5 things to expect at Samsung Galaxy Unpacked – and 5 things we probably won’t see

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5 things to expect at Samsung Galaxy Unpacked – and 5 things we probably won’t see Features By James Rogerson published 24 January 2026

The Samsung Galaxy S26 and beyond

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(Image credit: Future / Axel Metz) Jump to:

• The Samsung Galaxy S26
• The Samsung Galaxy S26 Plus
• The Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra
• The Samsung Galaxy Z Trifold
• New AI features
• What we probably won’t see

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Samsung Galaxy Unpacked is the company’s biannual hardware launch, where we see major new smartphones announced, sometimes alongside other hardware or software. And, the first Unpacked of 2026 is expected soon.

Leaks suggest the event will occur on February 25, and while that date isn’t yet confirmed, we’d expect it in the first couple of months of the year based on past form.

Thanks to other leaks and rumors, we also have a good idea of what to expect at this event, so below, you’ll find everything we’re expecting at Samsung Galaxy Unpacked 2026 – along with the significant things we probably won’t see.

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1. The Samsung Galaxy S26

The Samsung Galaxy S25 (Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)

Samsung always uses its early-year Unpacked to launch new Galaxy S models, so of course, we’re fully expecting to see the Samsung Galaxy S26 here.

Leaks suggest this will have broadly similar specs to the Samsung Galaxy S25, but with a more powerful chipset (likely a Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5), a higher capacity 4,300mAh battery, and magnetic wireless charging.

It may also benefit from a boosted 12MP telephoto camera and a slightly larger 6.3-inch screen, and it could start at 256GB of storage rather than the 128GB of its predecessor.

2. The Samsung Galaxy S26 Plus

The Samsung Galaxy S25 Plus (Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)

The Samsung Galaxy S26 Plus is expected to land alongside the Samsung Galaxy S26, and it will probably be a lot like its predecessor – in fact, it might even have fewer upgrades than the Samsung Galaxy S26, as leaks suggest there will be no change to its battery capacity or screen size.

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That aside, the same assortment of potential upgrades as for the S26 has been assumed, including a more powerful chipset, with the most likely candidate being the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 – though some sources suggest the Exynos 2600 will be used in at least some regions.

It might also have magnetic wireless charging and a 12MP telephoto camera, replacing the 10MP sensor on the Samsung Galaxy S25 Plus.

3. The Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra

The Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra (Image credit: Future / Lance Ulanoff)

The Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra will likely be the star of the upcoming Unpacked event, as it will be the top-end model in the Samsung Galaxy S26 series.

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Upgrades might again be relatively minor, though, headlined by a new Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chipset.

Beyond that, the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra is rumored to offer a charging upgrade to 60W, possibly replacing 45W, and, like its siblings, it could also support magnetic wireless charging. The battery might be boosted too – sources disagree on this, though - but it could be in the region of 5,200mAh–5,400mAh, rather than the 5,000mAh of the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra.

It might also have a larger vapor chamber, a ‘Privacy Display’ feature that prevents snoopers from seeing what's on the screen, and possibly some minor camera upgrades, including a 12MP telephoto in place of its predecessor’s 10MP one, and perhaps a new lens and a larger sensor for its 200MP main camera.

4. The Samsung Galaxy Z Trifold

The Samsung Galaxy Z Trifold (Image credit: Lance Ulanoff / Future)

The Samsung Galaxy Z Trifold has already been announced, but it’s not widely available yet. We know Samsung plans to start selling it in the US sometime early this year, so announcing its release date and pricing at Unpacked would make sense.

We’re a lot less sure that we’ll see this than the Samsung Galaxy S26 series, though, because while its appearance and those details being outlined would make sense, it’s not something we’ve specifically heard rumored.

5. New AI features

Galaxy AI on a Samsung Galaxy S24 (Image credit: Future | Alex Walker-Todd)

The whole world is obsessed with AI right now, and there’s a high chance Samsung will take this opportunity to unveil some new AI features of its own – likely ones that will ship with the Samsung Galaxy S26 series.

We’ve heard, for example, that Samsung might partner with Perplexity to give its Bixby assistant a boost, and signs of that have already been spotted in beta versions of Samsung’s upcoming software, so there’s a good chance some of these capabilities will be shown off at Unpacked.

What we probably won’t see

We probably won't see a successor to the Galaxy S25 Edge here (Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)

While there could be quite a lot on show at Samsung Galaxy Unpacked 2026, there are also various things that we’re not expecting to see.

This includes the Samsung Galaxy S26 Edge, which was once thought to replace the Galaxy S26 Plus but has now seemingly been canceled or delayed, depending on which sources you believe.

We also doubt we’ll see the Samsung Galaxy Ring 2 here, and leaks suggest this might not launch at all.

As for new foldables and smartwatches, we don’t typically get those this early in the year, and there’s no sign of 2026 being an exception, but we expect to see the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8, the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 8, and the Samsung Galaxy Watch 9 series in or around July.

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James is a freelance phones, tablets and wearables writer and sub-editor at TechRadar. He has a love for everything ‘smart’, from watches to lights, and can often be found arguing with AI assistants or drowning in the latest apps. James also contributes to 3G.co.uk, 4G.co.uk and 5G.co.uk and has written for T3, Digital Camera World, Clarity Media and others, with work on the web, in print and on TV.

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