsung has ever launched. For essentially the most half, it is just like the Galaxy S25 Extremely. It is smooth, premium, and unmistakably Samsung, however there are two notable adjustments.

First, Samsung has swapped the titanium body for an aluminum one, just like what Apple did with the iPhone 17 Pro. Why Samsung did this seemingly comes all the way down to price financial savings and improved thermal efficiency. In day-to-day use, I did not discover a lot of a distinction in comparison with the S25 Extremely’s titanium construct, and the cellphone by no means felt too scorching, so the change to aluminum does not hassle me.

The second tweak is across the rear digicam. As an alternative of sitting instantly on the again of the cellphone as earlier than, the digicam lenses are actually housed in a pill-shaped digicam island. It is paying homage to the Galaxy Z Fold 7, and I really actually prefer it. It feels recent, stands out a bit extra, and helps give the cellphone a extra distinct look in comparison with the iPhone 17 Professional and Google Pixel 10 Professional.

Moreover, the S26 Extremely has barely extra rounded edges this yr. I do know some individuals desire the boxier look of older Ultras just like the S24 Extremely, however I discover the softer curves extra comfy in hand and, actually, higher wanting too.

One other large change Samsung has made to the S26 Extremely is the addition of its new Privacy Display characteristic, which makes it tougher for individuals to see what’s in your cellphone display when viewing it from an angle (as you may see within the picture above). For those who’ve ever used a privateness display protector earlier than, it is primarily like having one constructed instantly into your cellphone’s display, however you may allow or disable it everytime you like. It really works extremely effectively, and what’s even higher is you can customise it to robotically activate relying on the app you are utilizing, reminiscent of messages or banking. The S26 Extremely is the primary cellphone to ever have a characteristic like this, and now it is one thing I want each cellphone had.

The cameras on the S26 Extremely are almost similar to these on the S25 Extremely, with the one distinction being that its 200-megapixel huge lens has a wider f/1.4 aperture, which allows extra gentle. Though the cameras are just like the S25 Extremely, that is not a foul factor in any respect, because the S26 Extremely can take some gorgeous images with a lot of nice element, and I actually love how the colours pop in them. You possibly can take a look at a number of the images I snapped throughout a stroll on the seaside under.

Lastly, I need to spotlight a couple of different issues I actually appreciated concerning the S26 Extremely. The 6.9-inch 1440p show is beautiful, and I actually loved utilizing One UI 8.5. It affords a ton of customization choices, so you may dial in your lockscreen and homescreen precisely the way you need, and the general efficiency of One UI feels silky easy because of the S26 Extremely’s stacked {hardware}.

There’s additionally a brand new video characteristic known as Horizontal Lock, which retains your footage regular and correctly oriented whilst you’re filming, which I discovered neat. After which there’s Now Temporary, a helpful AI characteristic that does a good job of summarizing my day and even recommending YouTube movies to take a look at.

What I did not like concerning the Galaxy S26 Extremely

No magnets for Qi2 is a significant letdown

My largest criticism concerning the S26 Extremely is its lack of built-in magnets for full Qi2 assist.

When Google added magnets to the Pixel 10 series final yr, providing an expertise just like Apple’s MagSafe, which Google dubbed Pixelsnap, I assumed for certain that Samsung would observe go well with this yr with the Galaxy S26 collection and at last add magnets to their telephones. However alas, magnets are nowhere to be discovered on any of them.

For those who do not cost your cellphone wirelessly usually, this might not be as large a deal to you, however I believe it is foolish that Samsung nonetheless hasn’t give you its personal model of MagSafe. I cost my units wirelessly daily, so this issues so much to me, and it is a disgrace Samsung nonetheless hasn’t discovered a manner to do that with out having to purchase a case with a built-in magnet.

Apart from the shortage of magnets, one other factor I’ve to say is that, as soon as once more this yr, Samsung has opted to not embody Bluetooth capabilities within the S Pen. To be sincere, I did not discover myself utilizing the S Pen in any respect throughout my time with the S26 Extremely due to this.

The final gripe I’ve with the S26 Extremely is its battery. Do not get me incorrect, at 5,000mAh, it is fairly giant, and on the finish of most days for me, which concerned messaging, taking images, doomscrolling social media, and watching YouTube movies, I discovered myself with round 30 p.c cost left. Whereas that is good, I really feel like Samsung may’ve pushed the envelope right here extra and included a good bigger battery into the S26 Extremely, as OnePlus did with the OnePlus 15’s large 7,300mAh battery. The S26 Extremely has the identical 5,000mAh battery because the S24 Extremely and S25 Extremely, so for 3 years now, Samsung hasn’t modified something, and I imagine it is lengthy overdue for some innovation on this division to push for even longer battery life.

Do you have to purchase the Galaxy S26 Extremely?

For those who’ve been ready to improve, you will not be upset

Finally, my suggestion for the S26 Extremely comes all the way down to the machine that is already in your pocket. For those who’re utilizing an S25 Extremely and even an S24 Extremely, there’s actually no compelling purpose to improve to the S26 Extremely, because it’s simply too just like what got here earlier than.

Nevertheless, in the event you’re coming from an older Samsung flagship just like the S22 or S23 Extremely, or perhaps a base mannequin just like the S23 or S24, and need to step as much as an Extremely, the S26 Extremely affords a whole lot of worth. You are getting sturdy efficiency, highly effective cameras, a smooth design, and the brand new Privateness Show, a first-of-a-kind characteristic no different cellphone has.

Truthfully, if Samsung had added magnets for Qi2 and bumped up the battery a bit, I would name this the right Android cellphone. Even so, these are minor drawbacks, and the S26 Extremely remains to be a wonderful smartphone, one you seemingly will not remorse selecting up in the event you’ve been holding out for an enormous improve for a couple of years.

This machine was supplied to Pocket-lint by Samsung.