As Samsung prepares to launch the Galaxy S26 series of phones, AI takes center stage
The Samsung Galaxy S26 series launched globally tonight. With India being an important market, a strong AI focus, sophisticated hardware and competitively priced portfolio is expected. Here’s what to expect, why it matters and what Samsung’s strategy is for the premium Indian market.
Samsung is hours away from unveiling the Galaxy S26 series globally in San Francisco. This launch holds more importance than the regular annual upgrades and India Today is ground zero for the launch of the new Galaxy smartphones. The company is entering 2026 with new pressures in the premium smartphone sector, strong competition from Apple and Google, and a rapidly evolving AI-powered mobile ecosystem.
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The Galaxy S26 lineup is expected to include the Galaxy S26, Galaxy S26+, and the ultimate flagship, the Galaxy S26 Ultra, which are being billed not only as new hardware, but also as the next step in Samsung’s AI-first smartphones. For India, where the premium smartphone trend continues to grow, these devices could be a defining moment for the company’s core strategy.
India is an important market
India has quietly become one of Samsung’s most important premium markets. Over the past two years, consumers have shown an increasing willingness to spend more than Rs 80,000 on smartphones, a segment currently dominated by Apple.
Samsung’s challenge has been continuity. While its Ultra devices have earned strong reviews, the company needs clear differentiation and strong ecosystem value to continue attracting buyers. The company’s President, South West Asia, JB Park also emphasized that the premium smartphone market in India is growing which makes this launch important for the company.
The Galaxy S26 series appears to address exactly this. Instead of chasing headline hardware upgrades, Samsung is reportedly focusing on refining the overall experience, productivity, and AI integration, signaling a shift from specs-driven marketing to real-world utility.
This approach resonates well with Indian buyers, who value longevity, camera reliability and software intelligence more than incremental hardware leaps. As the competition struggles with their AI integration, this could be a great opportunity for Samsung to gain more dominance in the AI race.
What to expect: Design, performance and performance upgrades
Although official details have not been revealed yet, leaks suggest that Samsung is opting for incremental upgrades rather than major changes this time.
The Galaxy S26 Ultra is expected to sport a slightly redesigned design with more rounded edges and a thinner profile, which will bring visual consistency to the lineup. All models may also see a unified camera design language reminiscent of the Galaxy Z Fold 7 series.
Hardware you can expect:
– New Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 processor (for Ultra only)
— Possible Exynos 2600 variants in India
– Faster LPDDR5X RAM upgrade
– 120Hz AMOLED display in all models
— Better charging on Ultra
The Ultra variant is expected to retain the 6.9-inch AMOLED display and is expected to showcase Samsung’s signature display leadership. The battery capacity may remain largely unchanged on the Ultra with a 5,000mAh unit, but the charging speed may increase to 60W wired charging, meeting a long-standing demand of users.
If the rumors turn out to be true, Samsung might not introduce some camera upgrades this year. The Galaxy S26 Ultra is expected to continue to feature a 200-megapixel primary sensor along with upgraded telephoto and ultrawide cameras.
Instead, improvements are expected in computational photography and image processing, particularly skin tone and low-light performance. This signals a broader industry trend where AI software rather than sensor size is becoming the key differentiator.
Samsung’s pre-launch teasers and leaks suggest the cameras are moving “beyond capture,” letting users edit photos and videos using natural language commands, a change that highlights how AI is redefining smartphone photography. You can also expect some new AI editing integration.
Since AI is expected to be the primary driver on the new S26 devices, some of the new AI features expected include:
– Natural language photo and video editing
– Smarter on-device assistants and relevant suggestions
– Real-time productivity tools for writing, translating and summarizing
– Advanced privacy performance technology
– AI-powered camera optimization and scene reconstruction
Reports suggest that Samsung is investing heavily in improving on-device AI processing with advanced NPU performance chipsets and relying less on the cloud.
This is of great importance for India. Multilingual AI tools, live translation and productivity assistance could become key selling points in a country where users frequently switch between languages and work contexts.
Samsung’s expectations from India
Importantly, India is no longer a volume market for Samsung. Over the past few years, the premium market has exploded and customers are looking for more options in the above Rs 80,000 segment.
Industry watchers expect Samsung to push aggressive pre-order offers, trade-in bonuses and storage upgrades, strategies that have historically worked well in India. Pre-orders are reportedly set to begin soon after the launch event on February 25, indicating strong confidence in demand.
Samsung’s broader goal seems clear: maintain Android premium leadership while slowing Apple’s pace in metro markets.
If Galaxy AI resonates with Indian users, Samsung could consolidate its ecosystem advantage across phones, wearables and tablets.
Expected Pricing in India
Based on current leaks and retail expectations, here are the expected prices of the upcoming Galaxy S26 phones.
– Galaxy S26: Around Rs 79,999 – Rs 82,999
— Galaxy S26+: Around Rs 99,999
– Galaxy S26 Ultra: Around Rs 1,29,999 to Rs 1,38,999
The higher storage variant could cross Rs 1.6 lakh depending on configuration and offers.
Samsung may be intentionally keeping Ultra pricing closer to last year’s levels to remain competitive against the upcoming iPhone and Pixel flagships.
For India, the stakes are even higher. Expect an upgrade in terms of experience but not much in terms of hardware. If Samsung delivers meaningful AI experiences rather than gimmicks, the Galaxy S26 series could mark the beginning of a new flagship era, where AI on smartphones starts to make sense.
Stay tuned for live coverage of the launch on India Today on February 25.
