Samsung Galaxy S26 series image leak confirms the bad news: they’re ugly

After Apple’s controversial redesign for the iPhone 17 series, it’s apparently time for Samsung to follow suit. The Galaxy S26 series’ redesigns have already been leaked before as renders, but now there is an actual image of new components, confirming that Samsung’s flagships next year will be, in my opinion, quite an eyesore.Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra is, in my eyes, the worst of the bunch. The Galaxy S25 Ultra makes the Galaxy S26 Ultra look ancient, especially due to the camera bump. Meanwhile, the Galaxy S26 Pro — as the base model is apparently being called — is similar to the Ultra, albeit a bit smaller. It’s only the Galaxy S26 Edge that looks somewhat decent, to me at least, and it’s awfully similar to the new iPhone 17 Pro.
It seems that the Galaxy S26 phones next year will, quite unfortunately, look very outdated compared to their predecessors, and even current alternatives from other manufacturers.

I was already not a fan of the Galaxy S25 Ultra redesign — which ditched Samsung’s iconic boxy look — but the S26 series is even worse. At least the S25 Ultra still looks like a modern phone, the S26 Ultra does not.

Of course, I won’t deny that looks are subjective. So, if the Galaxy S26 phones look fine to you, then there are actually quite a few reasons to upgrade to them next year. Especially if you’re rocking a phone older than the S25 or the Galaxy S24 series.

For starters, the Galaxy S26 Ultra will use the extremely powerful Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 2 chipset globally, regardless of region. The Galaxy S26 Edge, and the Galaxy S26 Pro, will return to the hybrid Snapdragon and Exynos variants strategy for different markets.

More importantly, however, the Galaxy S26 Ultra is seeing a camera upgrade at last. No, not a newer and better sensor, but at least a significantly wider aperture. That is what the new camera bump is for, apparently, according to a few reports that have emerged.

The Galaxy S26 Ultra might not really wow people, but it’ll take better photos. And, if you’re like me and think that the iPhone 17 Pro looks great, but you want to stick with Android, then the Galaxy S26 Edge will be the phone for you.

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