3 days ago
Samsung Galaxy S26 Edge: All the rumors so far
Samsung shook up its flagship phone lineup this past year by introducing the Galaxy S25 Edge, a device that earned plaudits for its thin-and-light design while still offering the kind of premium features you'd expect from a high-end handset. So what will the Galaxy S26 Edge do for an encore?
Details are already leaking out about the Galaxy S26 phones — including the Galaxy S26 Edge. And by the time Samsung releases its ultra-thin phone follow-up, the Galaxy Edge should have competition from the rumored iPhone 17 Air. If the rumors are true about Apple's upcoming device, the Air figures to be even thinner than the Galaxy S25 Edge.
The arrival of an ultra-thin phone from Apple should ramp up the pressure on Samsung to continue to innovate with the Galaxy S26 Edge. Here's what we've heard so far about how Samsung plans to respond to the challenge.
The Galaxy S25 Edge made its debut as an extension of the Galaxy S series. But the follow-up may take the place of another long-standing member of the flagship family.
Multiple reports claim that the Galaxy S26 Edge will take the place of the Galaxy S Plus model in Samsung's 2026 smartphone lineup. It's certainly a move that makes sense — the Galaxy S25 Edge and Galaxy S25 Plus share many features including a 6.7-inch display. The two phones cost about the same, too, though the Edge does cost $100 more than $999 Plus.
It's undeniable that recent Galaxy S Plus models have struggled to stand out in Samsung's lineup, as the phone is essentially just a bigger-screen version of the standard Galaxy S flagship. The Edge would offer a few more premium features, plus that thinner design to go with the large screen that Plus customers demand.
Assuming the Galaxy S26 Edge turns out to be the replacement for the Galaxy S26 Plus, you'd expect the phone to debut alongside Samsung's other Galaxy s26 models. This would be a departure from how Samsung handled the Galaxy S25 Edge's launch. That phone received a teaser at the January launch event for the rest of the Galaxy S25 lineup. The S25 Edge didn't get its own release until May.
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The last few Galaxy Unpacked events introducing the latest Galaxy S models have taken place in January. We'd expect the 2026 edition to follow suit, meaning we'd likely see a Galaxy S26 Edge hit stores no later than early February.
It's unclear what price Samsung will charge for its new Edge, though the $1,099 starting price of the Galaxy S25 Edge seems like a good guide.
At 5.8mm thin, the Galaxy S25 Edge cuts a slender profile. But Samsung seems to think it can make an even thiner phone.
Leaker Ice Universe claims the Galaxy S26 Edge will shed 3mm off its predecessors thickness, giving it a 5.5mm-thin frame. That would beat the iPhone 17 Air's rumored 5.65mm profile, though it still wouldn't be as thin as the Galaxy Z Fold 7 is when that phone is unfolded.
We haven't heard any rumors about the Galaxy S26 Edge display, making us think that Samsung will keep the 6.7-inch panel in place. The Galaxy S25 Edge hit a peak brightness of 1,997 nits when we measure it with a light meter. That's pretty bright, but phone makers seem to be focused on boosting brightness as of late, so we could see an improvement there.
There's talk of the Galaxy S26 Ultra adopting anti-reflective glass to cut down on the glare from its screen. It's unclear if that feature will find its way to the Galaxy S26 Edge, but that's a development worth keeping an eye on.
For the Galaxy S25 Edge, Samsung turned to the same 200MP main sensor featured on its Galaxy S25 Ultra flagship. That's likely to remain in place for the next version of the Edge, though Samsung could increase the aperture of the main camera to let in more light. That improvement happens to be rumored for the Galaxy S26 Ultra, so it could effect the next version of the Edge, too.
Otherwise, we'd expect a similar two-lens setup on the back of the Galaxy S26 Edge. With Samsung looking for ways to make the next version of this phone even thiner, finding space for a telephoto lens to go with the current main and ultrawide cameras seems like a low priority for the phone maker.
Every new Samsung phone launch seems to trigger some sort of Snapdragon-or-Exynos debate over whether the phone maker will use Qualcomm's silicon or its own chipsets. Leaked Geekbench test results may have tipped Samsung's hand in regard to the Galaxy S26 Edge.
Specifically, a phone with the Galaxy S26 Edge model number has been spotted in the database of Geekbench results for the unannounced Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 2 system-on-chip. That device, which sported 12GB of RAM, posted single-core and multicore scores of 3,393 and 11,515, respectively. For context, the Snapdragon 8 Elite-powered Galaxy S25 Edge had respective scores of 3,129 and 9,916 on those CPU tests.
Assuming that's an actual Galaxy S26 Edge running an actual Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 2 chipset, you'd imagine that the next version of Qualcomm's flagship silicon will power next year's Edge model. We should find out more about the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 2 next month when Qualcomm holds its annual Snapdragon Summit.
Galaxy AI figures to be an important part of the Galaxy S26 story, given Samsung's ongoing push into AI-powered features. The Galaxy S25 Edge supported all of the same capabilities introduced with the rest of the Galaxy S25 series, and you'd expect that to continue with the S26 phones.
There could be more kinds of AI features on the S26 models, though. Choi Won-Joon, president and COO of Samsung's mobile division, has confirmed that the company is talking to multiple vendors about adding their AI services to the S26 series.
If there's one consistent complaint about the Galaxy S25 Edge, it comes down to the phone's battery life. While the S25 Edge performed well enough on our battery test, it fell short of the kind of longevity other Samsung flagships provide — a by-product of the smaller battery Samsung is forced to use in its thin phone.
But Samsung could be taking steps to change that with the Galaxy S26 Edge. A Galaxy Club report claims that the new phone will feature a 4,200 mAh battery, a step up from the 3,900 mAh power pack in the current model. That, plus any power efficiency gains from the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 2, should help the Galaxy S26 Edge improve its staying power.
For now we've got plenty of time for more Galaxy S26 Edge rumors to emerge. But what we've heard so far — from the thinner design to the larger battery — is encouraging, as it suggests that Samsung isn't about to rest on its ultra-thin laurels.
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