The Samsung Galaxy S26 series has been officially unveiled and pre-orders are live across multiple retailers.
Samsung’s newest Galaxy smartphones have arrived and customers can now place their pre-order before launch. On Wednesday (February 25), Samsung hosted its yearly Unpacked event in San Francisco and revealed the Galaxy S26 range.
It consists of the standard Galaxy S26, Galaxy S26+ and Galaxy S26 Ultra. Each handset will arrive in the UK on March 11 at £879, £1,099 and £1,279 respectively when buying outright.
However, for those who’d rather spread the cost of their phones, Sky Mobile was amongst the first networks to announce its pre-order offers and they include bonuses worth hundreds of pounds. Sky’s monthly charges begin at £30 for the S26, climbing to £38 for the S26+ and £44 for the S26 Ultra.
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When placing a pre-order by the March 10 deadline, buyers will get a free Galaxy Watch8 worth £319 with their S26 and S26+, whilst the S26 Ultra includes a free Galaxy Watch8 Classic worth £449. Additionally, anyone pre-ordering these devices will also get double storage at no additional charge, securing a 512GB model for the cost of 256GB.
One drawback to Sky’s contracts is that they include a small 100MB data allowance, so most users should think about upgrading to bigger plans to ensure they don’t run short. Also, Sky mentions its prices ‘may change’ during the 36-month minimum term, reports Birmingham Live.
Among our top pre-order deals elsewhere is at Currys-backed site Mobiles.co.uk, where £34.99 per month plus a £9 upfront fee secures a standard S26 with 100GB of data. At Three, £35.89 per month plus £40 upfront offers unlimited data for heavier users, with the S26 Ultra priced at £46.89 per month plus £50 upfront.
EE‘s prices are slightly higher, with the S26 costing £47 per month plus £30 upfront for a 125GB data allowance, but this includes access to EE’s superior 5G+ network in certain areas. For customers who prefer to buy outright, pre-order prices tend to be consistent across retailers such as Samsung.com and Amazon.
The Samsung Galaxy S26 range is available in four colours: Cobalt Violet, Black, White, and Sky Blue. Key features include an AMOLED display, Exynos 2600 processor, quicker wireless charging and enhanced AI capabilities.
The S26 Ultra features the most powerful processor ever in a Galaxy phone, Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5, whilst its 7.9mm frame is the slimmest Ultra yet. It can manage even the most demanding tasks with ultra-smooth performance, alongside advanced AI technology and a 200MP camera.
David Snelling, Technology Editor at The Mirror, was in San Francisco for Galaxy Unpacked and praised the S26 Ultra for ‘one clever feature the iPhone can’t match’. He said: “The S26 Ultra is not only thinner and faster than before, but it now comes with a Privacy Display, which stops prying eyes from seeing what’s on the screen.
“Once activated in the settings, content magically disappears if you aren’t staring directly at it. That means strangers sitting next to you on the train won’t be able to read your texts or have a cheeky glance at the movie you are watching.
“It can even be set to only block out specific apps or certain notifications. Along with that smart screen, the Ultra gets a thinner design, long battery life and is now powered by the ultimate Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 Mobile Platform for Galaxy from Qualcomm.
“There’s even some pretty rapid charging, which can take things from flat to 75% in 30 minutes. There’s also an updated quad rear camera that snaps much better images at night and video capture is further enhanced with upgraded Super Steady capabilities, which add a horizontal lock option for less wobble when shooting home movies.”
However, David also said not much has changed in the Galaxy S26 Ultra design, adding: “It looks quite similar to the Ultra phones that preceded it. Save for some tweaks to the camera bump, you’d be forgiven for mistaking the S26 Ultra for 2022’s S22 Ultra.”
He went on: “Samsung’s new smartphones get a big boost to their smart features thanks to a Galaxy AI upgrade. Samsung is promising a far more useful experience with updates such as Now Nudge, which offers relevant suggestions to help users stay in the flow without being distracted.
“For example, if a friend asks for photos from a recent trip, the Galaxy S26 automatically suggests photos from the Gallery. When receiving a message about a meeting, Galaxy S26 can recognise related Calendar entries and check for conflicts.”
Samsung’s Galaxy S26 series is available to pre-order at Sky Mobile, Mobiles.co.uk, Three, EE,Samsung.com and Amazon.