Samsung Galaxy S26 Plus review: Premium, powerful, but too familiar

Last year, there were several speculations about Samsung retiring its “Plus” model from the Galaxy S series and bringing its ultra-thin “Edge” model to sit between the standard and Ultra models. However, despite all the anticipation, the South Korean giant launched the Galaxy S26 Plus, with noticeable upgrades, premium features, and AI-packed software. 

Although the Samsung Galaxy S26 Plus feels too familiar with the same design profile as its predecessor, it looks more like a safe continuation than a bold new step forward. In addition, Samsung also made a great difference between its Galaxy S26 Ultra and the Galaxy S26/S26 Plus model by keeping the new privacy screen feature exclusive to the Ultra variant, further widening the gap between the company’s premium flagship tiers.

Now, we have been testing the Samsung Galaxy S26+ for a couple of weeks to understand whether the smartphone is worth its flagship price tag of Rs. 1,19,999. Here’s a deep dive into where the smartphone excels, where it falls short, and who should consider buying it.

Must read: Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra review: Subtle upgrades, greater power

Samsung Galaxy S26 Plus design and display

In terms of design, the Samsung Galaxy S26 Plus looks very familiar; not much has changed compared to the previous generation. It retains the matte glass back with a flat aluminium frame and slightly curved edges. However, it comes with a new pill-shaped camera module, housing three camera sensors.

What makes the smartphone look premium is its thinness, at just 7.3mm, and it weighs 190 grams. Despite having a slim and thin build, the smartphone looks tough, thanks to the Gorilla Glass Victus 2 protection (front and back), and the IP68 rating that protects the phone from dust and water. In addition, it does not attract dust or fingerprints, but it does feel slippery without a phone case. Overall, the Galaxy S26 Plus looks premium and looks perfect for people who prefer simplicity over flashy designs.

On the front, the Galaxy S26 Plus features a 6.7-inch QHD+ Dynamic AMOLED display that offers a 120Hz refresh rate and up to 2,600 nits of peak brightness. It also offers 100 percent DCI-P3 colour gamut and HDR10+ support, making it perfect for content consumption, gaming, and everyday usage. The brightness is also promising, even during Delhi’s harsh summer sunlight, keeping the display easily readable outdoors. 

However, it should be noted that the display features remained largely similar to those of its predecessor, and we did not notice any significant difference that could make the phone look like a worthy upgrade over its predecessor. In addition, the Galaxy S26 Plus does not offer the Privacy Display feature, which shields the screen from shoulder surfing. 

Must read: Samsung Galaxy Book 6 Pro review: Impressive performance without the bulk

Samsung Galaxy S26 Plus camera

The Samsung Galaxy S26 Plus features a triple camera setup that includes a 50MP main camera, a 10MP telephoto lens, and a 12MP ultrawide camera, similar to its predecessor. The similar camera setup over the years makes the phone slightly less exciting, despite its evolution each year internally. But the real question is, is there any monumental change in its camera performance?

In daylight conditions, the smartphone captures excellent pictures with crisp detailing and vibrant colours, but this time I noticed a slight over-saturation, and colours sometimes appeared unnaturally bright. In most images, you may notice a warmer yellow tone, especially while capturing buildings, skin tones, or scenes under direct sunlight. However, it mostly remained reliable. Even in low-light scenes, the smartphone remained consistent with impressive details, bright exposure and controlled noise levels.

Coming to its portraits and close-up images, the Galaxy S26 Plus captures stunning images with great focus on the subject and natural blur. While it may not be the best in the segment, considering we have powerful camera-centric phones like the Vivo X300 Pro, Oppo Find X9 series, and now the Xiaomi 17 Ultra, but the overall output still feels flagship-grade. 

In terms of close shots, the smartphone offers up to 3x optical zoom, and it manages to retain sharp details, vibrant colours, and impressive edge detection even while zooming into subjects. Lastly, the Ultrawide shot on the Galaxy S26 Plus also felt reliable 

Samsung Galaxy S26 Plus performance and software

Under the hood, the Samsung Galaxy S26 Plus is powered by an in-house 2nm Exynos 2600 processor, instead of the Snapdragon 8 Gen Elite 5 chip. This year, the company upgraded the RAM from 8GB to 12GB of LPDDR5x and offers up to 512GB of UFS 4.0 storage. 

Well, the switch to an Exynos branding may confuse buyers over competitors with Qualcomm or MediaTek chipsets, but the performance did not disappoint. Every day tasks with heavy usage, frequent app switching, and multitasking all felt smooth and reliable. 

We also tested its gaming performance with BGMI and Genshin Impact, and the smartphone did not sweat. The frame rates remained consistent even during long gaming sessions, graphics remained punchy, and the overall experience was lag-free. 

However, Samsung will have to work on its thermal management system because overheating remained noticeable during extended gameplay, even though it did not significantly impact the overall performance or stability of the device. In addition, the phone also heats up during extended camera usage as well.

Samsung Galaxy S26 Plus runs on One UI 8.5 based on Android 16, offering a clean and polished user experience at every touch point. In addition, the software also includes deeply integrated AI-powered features such as Circle to Search, which now comes with support for mathematical equations, hoto Assist, Now Nudge, Now Brief, and the popular AI eraser. 

Furthermore, Bixby now works as a smarter assistant, as users can now integrate the voice assistant with Gemini or Perplexity AI. The Galaxy S26 Plus offers seven years of software support, making it a future-ready and lasting phone.

Samsung Galaxy S26 Plus battery

The Samsung Galaxy S26 Plus is backed by the same 4,900mAh battery, but with a new 2nm processor, the smartphone easily lasts a day even with heavy usage. During our testing, it offered a screen time of more than 16 hours, with tasks including gaming, streaming, browsing, social media, and heavy camera usage. 

In terms of charging, the Galaxy S26 Plus supports up to 45W charging. We tested it with a 20W adapter, and it took about 2.5 hours to fully charge the phone. Since the phone does not come with a charging adapter in the box, buyers will have to purchase one separately to take full advantage of the faster charging speeds supported by the smartphone.

Samsung Galaxy S26 Plus verdict

Samsung Galaxy S26 Plus comes as an ideal choice for power users who prioritise longer battery life and raw processing power, but also prefer a more manageable form factor compared to the Ultra model. The 2nm chip upgrade also works in favour, offering reliable everyday performance. However, users may want to keep a check on overheating during heavy usage. 

Overall, the Samsung Galaxy S26 Plus is an impressive flagship, and it smartly bridges the gap between the standard and Ultra variants by retaining premium flagship features without pushing the price. While the design may feel a little too familiar, the smartphone still delivers a polished experience with a vibrant display, dependable cameras, strong battery life, and AI-driven software enhancements that make it a compelling option in the premium Android segment.