Private display and satellite connection: rumours about the Galaxy S26

Jan Johannsen

16/2/2026

Translation: machine translated

Samsung will present the Galaxy S26 series on 25 February 2026. Samsung itself clearly teases one innovation, others have leaked out. An overview.

Samsung is hosting an unpacked event on 25 February. The company is not revealing which devices will be at the event. Anything other than the Galaxy S26 smartphones would be a big surprise. There are not only numerous rumours and leaked information about the next generation of Samsung's top smartphones. The manufacturer itself announces an innovation in a video.

Neighbours no longer read along

The US subsidiary of Samsung published a 15-second video that shows a new function and ends with a reference to 25 February. The video shows a smartphone display that can severely restrict its viewing angle. Among other things, this prevents people sitting next to you on the train from being able to read along.

The Galaxy, because only the top model is rumoured to have the «Privacy Display», would be the first smartphone with such a display. I have only seen such functions on business laptops or as foils on monitors in government offices.

Satellite connection

Apple offers it, Google too - and one or two Chinese manufacturers as well: smartphones with a satellite connection for emergencies. Samsung has yet to offer the technology. But that could change. For the Galaxy S26 series, someone has looked closely into the approval documents of the FCC in the USA and discovered that Samsung's new smartphones can also connect to satellites when no mobile network is available. The sources even report calls via this type of connection. We will find out more about the range of functions and availability on 25 February.

The S Pen is here to stay

Samsung has removed the Bluetooth connection from the S Pen on the Galaxy S25 Ultra. The pen now only works directly on the display and no longer as a remote control. According to the images published by leaker Evan Blass, the Galaxy S26 Ultra also has an S Pen again. Samsung had recently removed support for the stylus from the Galaxy Z Fold 7.

Whether the pen will offer new functions is not yet rumoured.

Model variants remain and receive upgrades

According to the rumours circulating so far, it is certain that the three model variants will remain. The Galaxy S26 as the smallest and cheapest variant will probably be slightly larger. The Galaxy S26+, the larger version, is not expected to look any different from its predecessor. As the top model, the S26 Ultra will probably continue to offer more than the Plus version - such as an additional camera, the S Pen and a larger battery.

There are no major changes to the features and appearance of any of the models. In terms of battery and charging speed, only the basic model has seen a slight increase from 300 mAh to 4300 mAh and 45 watts. All models are likely to use Qi2.2.1 for wireless charging, which is also referred to as Qi2 25W. There are conflicting rumours as to whether Samsung will finally equip its smartphones with magnets to hold them to charging stations.

Samsung is taking the step to the next generation of chipsets. There will be models with the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 and with the Exynos 2600. It remains unclear which division Samsung will make this year. In the past, the manufacturer has launched smartphones in different countries with different chipsets, but has also used one chipset for one model and the other for the other.

Jan Johannsen

Senior Editor

Jan.Johannsen@galaxus.de

As a primary school pupil, I used to sit in a friend's living room with many of my classmates to play the Super NES. Now I get my hands on the latest technology and test it for you. In recent years at Curved, Computer Bild and Netzwelt, now at Digitec and Galaxus. more

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