Samsung unveils Galaxy S26 family and new earbuds with a focus on easy-to-use AI
Samsung announced a new Galaxy S26 lineup and two pairs of earbuds, rolling out pre-orders today and setting a March 11th on-sale date. The moves matter because samsung has pushed faster chips, larger baseline storage and user-facing AI features across the phones while introducing a built-in privacy screen and refreshed earbuds designs.
Full S26 lineup: Galaxy S26, S26 Plus and S26 Ultra
The company launched a full lineup consisting of the Samsung Galaxy S26, Samsung Galaxy S26 Plus and Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra. All three models now start at 256GB of storage, up from 128GB on last year’s S25 and S25 Plus. Samsung says the phones include a new internal chip intended to speed up all tasks and to power new AI software features.
S26 and S26 Plus upgrades, battery and pricing changes
The S26 and S26 Plus receive modest hardware changes: the S26 gains a slightly larger battery, listed at 4, 300 mAh up from 4, 000 mAh, while the S26 Plus offers slightly faster wireless charging. Both S26 models now start at 256GB, a shift that the company tied to a $100 price increase from last year, with retail prices listed at $899 for the S26 and $1, 099 for the S26 Plus.
S26 Ultra improvements: cameras and charging
The Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra is described as having improved cameras and faster wired and wireless charging. It starts at $1, 299, a price unchanged from last year’s S25 Ultra starting cost.
Built-in privacy screen and what users can control
A highlighted new feature across the phones is a built-in privacy screen. Traditional privacy screens make the display look dim or dark when viewed at an off-angle; Samsung’s implementation can do that but is highly customizable. Users can choose which elements are dimmed to onlookers, including notifications and password screens, among other items.
Galaxy Buds 4 and Buds 4 Pro: design and battery details
Samsung also announced the Galaxy Buds 4 and Galaxy Buds 4 Pro. Both models share a new design with smoother, rounded eartips, a departure from the Buds 3’s sharp, triangular stem shape. The Buds 4 are the more budget-friendly option and do not have rubber eartips, giving them a semi-open ear design similar to Apple AirPods 4; they offer up to six hours of battery life plus 30 more hours with the charging case. The Buds 4 Pro are the premium pair, equipped with traditional rubber eartips and rated for up to seven hours of battery life plus 30 extra hours from their charging case.
Timing, pre-orders, the Edge question and other product threads
All the new phones and earbuds are available for pre-order today and will launch officially on March 11th. The brand has launched new phones and earbuds in February for more than five years running. Last year’s Galaxy S25 Edge was positioned as a super-thin, super-light smartphone compared with other models; the company did not mention an Edge model during this event, so whether a Galaxy S26 Edge will appear is unclear in the provided context. The company typically brings new Galaxy Watches, Z-Flip and Z-Fold models in the summer and is expected to hold a second Galaxy Unpacked event in the summer for those devices.
Galaxy Ring legal entanglements and uncertainty about a sequel
The Samsung Galaxy Ring launched in the summer of 2024 and quickly drew legal action: Oura filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Samsung, and Samsung has filed a counter suit against Oura. Samsung has also filed similar patent suits against other smart ring makers including Ultrahuman, RingConn and Zepp Health. Those legal conflicts make the fate of the Galaxy Ring more uncertain than other products, and the reporter wrote, “I’m not sure when we might see the Samsung Galaxy Ring 2 hitting store shelves. ”
The reporter covering this launch noted they have covered Samsung and its competitors for years as part of phone, smartwatch and earbuds coverage.
