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In a disappointing showing, Samsung's latest base-level flagship smartphones, the Galaxy S26 and Galaxy S26+, offer little in the way of innovation despite significant price hikes. While these dutiful performers provide great performance, bright displays, reliable cameras, and good battery life, they lack exciting new features and even drop some capabilities compared to last year's models. With prices starting at $900 for the S26 and $1,100 for the S26+, Samsung's latest flagships feel overpriced and underwhelming.
Key Takeaways
- The Galaxy S26 starts at $900, while the S26+ starts at $1,100, marking a $100 price increase over last year's models.
- Despite price hikes, the S26 and S26+ offer few notable upgrades and even drop some features like millimeter-wave 5G support on the S26.
- These phones deliver strong performance and battery life but lack exciting new capabilities like the Galaxy S26 Ultra's Privacy Display.
Samsung Galaxy S26 and S26+: Minor Updates and Frustrations
Samsung's base-model flagships have seen little real innovation for years, with flashy new features typically reserved for the top-tier Ultra model. This trend continues with the Galaxy S26 and S26+, which offer only incremental updates and even drop some capabilities compared to their predecessors.
The most notable change is a $100 price increase for both models, bringing the S26 to $900 and the S26+ to $1,100. While base storage has been doubled to 256GB, this long-overdue upgrade hardly justifies the higher prices, especially given the lack of other meaningful improvements. In fact, the smaller S26 has even lost millimeter-wave 5G support, meaning it can no longer access ultra-fast networks in dense urban areas.
