Galaxy S26 unveiled as multi-agent AI smartphone

Roh Tae-moon, president and head of Samsung Electronics’ Device Experience Division, introduces the Galaxy S26 Ultra during the Galaxy Unpacked 2026 event in San Francisco, Wednesday (local time). Courtesy of Samsung Electronics

Samsung Electronics unveiled its latest Galaxy S26 series during an event in San Francisco, Wednesday (local time), positioning the smartphone as a multi-agent artificial intelligence (AI) platform designed to deliver a more seamless and intuitive user experience.

As the series was expected to come with higher price tags due to the global surge in memory prices, the Galaxy S26 lineup is priced about 6 to 20 percent higher than its predecessor, with models offering larger memory capacity seeing steeper increases.

In return for the higher price, Samsung equipped the device with the new Privacy Display, faster application processor and enhanced camera and AI functions. Preorders will start on Friday in Korea and will be released globally on March 11.

During the unveiling event, Samsung Electronics CEO Roh Tae-moon said Samsung has been improving the mobile experience to help more people feel the usefulness of AI in their daily lives, and that the Galaxy S26 series is “a product that allows anyone to use AI easily and intuitively, based on powerful hardware.”

The Galaxy S25 series comes in Ultra, Plus and standard models. The Ultra model is powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 for Galaxy, which delivers a 39 percent improvement in neural processing unit performance and up to 19 percent and 24 percent gains in CPU and graphics processing unit performance, respectively, compared with the previous generation.

The Samsung Galaxy S26 series / Courtesy of Samsung Electronics

The Ultra model is equipped with a newly designed vapor chamber that helps maintain stable performance when running multiple apps or recording high-resolution videos.

It also features a new image enhancement solution, called the Mobile Digital Natural Image engine, which improves display quality. The camera supports professional-grade video production codecs as well.

The Plus and standard models are powered by Samsung’s in-house application processor, Exynos 2600. The Galaxy S26 series features an image sensor with up to 200 million pixels. It is also known to incorporate a broad range of Samsung semiconductor technologies, including display driver ICs, power management integrated circuits and 5G modem chips.

The Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra in the cobalt violet color / Courtesy of Samsung Electronics

AI features have also been enhanced.

For agent functions that allow AI to carry out multi-action tasks on behalf of users, users can choose not only Google Gemini but also Perplexity and Samsung’s in-house Bixby, activating them through a button or voice commands.

For example, when a user asks Gemini to book a taxi, the AI automatically calls one on the user’s behalf, requiring only a final confirmation to complete the request.

The agent feature was already supported in the previous Galaxy S25 Ultra, where Gemini mainly handled such tasks. With the Galaxy S26 series, however, users can now choose Bixby or Perplexity as well, which Samsung said will provide a more natural user experience.

The Ultra model will offer a Privacy Display function for the first time, providing a more secure viewing experience.

The technology controls the way light is emitted from display pixel spreads, limiting screen visibility from side angles.

Samsung said the function was enabled through the integration of hardware and software at the initial design stage, allowing users to set when it is activated and define its scope. For example, a user can activate the function when entering passwords or patterns or launching specific apps. It also allows users to only block notification pop-ups if they choose.

The Samsung Galaxy S26 Plus in the black color / Courtesy of Samsung Electronics

The Galaxy S26 series will begin its seven-day preorder in Korea on Friday. It will begin global sales on March 11, rolling out sequentially in Korea, the United States, the United Kingdom, India, Vietnam and 120 other countries.

The prices range from 1,254,000 won ($874) for the S26 standard model with 12-gigabyte memory and 256-gigabyte storage to 2,540,000 won for the S26 Ultra with 16-gigabyte memory and 1-terabyte storage.

Showing the sharpest increase was the S26 Ultra 1-terabyte model, as its price was heavily affected by soaring memory costs.

During the Galaxy Unpacked event, Samsung also revealed the new Galaxy Buds 4 Pro and Buds 4 wireless earbuds.

Samsung Electronics' Galaxy Buds 4 Pro / Courtesy of Samsung Electronics