Review: Samsung Galaxy S26 and Galaxy S26+

Great performance. Bright, colorful, and sharp screens. Reliable triple-camera system. Good battery life. Long software support. Now starts with 256 GB.

There is nothing inherently wrong with Samsung's base-level flagship smartphones of the year—the Galaxy S26 ($900) and Galaxy S26+ ($1,100). I have now spent several weeks with both handsets, and they're dutiful performers, just not very exciting.

Every year, Samsung introduces some fancy new feature, but it's almost always relegated to the top-tier Ultra model. This year, that's the Privacy Display on the Galaxy S26 Ultra, which blocks the screen from would-be snoopers around you. I like it a lot. Sadly, it's not available with the S26 or its bigger brother (some folks seem to hate it, so maybe that's a plus). Either way, it especially stings considering Samsung increased prices on these base models by $100 (thankfully ...