Samsung kicks off its 2026 product lineup with new premium smartphones and redesigned earbuds at San Francisco event.
As Mobile World Congress approaches, Samsung chose to hold its latest Unpacked event ahead of the show. During the presentation at San Francisco’s Palace of Fine Arts, the company announced the Galaxy S26 series, including the S26, S26+, and S26 Ultra.
In addition to those, Samsung announced the Galaxy Buds 4 along with some AI updates. All the devices unveiled today are already available for pre-order.
Here’s a look at everything Samsung announced at the latest Unpacked:
Galaxy S26 and S26+: Higher prices, refined design
The S26 and S26+ are each $100 more expensive than their predecessors, with the RAM shortage cited as a factor keeping prices elevated. They start at $900 and $1,100, respectively, for variants with 256GB of storage.
Samsung has tweaked the design this time by rounding the corners to align them more with the S26 Ultra’s aesthetic. The base model features a slightly larger display than the S25 at 6.3 inches, while the S26+ maintains a 6.7-inch screen with higher resolution than the standard model can handle. The S26 also gets a battery capacity increase to 4,300mAh.
In North America, China, and Japan, Samsung is sticking with Qualcomm chips rather than using its own Exynos 2600. Devices in those markets will run on the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chipset.
While the camera modules remain unchanged from last year, Samsung aims to enhance them through software upgrades, including ProScaler image upscaling and an MDNIe chip, said to greatly improve color precision. A new video stabilization feature works to keep the horizon level while following moving subjects. The Object Aware Engine is designed to better render skin tones and hair textures for improved selfies.
Samsung has also reworked several AI features, expanding Now Brief and Auto Eraser compatibility with more apps.
Pre-orders for the S26 and S26+ are open today, with general availability beginning March 11. The phones will be available in Cobalt Violet, Black, Sky Blue, White, Silver, and Rose Gold, though the latter two are online exclusives.
Galaxy S26 Ultra: Privacy Display takes center stage
The Galaxy S26 Ultra will be available in the same colorways and on the same date as its smaller siblings. It starts at $1,300, holding steady with the S25 Ultra’s launch price. Pre-orders open today.
The S26 Ultra features a 6.9-inch AMOLED display with QHD+ resolution (3120 x 1440) and a 120Hz refresh rate. But the display hides what may be the device’s most interesting feature: a Privacy Display said to be the first of its kind on a smartphone.
The technology helps limit visibility from sharp viewing angles, making it harder for others nearby to see the screen. When Privacy Display is enabled, brightness drops slightly. Users can customize it to activate during password or PIN input, when notifications arrive, or when specific apps are launched.
The S26 Ultra runs on the same Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chipset as its siblings. It comes with 12 or 16GB of RAM and storage options of 256GB, 512GB, or 1TB. The battery capacity sits at 5,000mAh with support for Super Fast Charging 3.0. Notably, Samsung has not included built-in Qi2 charging magnets in the S26 lineup.
The selfie camera matches those on the S26 and S26+. The rear camera system includes a 50MP ultrawide lens, 200MP wide lens, and dual telephoto sensors: a 10MP 3x and 50MP 5x. While resolutions match the S25 Ultra, the main 200MP and 5x telephoto sensors now feature wider apertures for improved low-light performance. The device includes all camera software and AI features found in the standard S26 models.
Galaxy Buds 4 and Buds 4 Pro: Complete redesign
Unlike the iterative phone updates, Samsung has given its Galaxy Buds a proper refresh. The company revamped the design of both the Galaxy Buds 4 and Galaxy Buds 4 Pro, eliminating the angular stem look and removing the stem lights.
According to Samsung, the earbuds feature a “more refined, computationally designed fit” with smaller earbud heads that allow for better, more secure placement and a more comfortable experience during all-day wear. The Galaxy Buds 4 maintain an open-fit format, while the Buds Pro 4 use a canal-fit design.
The latest earbuds offer improved audio quality and active noise cancellation, with ambient sound mode, adaptive EQ, and adaptive ANC. On Buds 4 Pro, a siren detection feature enables ambient sound to let users hear alarms or emergency vehicle warnings.
Samsung said the Buds 4 Pro incorporate a wide woofer that increases effective speaker area by nearly 20 percent compared to the previous generation. They support 24-bit/96kHz audio.
When used with Galaxy devices, both models support hands-free voice controls for Bixby, Google Gemini, and Perplexity. The Buds 4 Pro also include head gesture controls for managing calls and Bixby interactions.
Pre-orders for the earbuds open today with a March 11 release date. The Galaxy Buds 4 cost $180, and Galaxy Buds 4 Pro run $250. Both models are available in white and black with a matte finish, with an online-exclusive pink option for Buds 4 Pro.
Android AI features: Google and Samsung expand AI capabilities on Galaxy S26
Samsung confirmed that it would offer Perplexity as an AI agent option in Galaxy AI on the S26 lineup. As part of that update, the company shared that the S26 series would respond to the “Hey Plex” wake phrase, and that Perplexity’s features would also be embedded in the Samsung Browser app. Samsung also recently updated Bixby to make its own virtual assistant more conversational.
On top of that news, Google had announcements of its own to make at Unpacked regarding new Android AI features, which will, of course, be available on S26 devices.
On those handsets and the Pixel 10 lineup, the Gemini app will soon have a feature (in beta) that enables users to offload multi-step tasks to AI. The functionality allows for tasks such as booking a ride or putting a grocery order together to be handled by the AI assistant.
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