Samsung Galaxy S26 series launched: world’s first agentic AI phone
During Galaxy Unpacked, Samsung announced the new Galaxy S26 series. Despite modest hardware upgrades, this is primarily a software update. Thanks to smarter Galaxy AI and a preview of Google's Gemini 3, this is the world's first agentic AI phone.
An Agentic AI Phone ensures intentions are converted into actions. This starts in the morning with Now Brief. It scans your messages and adds appointments to your calendar if you've forgotten, for example. If you are too busy to answer the phone, Galaxy AI can do it for you.
from now on.
Call Screening answers calls for you and transcribes them, letting you decide whether to pick up. Google previously introduced this feature, though it is not yet available in all regions. Whether Samsung's Call Screening will be available immediately remains to be seen.
Bixby and Perplexity Browser Automate Workflow
Bixby has become smarter, too. Besides answering questions, Bixby can perform actions like searching your calendar without leaving your current app. Samsung is partnering with Perplexity for a new browser. It allows you to ask questions about open tabs while researching restaurants, for example. Ask the browser to summarize reviews into a clear table, and it generates one instantly.
On-Device Processing and Knox Vault Ensure Privacy
Samsung aims to address privacy concerns by performing most processing on the device. Confidential data remains secure in what Samsung calls "Keep." Samsung Knox Vault ensures nothing leaves the device without your consent. If data is sent to the cloud, Samsung claims it is deleted immediately upon completion.
Perhaps the biggest surprise was the announcement that the Galaxy S26 series features an early preview of Google's latest Gemini. This transforms Android from an operating system into an intelligent system. It can perform actions across different apps. For example, you can summarize a group chat about dinner plans and place an order in a delivery app. Currently, this works with apps like DoorDash and Grubhub, with more support coming later this year.
Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 for Galaxy Drives AI Revolution
These features are best showcased on the Galaxy S26 Ultra. It is 39% faster at handling AI tasks than its predecessor, thanks to the modified chipset. The Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 for Galaxy features a 19% faster CPU and 24% faster GPU. Through Vulkan optimizations, a 17% boost in ray tracing ensures higher quality in games.
Samsung also demonstrated the new Privacy Display built into the S26 Ultra. It can be activated by the user to reduce viewing angles and prevent prying eyes. For this, Samsung uses two different types of pixels in the screen: narrow and wide.
By placing these on a "Black Matrix," the S26 Ultra can control which parts of the screen require extra privacy. This allows users to hide pop-up notifications without dimming the entire screen.
Samsung will release the Galaxy S26 Ultra on March 11 in four colors for a suggested retail price of €1,449. Preorders begin today. Those who preorder will receive a free upgrade to 512GB of storage for the price of 256GB. The Galaxy S26+ and S26 cost €1,249 and €999, respectively.
This is €100 more than the launch price of the S25 series, except for the Ultra model whose price is unchanged. Apple kept iPhone 17 series prices stable, making an entry-level Galaxy more expensive than an entry-level iPhone for the first time.
