The Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra could offer a bigger upgrade than usual – here are 5 reasons why
- Several new rumors point to significant spec bumps for the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra
- The next-gen Samsung flagship could get 60W charging, a thinner design, better cameras, and more
- The Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra has not been announced, and we don’t expect any confirmation either way for these rumors until next year
It seems hard to believe, but it’s been almost half a year since the launch of the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra. Since launch, Samsung’s latest top-end handset has continued to impress, holding spots in our lists of the best phones, best camera phones, best Android phones, and more.
Now, a handful of new rumors point to some major upgrades for the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra, which could make the best Samsung Galaxy phone even more impressive.
Faster charging
The first suggests the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra could launch with an increased maximum charging speed of 60W – for reference, the Galaxy S25 Ultra charges at 45W.
That’s according to user erenyilmaz075 on X, who managed to find references to 60W charging in what appears to be the Galaxy S26 Ultra’s unreleased firmware.
Compared to its western contemporaries, the Galaxy S25 Ultra actually charges pretty quickly – we previously reported the iPhone 16 Pro Max had been recorded as drawing 28W during testing by ChargerLAB, while the Google Pixel 9 Pro XL is rated at 45W also.
However, many Android phones now offer very fast charging speeds. OnePlus and Oppo phones benefit from the proprietary SuperVOOC technology, for example, which typically offers speeds of around 80W.
With the Galaxy S26 Ultra expected to inherit the same 5000mAh cell from the Galaxy S25 Ultra, I think a bump in power draw will be a worthwhile and valuable addition that should cut charging times significantly.
A thinner frame
Samsung recently launched the Galaxy Z Fold 7, the latest in its line of foldable phones – and it’s clear just by looking at the new handset that Samsung invested heavily in a new thinner design for its most expensive phone.
Another rumor suggests that the Galaxy S26 Ultra could be next in line for a slimmed-down redesign.
In a post to X (formerly Twitter), notable tipster UniverseIce (formerly known as Ice Universe, and now using the display name PhoneArt) said the Galaxy S26 Ultra would come in at “7.x mm”, down from 8.2mm on the Galaxy S25 Ultra. That could imply a reduction of 0.3mm up to 1.2mm.
UniverseIce also shared a render of the Galaxy S26 Ultra which shows the largest three cameras contained in a Galaxy Z Fold 7-style housing, likely because the main body of the phone would be too thin to fit the cameras.
This is what we currently know about the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra:The body will become even thinner at 7.x mm, with slightly increased width and height, while weighing a few grams less6.9-inch display featuring CoE depolarizer technology + third-generation anti-reflective… pic.twitter.com/Jp0M8RtQ9mJuly 28, 2025
A new chipset
The Galaxy S26 Ultra is expected to launch with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite 2 chipset, which is as yet unannounced but will likely be the most powerful chipset available for Android users when it launches.
This could mark a split between the Galaxy S26 Ultra and regular Galaxy S26 and Galaxy S26 Plus, both of which are expected to launch with Samsung’s own Exynos 2600 chipset.
This was suggested following a firmware deep dive by SamMobile, and backed up by further comments from UniverseIce.
OneUI 8.5
OneUI 7 launched with the Samsung Galaxy S25 series, the Galaxy S25 Ultra amongst them – but One UI 8 is already here, having launched with the new Galaxy Z Fold 7 and Galaxy Z Flip 7 folding phones.
According to another report from SamMobile, the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra will instead launch with One UI 8.5, an updated version of Samsung’s current-gen software.
This should allow Samsung to release the Galaxy S26 Ultra with some new features without committing to a full version update.
Given the rollout of One UI 7 was staggered across multiple months, Samsung may also be keen to avoid surrounding news of the Galaxy S26 series’ launch with news of a slow software release.
Upgraded cameras
As we’ve previously reported, the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra is tipped to get some upgrades to its camera system.
UniverseIce has again suggested that the main sensor will get a larger aperture, and that the 3x telephoto camera will get a larger sensor. The tipster also hinted at a larger aperture for the 5x telephoto camera.
The upgrade cycle for the Galaxy S series has felt pretty incremental in recent years – but if these rumors hold true the Galaxy S26 Ultra could be a much bigger upgrade than we had expected. Let us know what you want to see from Samsung’s next high-end flagship in the comments below.
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