Samsung Galaxy S26 Review: Fun AI Tricks for a Steeper Price - CNET

Our gifting experts are obsessively searching for holiday gifts that are unique, thoughtful and suitable for any budget. Our expert, award-winning staff selects the products we cover and rigorously researches and tests our top picks. If you buy through our links, we may earn a commission. Samsung's baseline flagship is still a potent phone, but the extra $100 isn't going toward the right upgrades. Article updated on March 11, 2026, 12:02 pm EDT The Samsung Galaxy S26 is a mix of fantastic innovations and idleness, with clear evidence of Samsung’s odd approach to deciding which components to upgrade and which to let tread water. It’s understandable that Samsung might hold back some of its fancier features for higher-tier phones, but it leaves its baseline model with awkward shortfalls that persist year over year. This has kept the Galaxy S26 in a state of arrested development for years, which would be weird if it weren’t so expected. The base model’s charging rate hasn’t sped up in six years, since the Galaxy S20. Upgrades are piecemeal compared to its predecessor, unless you count AI features that come to every S26 phone and some earlier ones via software updates. While there are p