How to pre-order the Samsung Galaxy S26 phones and Galaxy Buds 4

Engadget · Feb 25, 2026 · Collected from RSS

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During its Unpacked event today, Samsung announced three new Galaxy S-series phones as well as the latest generation of its earbuds, the Galaxy Buds 4 and Galaxy Buds 4 Pro. Pre-orders are now open and the new devices are set to ship March 11. As expected, this year’s models aren’t drastically different from last year’s, but all the phones are equipped to better handle the Galaxy AI experiences such as Now Nudge that offers suggestions based on your activities and a more conversational assitant in Bixby (or Gemini or Perplexity depending on your preferance). Engadget’s own Sam Rutherford is on-site in San Francisco for the new hardware launch and will have hands-on impressions. We’ll follow that up with official reviews in the next week. But if you can’t wait for our final verdict, here’s how to pre-order Samsung’s Galaxy S26 phones and the Galaxy Buds 4 today.The Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra looks a little different from last year's premium phone with slightly rounder corners and a raised platform for the camera array. There's also a few new colors including the lushly crepuscular Cobalt Violet.Also, instead of different colors for all the different tiers, all three variants of the S26 series will come in the same six colors.Inside is where most of the changes appear. There's a new Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 processor, so expect a performance bump over last year. A new vapor chamber will help keep the device cool as it handles more demanding tasks.The battery capacity didn't change (still 5,000 mAh), but it will now refill faster with an upgrade to Samsung's Super Fast Charging 3.0 technology that delivers up to 60-watt speeds. Charging wirelessly is faster now, too, but sadly, none of the phones will come with the magnetic attachment feature that the new Google phones received.The camera specs remain largely the same with a 50MP ultrawide, 200MP wide and two telephoto lenses on the back, as well as a 12MP selfie cam on the front. But wider apertures now allow more light to reach the sensor for more detail in lower light situations.But the best thing to stay the same as last year is the price. The Galaxy S26 Ultra starts at $1,300 for 12GB of memory and 256GB of storage. You pre-order at Amazon, Best Buy, directly from Samsung or from carriers like Verizon.The plus model of the lineup has a 6.7-inch screen (as it did last year) and comes with an upgraded Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 processor. The camera array also stayed the same with 12MP selfie cam in the front, and three lenses in the back including a 12MP ultrawide, 50MP wide, and a 10MP tele lens with 3x optical zoom.The memory and storage options are the same as last year, with 12GB of RAM and 256 or 512GB of storage. It comes with a 4,900 mAh battery and supports Super Fast Charging 2.0 (45W) and Super Fast Wireless charging (25W).The Samsung Galaxy S26+ starts at $1,100, a $100 bump from last year. It also comes in six colors: Cobalt Violet, Sky Blue, Black and white that are available from retailers including Amazon, Best Buy and wireless carriers. The Silver Shadow and Pink Gold colors are only available from Samsung's online store.The Samsung Galaxy S26 received (very) slightly more notable spec bumps over the other two models. The screen now measures a tenth of an inch larger on the diagonal, so last year's 6.2-inch display is now 6.3 inches. The battery is also bigger, up from 4,000 to 4,300 mAh.The base model handset also gets the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chip. Last year, the capacity options started at 128GB, but this year the lowest capacity available is 256GB. The memory stands at the same 12GB.That capacity upgrade could be part of the reason the price went up this year. Instead of the $800 price tag on the S25, the S26 starts at $900.The Galaxy Buds 4 Pro have a different case and design than the high-end buds Samsung released in 2024. Engadget's Billy Steel was a fan of the features Samsung appeared to copy from Apple, but the buds and case looked perhaps too similar to AirPods.This time around, Samsung found its own look, and added a few more features, like head gesture control, to the Pro buds. The Adaptive ANC and Adaptive EQ are still here, as is the lossless 24bit / 96kHz high-quality audio (though only when paired with newer Samsung handsets).The Galaxy Buds 4 Pro will sell for $250, which is the same price as the prior generation. You can chose from black, white or the Samsung.com-exclusive Pink Gold.In mid-2024, the Galaxy Buds 3 debuted with a suite of features that gave strong chasing-Apple vibes. Engadget's Billy Steele did not think this was a bad thing. Features like Adaptive EQ, Adaptive ANC and high-quality audio were welcome additions and they show up again on the Galaxy Buds 4, along with a redesigned case.Naturally, the new buds will help you interact with Galaxy AI. The Galaxy Buds 4 will sell for $180, which is the same price as the prior generation.