For days, I intently noticed my mother and father as they mentioned the checklist of things to purchase on the grocery store. Every time, there have been sure “important” gadgets on the checklist, all the time from the identical model. It made me marvel why they weren’t selecting a unique model or a unique number of the product.
Take tea, for instance, we purchased Taj Mahal each month with out fail. Or when it got here to cleansing kitchen utensils, my mother and father all the time selected Vim Dishwash Lemon Gel. Though I want they had been a bit extra experimental and tried totally different manufacturers or merchandise, that’s not the case.
I’ve noticed one thing related whereas reviewing the Samsung Galaxy S26 and S26+, the corporate’s new mainline flagships. Possibly I’m studying an excessive amount of into it, however the fact is that purchasing a mainline flagship from Samsung or Apple is changing into much like buying standard FMCG merchandise. You already know they work; they aren’t very experimental; they’ve mass enchantment; and customers belief them for what they’re. That’s how I see mainstream premium smartphones, and the brand new Galaxy S26 collection isn’t any totally different.
I favored the Galaxy S26 and S26+ for what they goal to be, although I’m undoubtedly a fan of the higher-end Galaxy S26 Extremely (learn my detailed assessment), which affords a Privateness Show, a much bigger battery, stronger cameras, and a better price ticket.
Samsung Galaxy S26 and S26+ are pitched as mainline Android flagships. (Picture: The Indian Categorical/ Anuj Bhatia)
Now, with each the Galaxy S26 and S26+ additionally coming in at a better asking value, the query is whether or not you will discover worth in them and which one you can purchase, particularly when the S26 Extremely stays the benchmark Android flagship.
Right here is my assessment of the Galaxy S26 and S26+:
What: Samsung Galaxy S26 and S26+ | Worth: Rs 87,999/Rs 109,999 for the bottom variant of the S26 and S26+
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Disclaimer: Samsung despatched me the Galaxy S26 and S26+ as mortgage items for assessment.
Clear and easy design
The Galaxy S26 and S26+ don’t characteristic a groundbreaking new design, which many, together with myself, had anticipated. Nonetheless, it seems Samsung has been sticking to the identical design for the previous three years, although I hope subsequent yr brings a serious design shake-up. What you do get are slimmed-down telephones with a minimalist look and a smaller digital camera bump than final yr.
This yr, the S26’s show has grown from 6.2 inches on the S25 to six.3 inches, leading to a barely taller and wider physique. Nonetheless, it’s probably the most compact smartphones in the marketplace. I adore it for that. The S26+ retains the identical 6.7-inch display as final yr’s S25 Plus. Each telephones (and the Extremely) are available in cobalt violet, white, sky blue, and black.
You most likely need the case, and belief me, you need to get one. In case you are curious, each telephones have Gorilla Glass Victus 2 on the entrance and rear, a matte Armour Aluminium body, and an IP68 dust- and water resistant ranking.
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The S26 is light-weight and slides simply into the pocket. (Picture: The Indian Categorical/ Anuj Bhatia)
As you understand by now, the S26+ is a bigger cellphone with a greater show. The 6.7-inch display affords a ravishing Quad HD+ decision (versus Full HD on the S26’s 6.3-inch show), although it nonetheless pales compared to the S26 Extremely’s show. I believe the Privateness Show ought to have been included on the S26+, and because it isn’t, I did miss it.
That being stated, the S26+’s show seems and feels shiny and vibrant, and the 120Hz refresh charge (now customary throughout smartphones) makes every part really feel easy and satisfying, whether or not you might be scrolling via WhatsApp and LinkedIn and even taking part in video games. The S26’s 6.3-inch show isn’t a large leap in brightness, but it surely’s nonetheless good for on a regular basis duties most individuals use their telephones for.
The Galaxy S26+ packs a 6.7-inch display. (Picture: The Indian Categorical/ Anuj Bhatia)
My solely concern with the baseline S26 is the dearth of Gorilla Armor safety. The lacking anti-reflective know-how hasn’t but made its approach to the S26, which is admittedly disappointing, particularly given the upper value.
The stereo audio system additionally sound nice. You’ll realise how vital the characteristic is till you don’t have it.
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Good efficiency and battery life
These telephones are quick. Inside each the S26 and S26+, at the least the fashions offered in India, include Samsung’s in-house Exynos 2600 chip. Samsung claims as much as 39 per cent increase in CPU efficiency in comparison with its predecessor, and the NPU delivers 113 per cent increase. Each telephones characteristic 12GB of LPDDR5 RAM, with two storage choices: 256GB and 512GB.
