Release dates, pricing, and pre-order offers for the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra
Samsung is getting ready to release the Galaxy S26, S26+, and S26 Ultra. The Galaxy S23, S24, and S25 families' customary mid-to-late-January launch window will not be employed for this year's Galaxy Unpacked event. When will the major milestones take place before, during, and following the launch?
Unpacking the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra and a Rescheduled Galaxy
Samsung, like the majority of smartphone manufacturers, has a clear timeline for releasing new phones to the general market, centered around the Galaxy Unpacked launch event. It was anticipated that Samsung will introduce the Galaxy S26 Ultra, Galaxy S26 Edge, and Galaxy S26 Pro in late January 2026. These would include an upgraded entry-level Galaxy S that featured the Pro suffix to go along with greater features, a sophomore year for the stylishly slim Edge, and the flagship Ultra, which is well-known and adored by many.
Unfortunately, a new Edge was eliminated from consideration due to the Galaxy S25 Edge's allegedly poor sales. Regarding the S25 Pro, Samsung decided to maintain the $799 pricing for its entry-level model due to the retail success of the vanilla iPhone 17 and the fact that it kept the $799 price of the iPhone 16. Thus, the well-known trio of the S26, S26+, and S26 Ultra would perform.
The launch date has been moved back to late February as a result of the production timelines being delayed by this tweaking of the product mix.
The Galaxy Unpacked debut is scheduled for Wednesday, February 25, in San Francisco, according to two prominent voices in Samsung coverage, Evan Blass (@evleaks) and @IceUniverse. The event in New York last year began at 10 a.m. Pacific Time and 1 p.m. Eastern Time. It's a good idea to start the Galaxy S26 at a comparable time.
Unpacked Announcement for the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra
The announcement of Galaxy Unpacked itself will come first. Last year, on January 6, the first day of CES, Samsung revealed the date of January 22. This date was probably not picked at random. Samsung made sure it was included in the discussion on new technologies and innovation.
The Mobile World Congress, which begins in Barcelona on March 2, is the next big event on the smartphone calendar. Less than a week before MWC, Galaxy Unpacked will provide the South Korean business the opportunity to control the discussion, just like it did before CES in 2025.
The Galaxy Unpacked invites should be sent out the week of Monday, February 9, if Samsung keeps the same two-week advance time as in 2025.
The Fourth Member of the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra Family
The Samsung Galaxy S26 FE, the company's fourth Galaxy S26 smartphone, is expected to be released in 2026. The flagship cellphones' Fan Edition editions are mid-range versions that provide almost the same features at a cheaper price. Consider the iPhone 16e to the iPhone 16 Pro Max or the Pixel 9a to the Pixel 9 Pro XL.
As the most reasonably priced Galaxy S smartphone, the Galaxy S25 FE was released in September 2025, eight months after the rest of the Galaxy S25 range. It will stay in the lineup until the first half of 2026. Similar to the previously stated 9a and 16e, the S26 FE will come significantly later in its flagship's life cycle.
Pre-order deals on the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra
Samsung has started accepting pre-orders for its new phones as soon as the keynotes concluded, even though the first three Galaxy S26 devices won't be ready for purchase right away. This is likely an attempt to take advantage of the large number of people watching the livestreams. Pre-orders for the Galaxy S26 family will open on February 22, so expect the same thing.
The pre-order incentives are subject to change. Samsung has historically provided a variety of discounts, improved specifications, and higher trade-in value. One of the long-standing benefits may be in jeopardy, even if the increased trade-ins will undoubtedly still exist. Customers may purchase the next storage size up from their purchase thanks to Samsung's well-known "double storage" offer; if they pay for 128 GB of storage, they will receive 256 GB, 256 GB will be upgraded to 512 GB, and 512 GB will be upgraded to 1 TB. This could be an excessive offer given the escalating costs of RAM and storage.
There should be considerable leeway in the system, as Samsung is not anticipated to increase the retail price of its phones anytime soon, and you would think that it has made substantial hedges on future silicon manufacturing. It can still be financially advantageous to proceed with the storage offer, as it also increases sales through Samsung's website as opposed to suppliers and retail locations.
