Samsung will set the tone for the smartphone world when it launches the Galaxy S26 Ultra, Galaxy S26+ and Galaxy S26 early in 2026. That launch now appears to be coming earlier than expected, with leaks suggesting the South Korean company is targeting January 2026 for its Galaxy Unpacked launch event.
Galaxy S26 Ultra’s Historical Dates
This launch window would align with the launches from 2024 and 2025, specifically a mid- to late-January reveal at a Galaxy Unpacked event, followed by a brief pre-order window, and the phones reaching retail just before the calendar turns to February.
For most of the fall, Samsung was expected to offer the same schedule again, but with a slightly different product mix. While the Galaxy S26 Ultra would remain, the mid-tier Galaxy S26+ would be replaced by a second-generation think phone with the Galaxy 26 Edge, and the entry-level handset would see a branding bump up to the Galaxy 26 Pro to reflect the flagship status of every S handset.
The Galaxy S26 Ultra Has A Familiar Family
Revealed at January 2025’s Galaxy Unpacked, the fashionably thin Galaxy S25 Edge was the first thin form factor to break through into the public consciousness, even if it was not going on sale until the summer. When it did, the initial flurry of excitement was not backed up by continued orders. Samsung scaled back production on the S25 Edge and reportedly cancelled the Galaxy S26 Edge follow-up.
That meant the Galaxy S26+ would be called up to head to the front line.
The Galaxy S26 Pro was also transformed, but in its case, it was Apple that impacted the Galaxy S26 design. 9to5Google’s Will Sattelberg reports that the more ambitious upgrade to the vanilla model was put aside after the iPhone 17 altered the landscape of what a standard model, such as the Galaxy S26, should offer
With that, the old gang were back in the saddle, albeit with a 26 instead of a 25 in the title. Yet the change would impact the planning of the handset launch, with an extra month added to the Galaxy S26 schedule.
The Galaxy S26 Ultra’s New Schedule
News from the supply chain indicates that the refreshed Galaxy S26 and Galaxy S26+ models have progressed through key design and manufacturing steps faster than expected. That could allow Samsung to return to its original preference of a Galaxy Unpacked in mid-January 2026 rather than pushing out to the end of February.
Crucially, either date will see the Galaxy S26 family launch before Mobile World Congress 2026, which takes place in Barcelona from March 2. This will allow Samsung to set the tone on both hardware and software. 2025 saw the S25 Edge set the tone of the former, while Galaxy AI drove Samsung’s advantage forward for the latter.
With a jump-start on the MWC-bound competition, and the eyes of the world’s tech press exclusively watching the launch, Samsung can once more set the tone. And now it appears that it will arrive a little earlier.
Now read the latest headlines on the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra, Google Pixel, and the rest of the smartphone world in Forbes’ weekly Android Circuit news digest…
