Samsung has kept us waiting this year, but its flagship Galaxy S26 phones are just a few weeks away.
The official invite for its next Galaxy Unpacked event has leaked, all but confirming the 25 February launch date that has been rumoured for a while.
And it’s hardly a secret what the headlining announcement will be: the Galaxy S26 series. The lineup looks set to be identical to last year, with a regular Galaxy S26 and S26+ joined by the top-spec S26 Ultra.
For a while, it seems like limited upgrades, but things have been ramping up on the rumour mill recently and Samsung has even teased a world first. Here are the best three S26 upgrades I’m looking forward to getting my hands on.
1. A game-changing screen upgrade
Like anyone these days, I use my smartphone almost everywhere – including in public. If you’re sitting or standing behind me, it’s not exactly difficult to see what I’m doing, especially in the modern era of huge handsets.
That’s where Samsung’s new ‘Privacy Screen‘ comes in. According to Samsung, it’s a new flexible layer over the display which lets you prevent anyone who’s not directly in front of the screen from seeing what’s on it.
It appears to offer lots of flexibility, too, with the option to activate for certain apps and notifications, even blocking only specific parts of the screen. If it works half as well as advertised, it could be a game-changer for public phone use.
Or even hiding shopping for presents from the person sitting next to you – if they trust that’s what you’re doing.
However, there’s a catch: it looks like Privacy Screen will be limited to the Galaxy S26 Ultra, meaning regular and S26+ models miss out. That’s a real shame, but it makes me even more keen to get my hands on the Ultra.
2. Pixel 10-rivalling wireless charging
Qi2 wireless charging has been around for a while, but for over a year, the only Android phone with built-in support was the HMD Skyline. Then, it came to the Pixel 10 series in August. Now, the Galaxy S26 series looks set to join them.
The benefits of Qi2 over the regular Qi found on the Galaxy S25 series are threefold.
Firstly, it enables faster speeds – a leaked charger suggests the S26 Ultra will jump from 15- to 25W, with the regular and Plus models rumoured to get 20W.
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Also, the magnetic connection to the back of the phone is much more secure, ensuring you don’t come back to your phone and realise it hasn’t been charging. It’s now built in when previous models could only have it by adding a special case.
And finally, Qi2 is a universal standard, meaning the S26 series will be compatible with all third-party accessories – including those designed for Apple’s MagSafe and Google’s Pixelsnap.
It’s essentially three upgrades in one, making for a much more seamless wireless charging experience. And unlike Privacy Display, it looks like all three Galaxy S26 phones will be getting built-in Qi2, which is great news.
3. The fast wired charging I’ve been waiting for
Continuing the charging theme, 2026 looks set to be the year when a Samsung flagship gets proper fast wired charging.
Admittedly, it’s not the 100W and above we’ve seen on some Chinese phones, but a boost from 45- to 60W on the S26 Ultra would be very welcome. The leak of a new official 60W makes this upgrade highly likely.
With no expected upgrade to the S26 Ultra’s 5000mAh battery capacity, indicating Samsung’s continued reluctance to embrace silicon-carbon tech, the charging improvements take on much greater significance.
Sadly, the S26+ looks set to remain at 45W, though the regular Galaxy S26 may at least join it there, which would be a nice boost on the current 25W.
Honourable mention: A big software upgrade
Now, I didn’t want to include this one in the top three, as it’ll be coming to all supported Galaxy phones soon. But the Galaxy S26 series is expected to debut Samsung’s One UI 8.5, and it looks like a major step up.
Key expected upgrades include revamped version of Bixby, drawing on AI assistance from Perplexity, plus a new Direct Voicemail feature that provides a live transcription of the audio you receive.
Elsewhere, new Galaxy AI features include a new image editing tool, plus enhancements to Samsung’s DeX desktop mode and a previously Pixel-exclusive feature. It’s a big one.
As you can see, despite it looking like a relatively iterative upgrade, there’s lots to be excited for on the Galaxy S26 series – especially if you’re considering the Ultra model.
However, the competition among the best phones is fiercer than ever, so Samsung needs to deliver. We’ll find out soon, as the Galaxy Unpacked 2026 date seems to be effectively confirmed.