Samsung is gearing up to unveil a fairly iterative Galaxy S26 series in early 2026. Yet, as per one generous view of the prevailing situation, the South Korean giant might simply be saving its very best for the Galaxy S27 series launching in 2027, when Apple is expected to go all-out for its 20th anniversary iPhone 20.
Behold the bland Galaxy S26 series
As we detailed in a recent post, Samsung appears to be playing it fairly safe with the upcoming Galaxy S26 series by eschewing major innovations. Yes, the base Galaxy S26 will get a slightly bigger screen, while the S26 Ultra will be somewhat thinner and sport more rounded edges.
Additionally, the Galaxy S26 Ultra is expected to feature a selfie camera hole that will be around 4mm bigger than its predecessor's, resulting in a wider field of view. In the same vein, the S26 series is finally getting iPhone-level wireless charging, while bringing back rear camera islands. But, no one would argue that these changes constitute a revolutionary design language.
Samsung is also playing it safe in the camera department, with nary a change in the offing for the Galaxy S26 Ultra, which is expected to sport almost the same setup as the Galaxy S25 Ultra's:
- A single 200MP ISOCELL HP2 main camera (possibly with a wider aperture)
- A 50MP ISOCELL JN3 or Sony IMX564 ultrawide camera
- A 50MP IMX854 5x periscope camera (possibly with a wider aperture)
- A 12MP IMX874 selfie camera
- A 12MP ISOCELL 3LD S5K3LD 3x telephoto (possibly with a smaller, 1/3.94-inch aperture)
Of course, there is budding excitement around the Exynos 2600 chip, which appears to be performing extraordinarily well in early benchmark tests. Then again, only the base and the plus variants of the S26 series will get Samsung's in-house SoC, and that too in select regions.
Contrast this with Apple's all-out efforts for the upcoming iPhone 20, and we get an inkling as to why Samsung is apparently holding back.
The mighty iPhone 20
Not much is known about Apple's 2027-launching iPhone 20, but whatever is known points to remarkable innovation.
For instance, Apple is widely expected to debut its long-rumored, all-screen iPhone, replete with an under-the-screen selfie camera, and screen edges that curve and meld into the frame, creating a waterfall effect in the process.
Also, given the inherent limitations of this design choice, Apple is likely to transition towards solid-state buttons for camera control, volume keys, and power on/off function for the iPhone 20, along with a haptic feedback mechanism.
On the camera front, the iPhone 20 is expected to sport Lateral Overflow Integration Capacitor (LOFIC) tech. For the benefit of those who might not be aware, a Complementary Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor (CMOS) sensor is a chip that converts light into digital images by capturing photons with an array of photosensitive pixels.
LOFIC is a type of CMOS that is much more efficient at capturing and converting incident light rays into digital images, and does so by capturing both low-light details and bright highlights without noise, resolving the inherent tradeoff between light sensitivity and saturation signal.
Is Samsung showing strategic restraint with the upcoming Galaxy S26 series, with a focus on the Galaxy S27?
We noted in a previous post that Samsung does not appear to have a sufficient impetus to substantially innovate within its smartphone-centric MX division, largely due to the division's status as a mere cash cow that provides the requisite liquidity for some of Samsung's more daring initiatives, including AI compute, HBM leadership, 2nm and 1.4nm GAA, Packaging (X-Cube, I-Cube), and Next-gen sensors and memory.
But, there might be an alternate explanation: Samsung might be exercising strategic restraint and holding itself back to better compete with the iPhone 20. After all, if Samsung were to go all-out for the Galaxy S26 series while launching only an iterative Galaxy S27 series, it would deliberately hand over a lot of its leverage and market heft to Apple.
Apple has been preparing for the iPhone 20 for around a decade now. In this generous view, Samsung is allowed to take off a year or two, provided that it comes up with something truly awe-inspiring in 2027.
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