5 things Samsung needs to do to get me excited about its flagships again

I used to look ahead to Samsung’s Galaxy Unpacked occasion with pleasure, ready to see the place the corporate was going to push its telephones to subsequent. However over the previous few years, that enthusiasm waned and finally become skepticism.

With the launch of the Galaxy S26 sequence, I really feel significantly underwhelmed. I’ve come to the conclusion that the corporate needs to make some critical modifications to its line-up to regain my curiosity in its flagships.

Samsung’s flagships are critically lagging behind the competitors when it comes to battery measurement. A lot of this comes down to the corporate’s hesitation to undertake silicon-carbon batteries, which might permit for greater power density.

The S26 Extremely nonetheless comes with a 5,000mAh battery — a capability that has remained the identical because the S20 Extremely. To place that in perspective, it implies that since Samsung launched the Extremely tier of its Galaxy S units, it has not elevated the battery measurement.

When it comes to the usual S26 and S26 Plus, Samsung has elevated the battery capability over time. However even this progress is minimal. It’s baffling to me that from the S23 Plus to the S26 Plus, the battery has solely elevated by 200mAh.

I don’t assume Samsung can depend on hesitation to use silicon-carbon batteries as an excuse, despite the fact that it’s rumored to be researching bigger Si-C cells. The Pixel 10a, for instance, has a 5,100mAh battery and prices $400 lower than the usual S26, which has a 4,300mAh battery. If Samsung needs to make its telephones marginally thicker, that’s a trade-off I’d be prepared to make.

There was a time when it felt like Samsung’s flagship vary was well-balanced when it comes to options. Over the previous few years, although, the main focus has positively shifted. Whereas AI and software program have turn out to be the headliners of latest launches, every time {hardware} is talked about, the main focus is normally on the Extremely. The usual and Plus variations of the Galaxy S telephones have turn out to be little greater than a footnote.

Trying on the S26 vs the S23 sequence reveals simply how little the units have modified in three years. Each the S26 and S26 Plus have the identical charging speeds as their S23 counterparts. Relating to the digicam setups, there have been no modifications to the decision or optical zoom of the lenses. I discover myself underwhelmed by the S26 Extremely digicam updates, however at the very least I can say that its digicam is getting updates.

Because of this, upper-midrange rivals usually outcompete the S26 and S26 Plus on many fronts, particularly in battery measurement and charging velocity. Final 12 months’s Nothing Cellphone 3a Professional launched at $459.99, making it cheaper than a regular S26. But it features a 5,000mAh battery, 50W wired charging, a 50MP periscope digicam with 3x optical zoom, and a 50MP front-facing digicam. I’ve been utilizing the Honor 400 Professional for the previous few months, and regardless of not being a flagship, it additionally contains a 50MP telephoto lens. In the meantime, it has a 6,000mAh battery and 100W wired charging.

Even inside Samsung’s personal ecosystem, the Galaxy S25 FE has additionally turn out to be the go-to machine for folks on the lookout for flagship options at a greater worth. Because it gives a greater worth and comparable specs to the S26, I wrestle to see the S26’s enchantment anymore. Why would you not merely look forward to the S26 FE, which is able to presumably even have an up to date processor and extra RAM?

This wasn’t at all times the case, although. The usual Galaxy S machine used to be a succesful flagship for individuals who needed an amazing expertise in a smaller package deal. It was nonetheless decidedly premium, however provided worth for cash. The Plus gave you a little bit of a lift to battery capability, storage, and display screen measurement. And the Extremely was the ultra-premium choice for individuals who wanted a very nice digicam and much more battery and processing energy.

I’m glad that Samsung has improved the apertures on its S26 Extremely digicam lenses (particularly the 200MP and 50MP lenses), as it will improve its low-light pictures efficiency. Nonetheless, I believe that extra enhancements may be made to the lenses, particularly when it comes to optical zoom.

I’ve by no means fairly forgiven Samsung for eradicating the 10x optical zoom from the Extremely rear digicam. I simply by no means get the outcomes I’d like when cropping to obtain “optical high quality” zoom (which is actually a sensor crop) versus precise optical zoom at lengthy vary. This “optical high quality” advertising and marketing has popped up for different lenses on the units as properly. On the S26 Extremely, its 200MP broad lens can also be listed as having 2x optical high quality zoom. For the S26 and S26 Plus, the 50MP wide-angle lens additionally claims 2x optical zoom.

I’d want precise optical zoom, in addition to a better vary throughout lenses. For the successors to the S26 and S26 Plus, 5x optical zoom may actually improve the person expertise. In the meantime, I’d like to see the return of 10x optical zoom to the subsequent Extremely, whereas nonetheless retaining a very good decision.

However that is the naked minimal, actually. Samsung ought to actually be on the forefront of digicam innovation, particularly with the S26 Extremely. In any case, when you’re paying $1,299 for a smartphone, it ought to actually be a pacesetter on the digicam entrance.

The Xiaomi 17 Extremely stands out as probably the very best Android digicam telephone, thanks to its modern digicam know-how. This features a variable-aperture, variable-focal-length periscope digicam and a big sensor. This gives a ton of versatility that may be misplaced when multi-lens setups embrace low-quality lenses that up the digicam rely however produce inconsistent high quality.

The battery capability of the S26 sequence isn’t the one factor caught prior to now — its charging speeds are too.

The one machine within the sequence to get a lift to its charging velocity is the S26 Extremely, which now helps 60W charging. Whereas that is an enchancment on paper, it’s lengthy overdue. So overdue in actual fact, that it’s nonetheless behind the competitors.

Samsung smartphones use the USB PD PPS protocol, however different units that use the identical protocol already exceed the charging speeds of the S26 Extremely. The prime instance is the Xiaomi 17 Extremely, which helps 90W PD PPS charging.

This leaves a variety of room for enchancment for Samsung’s units. The usual S26, specifically, is caught with 25W charging, which leads to extremely gradual charging occasions for a flagship machine in 2026.

Because the Galaxy S24 sequence, Samsung’s flagship launches have targeted on AI. When generative AI was nonetheless comparatively new, it was attention-grabbing to check out the totally different options. Nonetheless, it quickly grew to become obvious that many didn’t meaningfully enhance the person expertise.

The S25 and S26 launches leaned much more into AI. This included selling Google options, which sometimes arrive on Galaxy units first or concurrently Pixel units. However this partnership with Google will not be unique, so the instruments find yourself on different Android telephones as properly. Simply have a look at Circle to Search, which launched first on Galaxy and Pixel telephones however is nearly in every single place now. Likewise, the Discover The Look function in Circle to Search will arrive on the Galaxy S26 sequence and Pixel 10 smartphones first, however will roll out to different Android units too.

For options particular to Samsung units, you’re required to lean closely on Samsung’s ecosystem. But when you have already got most well-liked apps in your web searching and reminders, it’s possible you’ll not see the enchantment of switching to Samsung-exclusive apps for just some AI options.

The newer give attention to agentic AI additionally doesn’t enchantment to me, since I fear about potential privateness points. I don’t assume Samsung offers ample assurances that knowledge will stay protected when utilizing these AI instruments.

Don’t get me flawed, I would like to get excited by Samsung’s flagship telephones. They’re the most important Android model by market share. However I don’t really feel like they’re the leaders when it comes to making the very best Android telephones anymore.

Whereas the S26 Extremely’s Privateness Show is nifty, it doesn’t really feel groundbreaking to me. And it’s definitely not sufficient to inspire me to put money into a $1,299 new telephone. I actually hope that subsequent 12 months might be totally different and we’ll see vital {hardware} innovation from the producer.