Samsung’s Galaxy S series, their top-end flagships for every year, has had three models since the S20 series: a base model, the Plus, and the Ultra.
However, a source indicates that this might change with the Galaxy S26 series in 2026, and it’s not great news. According to reputed tipster Ice Universe (via @UniverseIce on X), it seems that Samsung is allegedly scrapping plans to release a Galaxy S26.
This means that the Galaxy S26 series might have just two models: the Galaxy S26+ and the Galaxy S26 Ultra. The reason cited is the sheer lack of competitiveness of the purported Galaxy S26 series in the market.
Of course, it is too early to say anything about the Galaxy S26, and Samsung might just release it after all, but I believe that this is an absolutely ridiculous reason to discontinue the Galaxy S26.
As per what I think, this move could allow Samsung to:
- Effectively ignore the competition in the same form factor, like the upcoming OPPO Find X8 and Vivo X200 Pro Mini, while becoming even complacent in the flagship hardware space due to pure laziness and hardware cost-cuttings.
- Jack up the prices of the Galaxy S26+/S26 Ultra. With the Galaxy S26 gone, Samsung will be able to price their phones at a higher starting price, say, for example, $999 instead of the current $799 starting launch price of the S24 series. More profits, at the cost of the buyers.
Perhaps a better route seems to be to actually improve the S26 in terms of hardware? Give the upgrades users asked for: a better 3x lens, a bigger battery, faster charging, but nope, they really said that they don’t care about their users who want a smaller, compact phone with Samsung’s One UI.
I hope this rumor isn’t true, but if it is, it is extremely disappointing to see, and it could end up being a massive blow to Samsung’s sales figures, given that most of the sales of a Galaxy S series generation usually go to the base and the Ultra models.
