Samsung Galaxy Unpacked Event 2026 Key Highlights: Galaxy S26 Ultra, S26 Plus, S26, Buds 4 Pro Launched

While last year’s Galaxy Unpacked ended with a glimpse of the S25 Edge, this year had no such slim surprises, even though there were rumours that Samsung is working on a thinner device or may even drop hints about a possible S26 Edge. The event instead simply ended on a note about Samsung’s sustainability efforts.

The Galaxy S26 Ultra’s smaller siblings — the S26 Plus and S26 — have been revealed as well. They come with a revamped camera arrangement on a raised translucent island, and are thinner and lighter.

The Galaxy Buds 4 Pro come packed with a wider woofer, two-way speaker, better ergonomics, Ultra High Quality Audio, and advanced machine learning capabilities.

Samsung has revealed the prices for the Galaxy S26 series. The Galaxy S26 Ultra starts at Rs 1,39,999 in India and $1,299 in the U.S., while the S26 Plus is priced at Rs 1,19,999 in India and $1,099 in the U.S., and the standard S26 starts at Rs 87,999 in India and $899 in the U.S. The Samsung Galaxy Buds 4 Pro’s price is Rs 22,999, while the Galaxy Buds 4 are priced at Rs 16,999. 

Some rumours have proven accurate: the Galaxy S26 Ultra features wider apertures on its key rear cameras. The 200MP main sensor now uses an f/1.4 aperture, which should deliver noticeably improved low-light performance and better overall image quality in dim conditions. The 50MP telephoto lens with 5x optical zoom has been upgraded to an f/2.9 aperture as well.

The Galaxy S26 Ultra has the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 processor clocked for Galaxy under its hood. It has a 39% more powerful NPU and 19% faster CPU, improving multi-tasking and gaming. It also packs the largest vapour chamber ever on an Ultra device.

Gemini, using its multimodal capabilities, can see, for example, a long chat thread about ordering food and figure out what to order, offering an alert to the user — only one of its many agentic capabilities.

Samsung is bringing Perplexity on board as a secondary AI assistant for the Galaxy S26 series. Users can invoke it by saying “Hey Plex” or by using shortcuts. Perplexity will integrate into key Samsung apps — including Notes

, Clock, Gallery, Reminder, and Calendar — as well as certain third-party applications.

Samsung has showcased the new flagship — the Galaxy S26 Ultra. The device will come in Black, White, Sky Blue, and Cobalt Violet.

Samsung has introduced the new Privacy Display feature. This technology uses advanced built-in display capabilities to restrict viewing from side angles. When turned on, the screen stays completely clear and legible for the person looking directly at it, but it dims, fades, or blacks out entirely for anyone viewing from the sides.

Roh’s explaining Samsung’s vision for AI, noting that the company is expanding Galaxy AI to the entire device ecosystem, bringing seamless AI experiences for everyone.

The Galaxy Unpacked 2026 has begun, with Samsung CEO and Device Experience Division chief TM Roh taking the stage. 

The Galaxy Unpacked is just minutes away from starting, and the excitement is palpable. Can Samsung’s upcoming flagship devices beat the likes of Apple iPhone 17 and Google Pixel 10 series?

Although not yet officially confirmed, global landing pages for Galaxy Unpacked have hinted at new earbuds. The Galaxy Buds 4 and Galaxy Buds 4 Pro are widely expected to launch, potentially with notable design and feature improvements.

One UI 8.5 is anticipated to be announced alongside the new devices and begin rolling out to a wider range of Galaxy phones in the following weeks. Key upgrades include a Perplexity-powered overhaul for Bixby, Liquid Glass-inspired interface, improved AI image generation, and more.

The S26 series will lean heavily on Galaxy AI for photography, as per Samsung’s recent teasers. Users will be able to transform daytime photos into nighttime scenes, restore missing parts of objects, merge multiple images, and perform edits simply by describing what they want — conversational editing in short.

Samsung is expected to offer pre-reservation perks for the Galaxy S26 series, including a free storage upgrade to a higher variant at no extra cost. Additional benefits may include $30 in Samsung credit for pre-orders, up to $900 in trade-in savings, and a chance to win $5,000 in credit for use on Samsung.com.

The standard Galaxy S26 is expected to drop the 128GB storage option offered on the Galaxy S25. Instead, 256GB could become the base storage tier.

While Samsung has been rounding and smoothening its devices — as seen in leaked images — will there be an S26 Edge at Galaxy Unpacked? Looks unlikely, considering the disappointing sales figures reported for the S25 Edge. However, Samsung might still have a surprise up its sleeve — a rumoured slim phone — of which it might give a sneak peak (much like the Edge at last year’s Unpacked).

Samsung is integrating Perplexity as an additional AI assistant on the Galaxy S26 series. Users can activate it with the voice command “Hey Plex” or via shortcuts such as a long press on the side button. This expands the phone’s multi-agent AI ecosystem, with Perplexity embedded in apps like Samsung Notes, Clock, Gallery, Reminder, Calendar, and select third-party applications.

The S26 series will debut a new Privacy Display feature, likely on the top-end Ultra. The feature utilises advanced native display technology to limit visibility from side angles. When activated, the screen remains fully clear and readable for the main user, while it gradually dims, fades, or turns black for viewers looking from the side.

The spotlight will be the launch of the Galaxy S26 series, likely comprising the standard Galaxy S26, Galaxy S26 Plus, and the premium Galaxy S26 Ultra. Samsung is also expected to unveil the Galaxy Buds 4 and Galaxy Buds 4 Pro, with the Pro model reportedly receiving a major redesign. One UI 8.5 is anticipated to debut, bringing expanded generative AI features, refreshed system animations, and a more polished interface. Galaxy AI will see further enhancements, particularly in camera performance, along with hopes for stronger productivity tools.