Lots of people could say the Exynos 2600 can’t be in comparison with Qualcomm’s flagship Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 in benchmarks. However for me, given the sort of issues I do on a cellphone, benchmarks don’t actually matter and so they shouldn’t in case you are an everyday consumer. Each the S26 and S26+ deal with multitasking very nicely and stay responsive even when I’ve dozens of apps and too many Chrome tabs open directly.
Each S26 and S26+ come with out a microSD card slot. You’ll have to select a mannequin with a better inner storage. (Picture: The Indian Categorical/ Anuj Bhatia)
The S26/S26+ are designed for every day duties. Emails, internet shopping, gaming, video calling, and gaming (sure, I ran Genshin Influence and I didn’t discover any slowdown or stutter on the S26+). These duties run easily on each units. Nonetheless, if you wish to shoot and edit super-crisp, high-definition video (say, as a content material creator), you need to think about getting the S26 Extremely.
I used to be stunned by the Exynos 2600, which is constructed on a 2nm course of. It’s a technical achievement, but it surely doesn’t change the truth that Qualcomm and Apple’s flagship chips are equally good and highly effective. Cell chips are not the enormous leap in efficiency they as soon as had been, which explains why every part now feels evolutionary quite than revolutionary, in contrast to some years in the past.
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Each the S26 and S26+ supply fairly lengthy battery life, with the S26+ lasting longer because of its 4900mAh battery. It’ll comfortably final a full day, although don’t count on two days of battery life. The S26, then again, has a smaller 4300mAh battery (up from 4000mAh), however in my checks, it lasts about an hour longer than the S25. Sadly, charging speeds haven’t improved on the S26 collection. You might be nonetheless getting 25W wired charging, which feels gradual in comparison with what many Chinese language smartphone manufacturers are providing
The consumer interface is getting higher on Samsung Galaxy telephones recently. (Picture: The Indian Categorical/ Anuj Bhatia)
The consumer interface on the S26 collection (based mostly on Android 16) has been refined; it’s cleaner, and every part feels extra polished and animated. A significant push within the One UI 8.5 expertise is the up to date AI options in Galaxy AI. Nonetheless, not each AI characteristic works as marketed. There are hits and misses.
Now Nudge, which is constructed into Samsung’s keyboard and which I used extensively at first, felt nice within the preliminary days, however my utilization dropped off after that, and I haven’t actually gone again to it since. My most-used AI characteristic on a smartphone to this point stays Magic Eraser, a Google characteristic that removes undesirable objects from images, together with the voice translation characteristic.
The Galaxy AI has some good options, however general, I don’t discover AI as helpful because it’s been marketed. (Picture credit score: Anuj Bhatia/Indian Categorical)
Sturdy cameras
Though Samsung hasn’t modified the digital camera system on the S26 and S26+, the triple-camera setup is in keeping with what I anticipated. They take nice images, and each shot I captured had depth, sharpness, and good color replica. Through the years, the oversaturation that many used to complain about in Samsung’s digital camera system has been lowered, however the outcomes nonetheless aren’t on par with the iPhone or a Google Pixel. That stated, each the S26 and S26+ have a robust digital camera system, whether or not you might be taking pictures in low gentle, taking portraits of a cat or an individual, or just exploring pictures at Humayun’s Tomb.
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Samsung Galaxy S26+ digital camera pattern. Picture resized for internet.
Samsung Galaxy S26+ digital camera pattern. Picture resized for internet.
Samsung Galaxy S26+ digital camera pattern. Picture resized for internet.
Samsung Galaxy S26+ digital camera pattern. Picture resized for internet.
Samsung Galaxy S26+ digital camera pattern. Picture resized for internet.
Samsung Galaxy S26+ digital camera pattern. Picture resized for internet.
So, must you purchase the Samsung Galaxy S26/S26+?
The Galaxy S26 and S26+ do every part they got down to do. I can let you know straight away who ought to think about the S26/S26+. They’re for individuals who don’t want a radically totally different flagship Android expertise, however as an alternative need one thing that maintains the usual of what a premium cellphone must be.
And there’s nothing unsuitable with that. I really feel smartphones at this time are like Gillette males’s razors. They’re standard (and a bit dearer than others) and principally work as a result of they strike a stability between velocity, security, and smoothness.
I’ll go away it right here and see you quickly with one other tech assessment. Glad studying indianexpress.com.