Samsung’s next flagship smartphone, the Galaxy S26 Ultra, has been tipped to go in the opposite direction to the Pixel 10 series when it comes to its design.
According to tipster Ice Universe, the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra will be thinner than its predecessor, dropping below 8mm thick. It’ll also get lighter by a few grams. That’s despite the suggestion that it’ll have a fractionally larger display and footprint.
It’s a fascinating contrast to the one Google is reportedly taking with the Pixel 10 series.
Pixel 10 contrast
We recently reported on claims that the new Pixel 10 range is going to be thicker and heavier across the board. This is being partially attributed to Google adopting larger batteries, whereas we heard recently that Samsung was holding fast with another 5000mAh cell for the Galaxy S26 Ultra.
It’s also been speculated that Google might need to thicken its phones in order to adopt a full Qi2 magnetised charging system, which may be called ‘Pixelsnap’.
Does this thinner, lighter Galaxy S26 Ultra drop a hint that Samsung isn’t intending to follow Google with its own Qi2 adoption? It’s an interesting one.
Away from talk of dimensions, Ice Universe has claimed that Samsung will indeed use a special overclocked ‘for Galaxy’ version of the Snapdragon Elite 2 chip. Contrary to previous rumours, however it will be made by TSMC, not Samsung itself.
Luke Baker
Now Bar boost
In other Samsung news, the recent Galaxy Z Flip 7 launch has brought with it news about the company’s Now Bar widget.
The company has announced (as spotted by Android Authority) that app support for the Now Bar feature is set to almost double from 20 to 35 following the transition from One UI 7 to One UI 8.
It doesn’t mention which apps will be supported on the company’s handy heads-up widget, but it does say that these added cards should appear before the end of the year.