Samsung Galaxy S26 Review: specs and features, camera quality test, gaming benchmark, user opinions and photos

Samsung Galaxy S26 – a compact disappointment?

The Korean company Samsung never fails to update its flagship smartphone lineup annually, but fans are still divided on the new generations. Unfortunately, most of the improvements only affect performance, leaving other aspects of the new devices untouched. Thus, the subject of today's review isn't much different from its predecessor.

The phone's appearance matches the brand's signature style, but it's very conservative. In fact, we've been seeing the same exterior for about five years now. A similar metal and tempered glass case, thin but not minimal bezels with a built-in fingerprint scanner, and a familiar triple-camera setup are among the features. The color options aren't particularly original either. However, IP68 water resistance and the modest dimensions of the candybar can be considered competitive advantages by today's standards. The 6.3-inch AMOLED panel has a rather unimpressive 2340x1080 resolution for a flagship, so image clarity is decent at best. The peak brightness of 2600 nits is also far from record-breaking, and there are some color calibration issues. While the developer hasn't forgotten about the 120Hz refresh rate, the PWM effect is still present. It's hard to forgive this shortcoming.

The technical specifications, however, are outstanding. It features a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 CPU, 12GB of RAM, and an Adreno 840 GPU. While the cooling system isn't the best, with some overheating and throttling, the power is still sufficient for maximum graphics settings in any game. Android 16 simply leaves no room for microlag. The 128GB storage configuration is finally gone, with a choice of 256GB or 512GB. The battery, however, is limited to 4300mAh, which is too small for good battery life. You can expect approximately 6-7 hours of active screen time. Wired charging with a 25W output is complemented by a 5W wireless charger. Both options are rather puzzling.

Photography hasn't improved. The 50MP GN3 main sensor and 10MP S5K3K1 telephoto lens (3x optical zoom) with hybrid stabilization, as well as the 12MP wide-angle lens, are up to the task in challenging shooting scenarios. However, photos with lots of moving objects or taken in low light can sometimes be disappointing with slight blur, noise, and other artifacts. The stereo sound is loud and rich, with no complaints. It also features NFC contactless payments, 5G support, and eSIM. However, its overly conservative design, not-so-affordable price tag, and questionable AMOLED display prevent it from being a clear recommendation.