Should you wait for the Samsung Galaxy S26?

Now that Qualcomm has unveiled its latest chip, it's already beginning to arrive in phones in other parts of the world. However, as is the case every year, this is the start of a countdown of sorts until Samsung unveils its next lineup of flagship phones. As we've seen since Samsung started matching the "S" number to the year, 2026 will be no different, as the Samsung Galaxy S26 will be here before you know it.

But with the 2025 holiday season upon us, you might be thinking that now's the perfect time to upgrade to one of the best Android phones. For some, you can probably proceed without thinking twice, but if you have your eyes set on the Galaxy S25, you might be wondering if you should wait for the Galaxy S26.

What are we expecting from the Galaxy S26?

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There have already been a slew of rumors and supposed leaks, such as the Galaxy S26 "Pro" apparently replacing the S26, only for subsequent rumors to claim this won't be the case, while also suggesting other changes might be coming.

The most obvious upgrade coming to Samsung's next flagship smartphone is the processor upgrade. Qualcomm's Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 was announced in September and will be powering many of 2026's best Android phones. This includes the Galaxy S26, despite rumors suggesting Samsung might switch over to its own Exynos 2600.

Instead, we'll likely see the same thing we've seen over the past few years. This means that those in the U.S. and a subset of other regions will see the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5, while other markets will see Samsung's own chip at the helm.

Those rumors about Samsung shaking things up by replacing the Galaxy S26 Plus with the S26 Edge have been largely debunked by more recent ones. Samsung seems to like the idea of a fourth phone in its flagship lineup, and recently rumors claim that instead of replacing the Plus, the S26 Edge will simply be added to the mix or forgotten altogether.

If Samsung goes through with the Galaxy S26 Edge, it would bring about an additional option to consider, as you could either get the S26 Edge with its ultra-thin design or the S26 Plus with its telephoto lens and larger battery.

Beyond Samsung's internal struggle with how many phones will make up the S26 series, it seems that only one of these devices could see an upgrade in the camera department. Previous reports claim that the Galaxy S26 "would retain its predecessor's camera array," but that the S26 Ultra might sport a "larger 200MP Sony main sensor."

Sadly, it doesn't seem like there are really any other major plans in store for any of the other cameras across the upcoming lineup of devices.

It's also worth noting that many of the rumors and leaks so far suggest the S Pen isn't going anywhere just yet. There were concerns about this being the case following Samsung's removal of Bluetooth functionality from the S Pen on the S25 Ultra and the removal of S Pen compatibility altogether from the Galaxy Z Fold 7. While it doesn't seem Samsung plans to bring back an S Pen with Bluetooth for the S26 Ultra, at least it isn't getting rid of the stylus altogether.

How much and when?

There haven't been many leaks spilling the beans on Samsung's pricing plans for the Galaxy S26 series. However, if Samsung were to bump up the price, now would be the time to do so, as we just saw Apple did just that with its iPhone 17 Pro, which launched in September 2025. That said, we don't expect the price increase to exceed another $100, and it may be limited to the Galaxy S26 Ultra.

Last, but certainly not least, more recently, we've seen rumors and reports surfacing that Samsung might be planning to postpone its first Galaxy Unpacked event of 2026. Making matters worse for those considering an upgrade, it's said that Samsung could wait until March 2026 to unveil the Galaxy S26 lineup. Unfortunately, we aren't sure why this might be the case, but it could have something to do with adding a fourth model to the mix, or it could be preparing to unveil the rumored tri-fold Galaxy G Fold.

Ultimately, the decision is yours, and a lot of it depends on how desperate you are for an upgrade. If the S26 series were rumored to stick to the January announcement schedule, this would be a bit easier to decide, but if it comes in March, you'll be waiting over four months.

In which case, I'd probably just suggest that you wait until the Black Friday/Cyber Monday deals start rolling in and grab the Galaxy S25 series for less, as they're still very capable phones with plenty of AI to go around and years of software updates ahead.