Cost of the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra
Update, Monday, January 12: Pre-orders for the Galaxy S26, Galaxy S26+, and Galaxy 26 Ultra are anticipated to begin as the event draws to a close. Pricing for these devices will be disclosed at the Galaxy Unpacked event. What costs might the community anticipate?
The Galaxy S25 series will serve as the basis. The flagship devices from the previous year cost $799 for the Galaxy S25, $999 for the Galaxy S25+, and $1,299 for the Galaxy S25 Ultra. Samsung undoubtedly used these costs as a starting point for internal discussion.
The most obvious indication of price is the decision to abandon the planned Galaxy S26 Pro. It is said that Apple's retail success with the iPhone 17, which kept the pricing at $799 like the iPhone 16, discouraged Samsung from raising the entry-level model's specifications. This implies that the Galaxy S26 will start at $799, matching the price of the iPhone 17 and the Galaxy S25 from the previous year.
Two more points have been exposed by recent releases. The first is that Samsung wants to maintain pricing stability until at least the summer. This would entail keeping the S26 family in line with the S25, with the Galaxy S26+ starting at $999 and the S26 Ultra at $1,299.
However, Samsung will soon be impacted by growing memory and storage costs. The upper levels of the Galaxy S26 models may be another casualty, in addition to the pre-order double-storage offer. This might result in a $50 increase in basic pricing, a sharper price increase as you progress up the storage and memory tiers, or Samsung raising the prices of the Galaxy A lineup and spreading the expenses over a larger range of Galaxy devices.
It seems probable that last year's upper tiers would see a little price hike, but as Galaxy Unpacked approaches, pricing should become more clear.
The Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra
Reviews of the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra
The first set of reviews should be released between the Galaxy Unpacked event and the public sale of the Galaxy S26 series. In prior years, a week following the March 4 debut, the first gadget evaluations showed up on consumer tech websites and YouTube channels.
The conclusion of Mobile World Congress and a plethora of "Best In Show" press releases and publicity would coincide with that date. It will be intriguing to observe whether Samsung permits an embargo to coincide with these reports or to record the next day and use all of the digital ink to concentrate on the Galaxy S26 Ultra and its relatives.
It would be a risky move to lift the review embargo on the first day of MWC, but there is precedent: last year's Unpacked invites clashed with the start of CES.
Retail Sales of the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra
These days, it seems like the industry standard is to wait two weeks between a smartphone's announcement and retail sale, while certain businesses may change this time to suit corporate tastes. The Galaxy S25 family would be available in shops on Friday, March 6, for slightly under two weeks, or Friday, March 13, for just over two weeks, since Samsung likes Fridays for retail launches.
Assuming no one is unduly superstitious about launching the Galaxy S26 Ultra on Friday the Thirteenth, it would seem prudent to build stock one week before the retail release, given that the Galaxy Unpacked debut date has been rescheduled to allow the S26 and S26+ to return.
The Later Option for the Retail Sale of the Galaxy S26 Ultra
Update, January 11, Sunday: The real release date is a crucial subject because Galaxy Unpacked is essentially set for February 25 and the pre-order window is anticipated to open when the event comes to an end. Details on the Galaxy S26, Galaxy S26+, and Galaxy S26 Ultra's in-store debut are available on the French website Dealabs, which is well-known for determining smartphone retail launch dates and pricing in European markets:
"The release date is the second important detail that we are able to verify. Our sources state that starting on March 11, 2026, all Galaxy S26 variants and their assortment of accessories will be accessible in Europe. This validates the reports that point to an early March debut.
Even though these are European dates, Samsung's past indicates that, together with the UK, North America, and South Korea, it views Europe as a crucial region. Day One hardware should be released for all of them; thus, Wednesday, March 11, in Europe will be Wednesday, March 11, for everyone.
The Galaxy S26 family will go on sale precisely two weeks after Galaxy Unpacked thanks to its Wednesday launch. In addition to the fourteen pre-order days, this will provide Samsung twenty days of sales for the fiscal quarter.
Importantly, less than a week after MWC concludes, the Galaxy S26 family will be available in shops. There will be a lot of customer publicity for the in-store visits. Samsung will be hoping that the Galaxy S26 Ultra message will overpower whatever advances the opposition makes in Barcelona thanks to the excitement generated by Galaxy Unpacked and the intense marketing.