Smartphones · Review
Samsung Galaxy S26
A fast, light flagship worth buying on sale, but battery life trails rivals at this price.
87
out of 100
Our verdict
The Galaxy S26 is Samsung's compact flagship, with a slightly larger 6.3-inch screen and a bigger 4,300mAh battery than the S25. Tom's Guide measured a much brighter display and excellent gaming performance from the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5, but its battery test result of 11 hours 28 minutes is below average and camera quality barely moves on from last year. It launched at $899.99, Samsung's list price is now $999.99, and it was on sale for $849.99 at Samsung.com when we checked.
What's good
- Light 167g body that is easy to use one-handed
- Bright 6.3-inch display
- Flagship Snapdragon performance
- Triple camera with telephoto
What's not
- Below-average battery life in testing
- Camera performance largely unchanged from the S25
- List price now $999.99
How it scores
How we rate →Specifications
- Price basis
- 256GB base model (12GB RAM), unlocked (US)
- Display
- 6.3-inch FHD+ Dynamic AMOLED 2X, 120Hz adaptive, 2600 nits
- Processor
- Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 for Galaxy
- Rear cameras
- 50MP wide, 12MP ultra wide, 10MP telephoto
- Battery
- 4,300mAh
- Weight
- 167g
- Build
- Armor Aluminum frame, Gorilla Glass Victus 2