This is what I need Samsung’s subsequent flagships to do in a different way

I used to sit 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 changed into skepticism.

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

Samsung’s flagships are significantly lagging behind the competitors in the case of battery dimension. A lot of this comes right down to the corporate’s hesitation to undertake silicon-carbon batteries, which might enable for greater power 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 terms 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, regardless that 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 keen to make.

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

Trying on the S26 vs the S23 collection exhibits 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 digicam setups, there have been no modifications to the decision or optical zoom of the lenses. I discover myself underwhelmed by the S26 Extremely digicam updates, however no less than I can say that its digicam is getting updates.

In consequence, upper-midrange rivals typically 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 typical S26. But it features a 5,000mAh battery, 50W wired charging, a 50MP periscope digicam with 3x optical zoom, and a 50MP front-facing digicam. I’ve been utilizing the Honor 400 Professional for the previous few months, and regardless of not being a flagship, it additionally contains 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 change into the go-to machine for folks on the lookout for flagship options at a greater value. Because it provides a greater value and comparable specs to the S26, I wrestle to see the S26’s enchantment anymore. Why would you not merely await the S26 FE, which is able to presumably even have an up to date processor and extra RAM?

This wasn’t all the time the case, although. The usual Galaxy S machine was once a succesful flagship for individuals who wished an excellent 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 digicam and much more battery and processing energy.

I’m glad that Samsung has improved the apertures on its S26 Extremely digicam lenses (particularly the 200MP and 50MP lenses), as it will improve its low-light pictures efficiency. Nonetheless, I believe that extra enhancements could be made to the lenses, particularly in the case of optical zoom.

I’ve by no means fairly forgiven Samsung for eradicating the 10x optical zoom from the Extremely rear digicam. 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 effectively. On the S26 Extremely, its 200MP huge lens can 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 larger vary throughout lenses. For the successors to the S26 and S26 Plus, 5x optical zoom may actually improve the consumer expertise. In the meantime, I’d wish to see the return of 10x optical zoom to the subsequent Extremely, whereas nonetheless retaining a very good decision.

However that is the naked minimal, actually. Samsung ought to actually be on the forefront of digicam innovation, particularly with the S26 Extremely. In spite of everything, should you’re paying $1,299 for a smartphone, it ought to actually be a frontrunner on the digicam entrance.

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

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

The one machine 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 quite a lot 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 machine 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 totally different options. Nonetheless, it quickly grew to become obvious that many didn’t meaningfully enhance the consumer expertise.

The S25 and S26 launches leaned much more into AI. This included selling Google options, which often arrive on Galaxy units first or similtaneously Pixel units. However this partnership with Google will not be unique, so the instruments find yourself on different Android telephones as effectively. Simply take a look at Circle to Search, which launched first on Galaxy and Pixel telephones however is nearly in every single place now. Likewise, the Discover The Look characteristic 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 might be required to lean closely on Samsung’s ecosystem. But when you have already got most popular apps on your web shopping and reminders, you could not see the enchantment of switching to Samsung-exclusive apps for just some AI options.

The newer give attention to agentic AI additionally doesn’t enchantment to me, since I fear about potential privateness points. I don’t assume Samsung supplies enough 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 most important Android model by market share. However I don’t really feel like they’re the leaders when it comes to 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 actually not sufficient to encourage me to put money into a $1,299 new telephone. I actually hope that subsequent 12 months will likely be totally different and we’ll see vital {hardware} innovation from the producer.