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I used to stay up for Samsung’s Galaxy Unpacked occasion with pleasure, ready to see the place the corporate was going to push its telephones to subsequent. However over the previous few years, that enthusiasm waned and ultimately become skepticism.

With the launch of the Galaxy S26 collection, I really feel notably underwhelmed. I’ve come to the conclusion that the corporate must make some critical adjustments to its line-up to regain my curiosity in its flagships.

Samsung’s flagships are severely lagging behind the competitors in relation to battery dimension. A lot of this comes right down to the corporate’s hesitation to undertake silicon-carbon batteries, which might permit for greater vitality density.

The S26 Extremely nonetheless comes with a 5,000mAh battery — a capability that has remained the identical because the S20 Extremely. To place that in perspective, it signifies that since Samsung launched the Extremely tier of its Galaxy S units, it has not elevated the battery dimension.

In the case of the usual S26 and S26 Plus, Samsung has elevated the battery capability over time. However even this progress is minimal. It’s baffling to me that from the S23 Plus to the S26 Plus, the battery has solely elevated by 200mAh.

I don’t assume Samsung can depend on hesitation to make use of silicon-carbon batteries as an excuse, although it’s rumored to be researching bigger Si-C cells. The Pixel 10a, for instance, has a 5,100mAh battery and prices $400 lower than the usual S26, which has a 4,300mAh battery. If Samsung must make its telephones marginally thicker, that’s a trade-off I’d be prepared to make.

There was a time when it felt like Samsung’s flagship vary was well-balanced by way of options. Over the previous few years, although, the main focus has undoubtedly shifted. Whereas AI and software program have develop into the headliners of current launches, at any time when {hardware} is talked about, the main focus is often on the Extremely. The usual and Plus variations of the Galaxy S telephones have develop into little greater than a footnote.

Wanting on the S26 vs the S23 collection reveals simply how little the units have modified in three years. Each the S26 and S26 Plus have the identical charging speeds as their S23 counterparts. Relating to the digital camera setups, there have been no adjustments to the decision or optical zoom of the lenses. I discover myself underwhelmed by the S26 Extremely digital camera updates, however no less than I can say that its digital camera is getting updates.

In consequence, upper-midrange rivals usually outcompete the S26 and S26 Plus on many fronts, particularly in battery dimension and charging pace. Final 12 months’s Nothing Telephone 3a Professional launched at $459.99, making it cheaper than a normal S26. But it features a 5,000mAh battery, 50W wired charging, a 50MP periscope digital camera with 3x optical zoom, and a 50MP front-facing digital camera. I’ve been utilizing the Honor 400 Professional for the previous few months, and regardless of not being a flagship, it additionally encompasses a 50MP telephoto lens. In the meantime, it has a 6,000mAh battery and 100W wired charging.

Even inside Samsung’s personal ecosystem, the Galaxy S25 FE has additionally develop into the go-to gadget for folks searching for flagship options at a greater worth. Because it affords a greater worth and comparable specs to the S26, I battle to see the S26’s enchantment anymore. Why would you not merely await the S26 FE, which can presumably even have an up to date processor and extra RAM?

This wasn’t at all times the case, although. The usual Galaxy S gadget was once a succesful flagship for individuals who needed an incredible expertise in a smaller package deal. It was nonetheless decidedly premium, however provided worth for cash. The Plus gave you a little bit of a lift to battery capability, storage, and display dimension. And the Extremely was the ultra-premium possibility for individuals who wanted a very nice digital camera and much more battery and processing energy.

I’m glad that Samsung has improved the apertures on its S26 Extremely digital camera lenses (particularly the 200MP and 50MP lenses), as it will improve its low-light images efficiency. Nevertheless, I feel that extra enhancements will be made to the lenses, particularly in relation to optical zoom.

I’ve by no means fairly forgiven Samsung for eradicating the 10x optical zoom from the Extremely rear digital camera. I simply by no means get the outcomes I’d like when cropping to attain “optical high quality” zoom (which is actually a sensor crop) versus precise optical zoom at lengthy vary. This “optical high quality” advertising and marketing has popped up for different lenses on the units as nicely. On the S26 Extremely, its 200MP broad lens can also be listed as having 2x optical high quality zoom. For the S26 and S26 Plus, the 50MP wide-angle lens additionally claims 2x optical zoom.

I’d want precise optical zoom, in addition to a better vary throughout lenses. For the successors to the S26 and S26 Plus, 5x optical zoom might actually improve the person expertise. In the meantime, I’d prefer to see the return of 10x optical zoom to the subsequent Extremely, whereas nonetheless retaining an excellent decision.

However that is the naked minimal, actually. Samsung ought to actually be on the forefront of digital camera innovation, particularly with the S26 Extremely. In any case, in case you’re paying $1,299 for a smartphone, it ought to actually be a frontrunner on the digital camera entrance.

The Xiaomi 17 Extremely stands out as probably the most effective Android digital camera telephone, because of its revolutionary digital camera know-how. This features a variable-aperture, variable-focal-length periscope digital camera and a big sensor. This affords a ton of versatility that may be misplaced when multi-lens setups embody low-quality lenses that up the digital camera depend however produce inconsistent high quality.

The battery capability of the S26 collection isn’t the one factor caught previously — its charging speeds are too.

The one gadget within the collection to get a lift to its charging pace is the S26 Extremely, which now helps 60W charging. Whereas that is an enchancment on paper, it’s lengthy overdue. So overdue in truth, that it’s nonetheless behind the competitors.

Samsung smartphones use the USB PD PPS protocol, however different units that use the identical protocol already exceed the charging speeds of the S26 Extremely. The prime instance is the Xiaomi 17 Extremely, which helps 90W PD PPS charging.

This leaves loads of room for enchancment for Samsung’s units. The usual S26, specifically, is caught with 25W charging, which ends up in extremely sluggish charging occasions for a flagship gadget in 2026.

Because the Galaxy S24 collection, Samsung’s flagship launches have targeted on AI. When generative AI was nonetheless comparatively new, it was attention-grabbing to check out the completely different options. Nevertheless, it quickly grew to become obvious that many didn’t meaningfully enhance the person expertise.

The S25 and S26 launches leaned much more into AI. This included selling Google options, which sometimes arrive on Galaxy units first or similtaneously Pixel units. However this partnership with Google shouldn’t be unique, so the instruments find yourself on different Android telephones as nicely. Simply have a look at Circle to Search, which launched first on Galaxy and Pixel telephones however is sort of all over the place now. Likewise, the Discover The Look function in Circle to Search will arrive on the Galaxy S26 collection and Pixel 10 smartphones first, however will roll out to different Android units too.

For options particular to Samsung units, you’re required to lean closely on Samsung’s ecosystem. But when you have already got most well-liked apps to your web looking and reminders, chances are you’ll not see the enchantment of switching to Samsung-exclusive apps for only a few AI options.

The newer concentrate on agentic AI additionally doesn’t enchantment to me, since I fear about potential privateness points. I don’t assume Samsung supplies adequate assurances that knowledge will stay secure when utilizing these AI instruments.

Don’t get me flawed, I need to get excited by Samsung’s flagship telephones. They’re the biggest Android model by market share. However I don’t really feel like they’re the leaders by way of making the finest Android telephones anymore.

Whereas the S26 Extremely’s Privateness Show is nifty, it doesn’t really feel groundbreaking to me. And it’s definitely not sufficient to encourage me to put money into a $1,299 new telephone. I actually hope that subsequent 12 months will probably be completely different and we’ll see important {hardware} innovation from the producer.