Samsung Launches Galaxy S26 Series:South Korean electronics giant Samsung on Wednesday launched its new flagship Galaxy S26 series, terming it the company’s third-generation AI smartphone, which is aimed at offering consumers a more intuitive and proactive experience.
Like its predecessor, the new Galaxy S26 series will be made in India at Samsung’s Noida facility, thus reiterating the company’s “Make in India” policy. Samsung also stated that its research and development facility in Bengaluru, which is the company’s largest R&D facility outside South Korea, had played an important role in the development of the new series.
The new Galaxy S26 series comprises three models: Galaxy S26, Galaxy S26+, and Galaxy S26 Ultra. The smartphones, powered by the new Galaxy AI, are designed to make routine tasks like managing calendars, searching for information, and creating or editing content, easier by requiring fewer steps to accomplish a task.
The company also aims to extend the Galaxy AI to 800 million devices worldwide by 2026, which clearly indicates its future smartphone plans in the AI space.
Although the pricing details for the Indian market are yet to be announced, rumors indicate that the Galaxy S26 series may begin from USD 999, depending on the model. This launch is expected to further boost Samsung’s presence in the super-premium smartphone category (above USD 800), which is currently dominated by Apple.
Some of the most notable features include the Galaxy S26 Ultra, which Samsung claims is its thinnest large-screen smartphone to be launched yet. The Ultra model also boasts an industry-first feature called the Privacy Display, which is designed to minimize side-angle visibility without compromising the display’s clarity and brightness for the user.
The S26 series comes equipped with the optimised Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 Mobile Platform, which Samsung claims is the most powerful hardware ever used in a Galaxy S series smartphone.
Speaking about the launch, TM Roh, CEO and Head of Device eXperience (DX) Division at Samsung, said, “The goal was to make AI feel seamless and invisible, so users can focus on what matters most.”
As per an IDC report, in 2025, Samsung had a 14.1% market share in the Indian smartphone market, while Apple had a 9.5% market share. In the super-premium category, Samsung’s shipment volume increased by 1.8 times year-over-year, leading to an increase in market share to 34%.
The Galaxy S26 Ultra comes with a new vapour chamber design for better cooling, Super Fast Charging 3.0 that charges up to 75% of its 5,000mAh battery in 30 minutes, and new AI capabilities like Now Nudge, Now Brief, and Circle to Search with Google.
In terms of cameras, the S26 Ultra comes with a 200MP wide camera, 50MP ultra-wide camera, 50MP telephoto camera, and a 12MP front camera, along with storage options between 256GB and 1TB.
