Samsung hopes for "second golden age" of the smartphone business with Galaxy S26

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The South Korean tech giant Samsung hopes to achieve higher sales with the Galaxy S26 series, expected at the end of February, than with the successful S25 line. In addition to the top smartphones with even more AI, as Samsung writes, foldables are also intended to boost sales.

Back to old heights with the Galaxy S26

As the South Korean publication Maeil Business News reports, Samsung has published its annual outlook for the mobile communications division (MX) for the coming year. It states that the company expects strong sales of the Galaxy S26 series, which will apparently consist of the usual S26, S26 Plus, and S26 Ultra models. A S26 Edge model, which reports suggest was supposed to replace the S26 Plus, might appear later in the year, it is said.

Samsung forecasts that the S26 series will sell 36 million units, with the company's entire smartphone product range potentially reaching 240 million units worldwide in 2026. If the company succeeds in this, Samsung's Mobile Experience division (Samsung MX) could achieve revenue of 90.7 billion US dollars (130 trillion won), according to the report.

Samsung last achieved such revenue in 2013; at that time, the company generated 133 trillion won and made an operating profit of 25 trillion won. Since then, the figures have stagnated at 100 trillion won.

It is further stated that Samsung hopes for even greater success with the S26 series than with the S25 series, with which the company sold 22 million units in the first half of this year. The company wants to sell at least 2 million more units of the S26 series.

For foldables, Samsung expects sales of 5 million units next year; this includes both the current models Flip and Fold 7 and the foldables expected in July 2026 (presumably Flip 8 and Fold 8). The manufacturer also wants to continue trying to position the device category as a flagship product rather than a niche product. So far, this has not been particularly successful—at least in Europe. Tablets are also expected to contribute to growth: Samsung hopes to sell at least 27 million Galaxy Tab models in 2026.

Success through more AI

Samsung managers explained the means by which the company intends to achieve growth during the release of quarterly results: Among other things, the next Galaxy S generation is to receive a further leap in AI and “innovative form factor designs.”

Furthermore, the manufacturer plans to use a new proprietary Exynos chip, which is to be produced using Samsung Foundry's 2nm GAA process. The Exynos 2600, which has already been spotted in early benchmarks, may not quite match Apple's top chip A19 Pro in single-core benchmarks. However, in multicore, it is said to be up to 15 percent more powerful, making it quite competitive in the high-end segment—also with Qualcomm's Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5. In contrast to its predecessor, the Exynos 2500, Samsung attributes improved energy efficiency and heat dissipation to the new generation.

Samsung likely to rely more heavily on Qualcomm chips again

If you believe the statements by Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon, Samsung will continue to rely more heavily on the Snapdragon chip worldwide in the Galaxy S26 series. He stated that Qualcomm expects only a 75 percent chip share for the next Galaxy models. This, in turn, implies that Samsung will only equip 25 percent of the models with the Exynos 2600. In the past, Samsung's own chip was last used in Europe in the base and Plus models of the Galaxy S series, while the Ultra variant always used a special “Snapdragon for Galaxy” chip globally with a slightly higher clock speed than the standard chip. In the S25 series, Samsung exclusively used Snapdragon SoCs.

Rumors about the design and other features, such as the camera, battery, and further details, have been circulating for a while. Major visual changes compared to the Galaxy S25 series are apparently not expected; the familiar design seems to be only slightly refined, and the Ultra model is said to have a slightly rounder casing receive. On the camera side, the company will likely continue to use the same or similar sensors that have been in use for generations, it is said. However, a new image processor in the Exynos 2600 could allow the company to get more out of the older hardware.

Regarding batteries, Samsung apparently continues to stick to a maximum of 5000 mAh but could at least increase the charging power from the current 45 W (for the S25 Ultra and Plus) to 60 W on the Ultra model. Other manufacturers like Oppo or OnePlus use $(LB4966350:up to 7,500 mAh batteries|_blank), which can also be offered in Europe due to dual-cell construction.

The introduction of the Galaxy S26 series around February 25, 2026, in San Francisco, according to insider information. This would make Samsung a month later with its top models than in previous years. The delay is reportedly due to the portfolio restructuring; originally, an S26 Edge was supposed to replace the S26 Plus model, but due to low interest in the current S25 Edge, the company decided against this strategy.

(afl)