Update, Sunday Jan. 25: This article has been updated with details on the Samsung Galaxy S26 specifications.
The Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra is coming. As the days pass, the consensus has been building around the key dates of the launch event, the pre-order window, and the retail release. This week, noted smartphone commentator Ice Universe snapped the Galaxy S26 date debate into focus, with dates backed up by several publications.
Yet there are more important dates for the launch of the Galaxy S26 family, and they aren’t under Samsung’s control. Let’s look at the dates Samsung has decided on and which are left to its competitors.
Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra Launch
Samsung will launch its familiar triumvirate of Galaxy S smartphones at a Galaxy Unpacked event on Feb. 25. The Galaxy S26 Ultra will be the flagship device and one of the highest-specced smartphones released in 2026.
Also appearing will be the Galaxy S26+ and the Galaxy 26. Many expected Samsung to shake up the lineup with a Samsung Galaxy S26 Pro and a Galaxy S26 Edge alongside the S26 Ultra.
The former would be the entry-level Galaxy S with improved specifications (primarily the camera). This would have necessitated a price rise beyond the S25’s sticker price of $799. The success of the iPhone 17, the vanilla iPhone also priced at $799, has pushed Samsung towards a price-focused product to stay in the game rather than lifting the specs to offer more status to the first phone.
The latter would have been a thin phone, a popular fashion statement in 2025, but a form factor that has not found retail success. The poor sales of the S25 Edge revealed low sustained demand that would likely have been even lower for an iterative second release.
With that, Samsung rolled back to the familiar Galaxy S line-up, even though this required delaying launch dates by just over a month to allow the new designs to be readied and production to reach suitable pre-launch levels.
Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra Pre-Orders
While there may be a temptation to open up pre-orders as the keynote presentations end (a route that Samsung and others have taken in previous years), for 2026, Samsung has moved to a “pre-orders open tomorrow” approach for the first Galaxy Unpacked of the year.
That means you’ll be able to put your name down for one of the Galaxy S26 handsets from Thursday, Feb. 26.
There is one wrinkle here: Ice Universe notes that their dates are for the South Korean market and offers a pre-order window from Feb. 26 to March 4, followed by a pre-sale window from March 5 to March 10. Whether this is something unique to the territory or will be something reflected worldwide remains, for now, a question to be answered.
Samsung has been generous with pre-order offers in the past. If this carries over to the Galaxy S26 family, you can expect boosted trade-in values and guaranteed minimums for any phone handed in alongside a Galaxy purchase. No doubt Samsung will have some exclusive colorways only available through its online store (the classically black Titanium Jetblack Galaxy S25 was one of the exclusives last year). I’d also expect Samsung to have a partnership with Google to offer a free subscription to the Google AI Pro package, with potentially a year of access to the Galaxy S26 Ultra, matching that of the Pixel 10 Pro
Whether Samsung will continue to offer its “double storage” offer (where buying the 12 GB model gets you the 256 GB model, the 256 GB model gets you 512 GB, and the 512 GB model gets you 1 TB) is perhaps the key question around the pre-orders. With the rising prices of storage and memory, this may be a larger hit on the bill of materials than in previous years, depending on how much Samsung has hedged on silicon.
Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra Retail Availability
And then we have the on-sale date for the retail market (and shipping pre-orders) on Wednesday, 11. At first glance, an unusual day to choose, given Samsung’s traditional preference for Friday. As noted previously, that would have been Friday the 13th, a date with enough superstitious overtones that Samsung has decided to avoid.
New Galaxy S26 Specifications Reported
Update, Sunday Jan. 25: This weekend, new details on the Galaxy S26 reveal one area where Samsung is preparing to change the story of both the Galaxy family and the smartphone baseline in 2026.
Leaked details from a Finnish retailer highlight an important upgrade to the entry-level Galaxy S26. The Galaxy S26 will come with 256 GB as the base storage option, with the option to upgrade to 512 GB – the same will be true of the Galaxy S26+. The same colourways are listed for both models – black, white, sky blue, and cobalt violet – although there may be more colors available exclusively in Samsung’s online store
The step up to 256 GB will be a direct challenge to the competition and offer an edge over leading mid-range alternatives. Google is expected to launch the Pixel 10a with 128 GB of base storage. That handset will be cheaper, but now Samsung has a clear advantage to justify the price difference.
The same is potentially true of the iPhone 17e. Last year’s iPhone 16e started with 128 GB of storage, and while it is again a cheaper handset, it’s only by $100, and while Apple consumers are going to stay with Apple, those looking to choose iOS or Android, the extra storage for a Benjamin Franklin may be enough to swing the decision and bring those consumers not only into the Android ecosystem, but into Samsung’s ecosystem.
Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra And The Competition
There are other dates that will impact the launch of the Galaxy S26 family. While these are not under Samsung’s control, they can certainly impact the story that Samsung is trying to tell with its new hardware and software. The family could stand out compared to the competition’s moves, or its vision could be weakened when contrasted with another manufacturer’s.
Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra Vs. MWC
The first date is one of the largest. Mobile World Congress takes place in Barcelona over four days, starting March 2. The vast majority of smartphone manufacturers, accessory companies, software developers, and the rest of the industry will be represented. There will be a flood of stories on all fronts of the smartphone world, with the use of artificial intelligence likely one of the hottest topics alongside new phones being launched, previewed, or in the late stages of design.
By launching ahead of the event, Samsung has a chance to set the tone for what a premium smartphone should be and to discuss how Galaxy AI delivers the best AI experience on mobile. If these are presented strongly at Galaxy Unpacked, Samsung will be the marker for everyone to chase and compare themselves to. If the story is weak or another company introduces a disruptive product, Samsung could quickly look outdated.
It’s a similar story with hardware. The Galaxy S26 family, especially the Galaxy S26 Ultra, look to be iterative updates in terms of specifications and hardware choices. MWC will showcase some advanced designs in the smartphone space. While some of them may be little more than concepts, others will be the equivalent of critically acclaimed supercars, destined for a very high price tag and limited commercial success, while creating a halo effect for the manufacturer’s standard headsets.
The Galaxy S26 family could quickly look out of place and rely on last year’s technology before it reaches retail shelves in the week after MWC.
Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra Vs. Pixel 9a
Two handsets are going to bracket the Galaxy S26 family, and specifically the Galaxy S26.
The first will be Google’s Pixel 10a. This is the mid-range variant of the Pixel 10 family. The Pixel 10, 10 Pro, 10 Pro XL, and 10 Pro Fold were launched in autumn 2025 and once again set the tone for what Google believes an AI-first smartphone should represent. The Pixel 10a will continue that conversation at a price that could undercut the Samsung Galaxy S26 by $250.
There’s no confirmed date for the launch, but discussions online suggest a Feb 18 launch and a retail sale on March 5, giving it a time advantage over Samsung’s entry-level S26.
Google is expected to spec the Pixel 10a closer to last year’s Pixel 9a than the Pixel 10, including staying on a year-old processor. Nevertheless, the Pixel 9a was very well received last year, and a new Pixel that offers the latest AI features at a lower price will be a challenge to Samsung at the lower end of the portfolio.
Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra Vs. iPhone 17e
Also waiting in the wings is Apple’s iPhone 17e. This would be the sequel to last year’s iPhone 16e, which saw Apple move away from the iPhone SE towards a numbered iPhone release. The iPhone 16e price was bumped up to $599 (from the iPhone SE’s final price of $429) and comes with all the benefits and drawbacks of being an Apple device.
Apple’s $799 iPhone 17 has already impacted the Galaxy S26 range. The launch of the iPhone 17e would offer a near-direct challenge to the Galaxy S26, again undercutting the price. It’s more likely to act as a brake to those wanting to switch away from iOS to Android (here’s a new iPhone just for you).
As for the launch date, again, there’s no confirmation from Apple, and the window is much larger than the Pixel 10a. Last year, the iPhone 16e was launched by press release on February 19. Yet Apple is also expected to launch the final major release of iOS 26 (including an updated Siri) in late-March, and the iPhone 17e could wait until then.
Personally, I think a date similar to 2025 is likely, and I’d factor in the tempo of an annual contract with networks. If the iPhone 16e is coming out of contract and consumers are looking for what’s next, the iPhone 17e would be an easy sell.
Assuming Taniyama-Shimura, let’s pencil in Feb. 18 for the iPhone 17e to launch; a date that will force a head-to-head with the Pixel 10a and put Samsung on the back foot the following week at Galaxy Unpacked.
Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra’s Market Dominance
Samsung had a global market share of 19.1 percent in 2025, and the Galaxy S25 in general and the Galaxy S25 Ultra played a large part in that. The S25 Ultra made up 52 percent of the initial orders, doubling the sales of the Galaxy S24 Ultra. The South Korean company will be hoping for the same reaction with the Galaxy S26 family and the Galaxy 26 Ultra.
Yet the market has changed in the last year, and Samsung is launching the S26 into a much more competitive market than the S25. Will the iterative updates be enough? Will consumers seek greater value for money and turn to Apple and Google, or will they seek cutting-edge designs and new ideas from the likes of Xiaomi and Oppo? Will Samsung still be seen as the leader in this space before, during and after MWC?
There’s one final date to consider: Jan 29, 2026. That’s the date of Samsung’s fourth-quarter 2025 earnings call, and I expect some forward projections to come out of it… projections that will centre on the Galaxy S26 Ultra. What does Samsung expect to happen, and when?
