Samsung’s next flagship is almost here, and this time the company is making everyone wait a little longer than usual. The Galaxy S26 Ultra is set to be unveiled at Galaxy Unpacked on February 25, 2026, with pre-orders opening the very next day and the phone hitting store shelves on March 11. That March release breaks an eight-year pattern of January launches for the Galaxy S series, and the delay tells you something about what’s happening behind the scenes.
The short version: rising memory costs, a last-minute decision to scrap the Galaxy S26 Edge in favor of the standard Plus model, and extra development time for what Samsung is calling a “Privacy Display” all pushed the timeline back. But the extra cooking time might actually work in Samsung’s favor, because the S26 Ultra is shaping up to be the most meaningful upgrade the Ultra line has seen in years.
Galaxy S26 Ultra Release Date and Timeline
Multiple credible leakers, including Ice Universe and Evan Blass (who called the February 25 date “100% confirmed”), have laid out the full rollout schedule. Here’s how it breaks down:
Galaxy Unpacked event: February 25, 2026. Pre-order window: February 26 through March 4. Pre-sale period: March 5 through March 10. General availability and first sale date: March 11, 2026.
The Unpacked event will be held in San Francisco with a start time of 10 AM PST. Samsung is strategically scheduling the event just before Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, a move designed to dominate the news cycle before competitors can grab headlines. Sharp timing from a company that clearly understands the value of controlling the narrative.
One quirky detail: March 11 falls on a Wednesday, breaking Samsung’s traditional Friday release pattern. The reason? The Friday two weeks after Unpacked would have been March 13, and apparently Samsung wasn’t interested in launching a $1,299 phone on Friday the 13th.
How Much Will the Galaxy S26 Ultra Cost?
Samsung is holding the line on pricing in the United States, which is genuinely impressive given the economic headwinds the company is facing. The Galaxy S26 Ultra starts at $1,299 for the 256GB model with 12GB of RAM, the same base price as the Galaxy S25 Ultra. Storage configurations include 256GB, 512GB, and 1TB options, with the 1TB model bumping RAM up to 16GB.
The price freeze sounds consumer-friendly, but don’t mistake it for charity. LPDDR5X RAM costs have reportedly tripled thanks to the AI boom, with companies building large language models hoovering up high-bandwidth memory supplies. Samsung Co-CEO TM Roh publicly warned that price increases might be “inevitable,” and global marketing president Wonjin Lee echoed the sentiment. The fact that they’re absorbing those costs suggests Samsung views the S26 Ultra as a market share play, not a margin expansion opportunity.
European pricing may be slightly higher depending on configuration, according to leaks from Billbil-kun. UK and specific regional pricing hasn’t been confirmed yet.
What’s New: The Features That Actually Matter
Samsung isn’t reinventing the Ultra formula with the S26. Instead, this is a refinement year, and several of the upgrades address long-standing complaints from power users.
The Privacy Display Is the Headline Feature
The most talked-about upgrade is Samsung’s new Flex Magic Pixel technology, a 10-bit M14 privacy display that uses AI-controlled pixels to limit viewing angles intelligently. Think of it as a built-in privacy screen protector that doesn’t tank your brightness or image quality. Ice Universe, one of the most reliable Samsung leakers, called it “easily the most marketable feature of the S26 Ultra,” and it’s hard to disagree. Anyone who has ever shielded their phone screen on a subway or in a coffee shop understands the appeal immediately.
Faster Charging (Finally)
Samsung is bumping wired charging to 60W and wireless to 25W, with Qi2 support arriving on a Galaxy flagship for the first time. The 5,000mAh battery stays the same, but faster charging speeds mean less time tethered to a cable. It’s not the capacity upgrade some users wanted, but 60W wired is a meaningful jump from the S25 Ultra’s 45W.
Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 Under the Hood
The S26 Ultra runs Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5, built on a 3nm process. The chip pairs two high-performance 4.6GHz Oryon V3 Phoenix L cores with six efficiency cores at 3.62GHz, alongside an Adreno 840 GPU. Early benchmarks suggest 10 to 15 percent higher CPU performance and up to 30 percent better GPU efficiency compared to last year’s chip. U.S. models get the Snapdragon across the board, while some international markets will see Samsung’s Exynos 2600 in the base and Plus models.
Camera System: Evolution, Not Revolution
The 200MP main sensor returns with Samsung’s ISOCELL HP2, now paired with a wider f/1.4 aperture (up from f/1.7). The ultrawide and periscope telephoto lenses clock in at 50MP each, with a 12MP 3x telephoto rounding out the setup. A new 24MP shooting mode aims to balance detail with file size, and Samsung claims a 47 percent improvement in low-light performance. The front camera remains 12MP but now supports 4K video capture.
On the software side, Samsung has partnered with South Korean AI firm Nota AI to develop EdgeFusion, a system that generates AI images in roughly one second. It’s based on a modified version of Stable Diffusion optimized for on-device processing. Whether you find that useful or gimmicky depends entirely on how you feel about AI image generation, but the speed improvement over the S25 series is undeniable.
Design and Build
The S26 Ultra measures 163.6 x 78.1 x 7.9mm and weighs 214g, making it slimmer and lighter than its predecessor. Samsung has moved to a pill-shaped camera island for visual differentiation, paired with Grade 5 titanium frames and Corning Gorilla Armor 2 glass. IP68 water resistance remains standard, and the S Pen is still integrated into the body.
The color story is the most interesting it’s been in years. Cobalt Violet is the standout new option, and a recent poll showed it dominating consumer preference at 36 percent, followed by Black at 29 percent, Sky Blue at 23 percent, and White at 11 percent. Silver Shadow and Pink Gold will be available as online exclusives.
Software: One UI 8.5 and Android 16
The S26 Ultra ships with One UI 8.5 running on top of Android 16, and Samsung is guaranteeing seven major Android OS updates. That’s a strong commitment that essentially promises software support into the 2030s. The new “Agentic AI” features are positioned as more proactive than current Galaxy AI tools, though Samsung has been characteristically vague about the specifics. We’ll know more after Unpacked.
Should You Wait or Buy Now?
If you’re rocking a Galaxy S23 Ultra or older, the S26 Ultra presents a compelling upgrade path. The privacy display, faster charging, improved processor, and seven years of software support add up to a genuine generational leap. If you bought the S25 Ultra last year, the calculus is trickier. The improvements are real but incremental, and the $1,299 price tag doesn’t come with a discount for loyalty.
Samsung’s pre-order deals typically include a free storage upgrade (pay for 256GB, get 512GB) and generous trade-in values that can cover a significant chunk of the purchase price. If you’re planning to buy, pre-ordering on February 26 is almost certainly the best value play.
The Galaxy S26 Ultra doesn’t rewrite the rules of what a flagship phone can do. But it refines the formula in ways that matter to the people actually using these devices every day, and that might be exactly what Samsung needs in a market where consumers are increasingly resistant to spending over a thousand dollars on incremental upgrades.