Samsung takes the stage in San Francisco tomorrow for Galaxy Unpacked 2026, where the company is expected to reveal the Galaxy S26, S26 Plus, and S26 Ultra alongside refreshed Galaxy Buds and a wave of new AI features. The keynote starts at 10 a.m. PT / 1 p.m. ET on Wednesday, February 25.
We will be updating this post throughout the event with every announcement, and pricing detail as they come in. Bookmark this page and check back Wednesday morning.
How to watch Galaxy Unpacked 2026
Samsung will livestream the event on its YouTube channel, Samsung.com, and the Samsung Newsroom. The stream goes live at 10 a.m. PT / 1 p.m. ET / 6 p.m. GMT. On-demand replays will be available afterward for anyone who misses it.
What to expect at Galaxy Unpacked 2026
Samsung has not published an official product list for the event, but leaks and the company's own teasers have narrowed the field considerably. Here is everything expected to make an appearance on Wednesday.
Galaxy S26 Ultra
The flagship model is drawing the most attention this year thanks to a handful of meaningful hardware upgrades. The S26 Ultra is expected to feature a 6.9-inch Dynamic AMOLED display with a new Privacy Display mode that restricts screen visibility from side angles using hardware-level technology Samsung calls Flex Magic Pixel. Leaked video of the feature shows it as a toggle in the settings menu with a secondary "Maximum privacy protection" option for stricter blocking.
Camera improvements are also on the table. The S26 Ultra will reportedly keep its 200MP main sensor but widen the aperture from f/1.7 to f/1.4, a change that should meaningfully improve low-light photography and video. The 50MP periscope telephoto lens is also rumored to gain a wider f/2.9 aperture (up from f/3.4), and Samsung has already posted teaser videos on TikTok showing off improved nighttime video capture. The selfie camera stays at 12MP but gets a slightly wider 85-degree field of view.
Under the hood, the phone runs on the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 for Galaxy. RAM tops out at 16GB on the 1TB storage configuration, with 12GB on the 256GB and 512GB models. Charging jumps from 45W to 60W wired, and wireless charging moves to 25W with Qi2 magnetic alignment support. Battery capacity stays at 5,000 mAh.
Pricing is the big question mark. A Korean report from Chosun suggests Samsung has finalized prices that represent a steep hike, particularly at higher storage tiers. The 1TB model could see roughly a 20 percent increase in South Korea. Whether that translates directly to U.S. pricing remains unclear.
Galaxy S26 and S26 Plus
Samsung's standard and mid-range flagships are getting a quieter refresh. The Galaxy S26 bumps its screen from 6.2 inches to 6.3 inches and gains a larger 4,300 mAh battery (up from 4,000 mAh on the S25). The S26 Plus keeps its 6.7-inch display and 4,900 mAh battery. Both phones get an upgraded 50-megapixel ultrawide camera sensor.
The processor situation is split by region. Leaks from GSMArena indicate the S26 and S26 Plus will use Samsung's own Exynos 2600 in Europe while running the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 in the U.S. and China. Both models come with 12GB of RAM.
One consumer-friendly change across the lineup: Samsung is reportedly ditching the 128GB base storage option entirely. All S26 models should start at 256GB, with pre-order buyers in some markets getting a free storage upgrade to 512GB.
Galaxy Buds 4 and Buds 4 Pro
Samsung's earbuds are getting a redesign. Product images published ahead of the event show both models gaining burnished metal strips along their stems, a departure from the Galaxy Buds 3 design that drew frequent AirPods comparisons. The standard Buds 4 remain fully plastic without eartips, while the Pro model keeps its silicone tips.
The Buds 4 Pro are expected to support head gesture controls similar to Apple's AirPods Pro 3, letting users nod to accept calls or shake their head to decline. Other rumored additions include ultra-wideband support and 24-bit Bluetooth audio recording.
One UI 8.5 and Galaxy AI
Samsung teased ahead of Unpacked that it would reveal a unified camera experience designed to merge photo capture, video recording, editing, and sharing into a single interface. The company's partnership with Nota AI, announced in November, aims to bring on-device text-to-image generation to S26 handsets using a mobile-optimized version of Stable Diffusion called EdgeFusion.
On the assistant front, Samsung confirmed it is integrating Perplexity into the Galaxy S26 series. Users will be able to invoke the Perplexity agent with the "Hey Plex" wake word and use it within Samsung's built-in apps like Notes, Reminders, Messages, and Calendar. This runs alongside Bixby and Gemini, which remain available on the devices.
One UI 8.5 rounds out the software side with expanded generative AI capabilities and refreshed system animations.
Possible surprises
Samsung used last year's Unpacked to tease the Galaxy S25 Edge and its Project Moohan headset. A repeat performance is not out of the question. A Galaxy S26 Edge remains a possibility as a brief teaser, though reports of weaker S25 Edge sales suggest a full launch is unlikely. Samsung also confirmed that Galaxy Book6 laptops will join the event in some capacity.
Pre-order deals already live
Samsung opened a reservation page ahead of the event offering a $30 credit to anyone who registers interest in preordering a new Galaxy device. There is no purchase obligation. The company is also advertising up to $900 in trade-in credits depending on your current phone model, with the highest values reserved for recent Samsung devices like the Galaxy S25 Ultra.
Live updates
Updates will appear above as the event unfolds on Wednesday, February 25. Refresh the page or check back for the latest.
