How can Samsung be expected to keep the design of its next ultra-high-end handsets a secret for four or five more months when dummy units for the entire Galaxy S26 family leaked out yesterday? Of course, that doesn’t tell the whole cosmetic story of the company’s 2026 iPhone 17 rivals, which is where a generally trustworthy X tipster comes in today.
The name of the game is (still) refinement
If you were expecting the S26 Ultra to reinvent the wheel rectangular slab and look radically different from its predecessor, then you probably don’t know how Samsung typically operates. Just like the S25 Ultra refined the S24 Ultra‘s design without completely changing its identity, the S26 Ultra is tipped to make the S25 Ultra’s corners more rounded while keeping things like screen bezels virtually unchanged.
Those are very similar but not identical numbers for the existing S25 Ultra and upcoming S26 Ultra. | Image Credit — PhoneArt on X
Interestingly (and somewhat surprisingly), the Galaxy S26 Ultra is expected to be slightly taller and wider than its already gargantuan predecessor, which is not quite what that render above suggests. Simply based on the image depicting the S26 Ultra together with the S25 Ultra in remarkably high quality, I’d have guessed the former device is actually shorter and narrower than the latter, so perhaps there’s an error of some sort involved here.
What’s pretty much guaranteed after this new leak and a couple of different rumors from the last few weeks is that Samsung’s transition from boxy flagships to slightly curvier ones will continue early next year. Yes, the S26 Ultra‘s corners will be even more rounded than those of the S25 Ultra, which was in turn curvier than the sharp and boxy S24 Ultra.
Love or hate that change from a cosmetic standpoint, you have to admit Samsung is on the right path when it comes to improving the all-day comfort and in-hand feel of its Android giants. After all, we can probably all agree that those areas are more important than a phone’s shallow looks, right?
Will the S26 Ultra finally bump up the 5,000mAh battery capacity?
Although Ice Universe doesn’t technically have any new info to share on that front, a Weibo post revealing the S26 Ultra’s thickness in addition to its height and width is making me doubtful of an upgrade in the battery size department. Yes, this bad boy will apparently be about 0.3mm thinner than the S25 Ultra, which makes it almost impossible for Samsung to jump to 5,500 or even 5,200mAh or so cell capacity.
The S26 Ultra will apparently be thinner than the S25 Ultra, which is not necessarily good news. | Image Credit — PhoneArena
That’s going to be especially difficult with an essentially unchanged 6.89-inch screen size, unless of course the company will switch from conventional lithium-ion to fancy new silicon-carbon battery technology, which is not even expected to happen on the Galaxy S26 Edge anymore, let alone the S26 Ultra.
Fortunately, there are a bunch of other areas where the Galaxy S26 Ultra is widely expected to improve on the S25 Ultra’s features and capabilities, including raw power, screen privacy, and camera prowess.
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Adrian, a mobile technology enthusiast since the Nokia 3310 era, has been a dynamic presence in the tech journalism field, contributing to Android Authority, Digital Trends, and Pocketnow before joining PhoneArena in 2018. His expertise spans across various platforms, with a particular fondness for the diversity of the Android ecosystem. Despite the challenges of balancing full-time parenthood with his work, Adrian’s passion for tech trends, running, and movies keeps him energized. His commitment to mid-range smartphones has led to an eclectic collection of devices, saved from personal bankruptcy by his preference for ‘adequate’ over ‘overpriced’.
