The Samsung Galaxy S26 is here with a starting price of Rs 87,999 and that’s a price hike of Rs 8,000 over the Galaxy S25. With a premium price tag such as this one, one would expect meaningful upgrades but do you get those in the Galaxy S26? We’ll give you an idea of what you can expect with Samsung’s base flagship this year with our Galaxy S26 first impression.
The Galaxy S26 may look identical to the S24 and S25 aside from a redesigned camera module in images but that isn’t the case. The device feels completely different in the hand compared to the S25 and even though the S26 has the same thickness as the S25 on paper, it somehow feels thinner and better in the hand.
Most importantly, due to the less rounded form factor this year, the in-hand feel has further been refined and the handset looks totally different from the front as well. The cobalt violet shade looks clean and minimal but may not be everyone’s cup of tea as its slightly on the dull side.
Coming to the display, it’s the same panel as last year’s S25. You get a 6.3-inch FHD+ Resolution (2340 x 1080 pixels) 8-bit display. It supports an adaptive Refresh Rate up to 120Hz and up to 2600 nits peak brightness. The display and the back panel are protected with Corning Gorilla Glass Victus 2.
From our brief period using the device, we can say that the display, as one would expect, is great for daily use. The content looks sharp, colours look vibrant, and the brightness is enough outdoors even under direct sunlight.
India gets the Exynos 2600-powered variant of the Galaxy S26. It is paired with 12GB RAM along with 256GB and 512GB storage options. Gone are the days when Exynos was criticised for its terrible heat management and general performance as the Galaxy S26 feels excellently fluid so far.
One UI 8.5, despite not being a major upgrade on paper, brings a useful set of new AI features. For instance, you now get support for Audio eraser in third-party apps like Instagram and YouTube and while I didn’t expect any extraordinary results, it works surprisingly well in videos where you want to hear clear vocals, such as vlogs or videos where there’s a lot of ambient noise around the person shooting the video.
This is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to AI on the Galaxy S26 so we’ll talk in detail about it when the detailed review of the device drops. Overall, One UI 8.5 on the Galaxy S26 has accounted for a smooth yet stable experience in our initial usage.
The Galaxy S26 is backed by a 4300mAh battery which is a slightly bigger cell than the 4000mAh battery in the Galaxy S25. However, the charging speed is still capped at 45W with wireless charging speed at 15W. We’ll have to test the device further to provide battery backup results.
The camera setup on the Galaxy S26 remains identical to last 3 years’ base Galaxy S-series flagships. That includes a 50MP primary wide camera with f/1.8 aperture, multi-directional PDAF and OIS. Then there’s a 10MP telephoto sensor with 3x Optical Zoom support, an f/2.4 aperture, OIS, PDAF and a 12MP ultra-wide sensor with an f/2.2 Aperture and 120-degree FoV. It has a 12MP f/2.2 front-facing camera for selfies.
Based on our experience with Samsung’s flagship models over the past three years, we observe minimal changes in photographic detail. However, color rendition consistently reflects a refreshed approach each year.
Further testing is required to ascertain any significant improvements this year. Should there be any, they would likely be attributable to the new Image Signal Processor (ISP) integrated within the chipset, coupled with software optimizations, given that the Galaxy S26’s hardware remains consistent with previous iterations.
We’ll talk more about the cameras of the S26 in our full review.
The Galaxy S26 may not bring a major leap in specifications, but its design and in-hand feel are areas where the difference is immediately noticeable, at least based on our experience. Our initial impressions of the Galaxy S26 are largely positive, though we’ll reserve final judgment for the full review.
Author: Abhishek Malhotra
Source: The Mobile Indian
Reviewed By: Editorial Team
