Samsung Electronics on Wednesday unveiled its latest Galaxy S26 devices and users in the UAE will be able to get their hands on them soon.
Here are the highlights and specifics of the premium devices for the Emirates.
What devices were released?
In keeping with tradition, Samsung launched three new phones – the compact, entry-level Galaxy S26, the bigger Galaxy S26+ and the high-end Galaxy S26 Ultra.
The company had been releasing three versions of the Galaxy S devices since 2020, when it also aligned the names with the year.
How much are the S26 phones?
All three S26 devices come in 256GB and 512GB storage options, with the Ultra version again offering the top 1TB variant. The base S26, which introduced a 512GB version last year, does not have a 128GB option this year.
In the UAE, the Galaxy S26 Ultra will only be available in 512GB and 1TB, priced at Dh5,899 and Dh7,099, respectively – higher than their predecessors.
The Galaxy S26, meanwhile, will cost Dh3,599 and Dh4,399, for the 256GB and 512GB options, respectively. While the S26+ will go for Dh4,299 and Dh5,099 – also higher than the S25 versions.
The price increases are attributed to the “extra hardware enhancement and improvement”, Omar Saheb, regional vice president of marketing and online business at Samsung Electronics Middle East and North Africa, told The National.
What's new and improved?
There are two main additions to this year's Galaxy S line-up.
The first is the addition of AI engine Perplexity, adding to agents Google Gemini and Samsung's own Bixby. Perplexity's AI service, from the California-based company of the same name, can be activated by saying, “Hey, Plex”.
Agentic AI is designed to autonomously make decisions and act with minimal human supervision compared with the more commonly used generative AI.
This, according to Samsung, marks the beginning of the agentic AI smartphone era.
The second key newcomer, exclusive to the Galaxy S26 Ultra, is privacy display, an advanced lighting system that is essentially a digital version of privacy screen protectors that dim views from the sides.
Privacy display is dynamic. It can be customised to obscure key information such as pins, passwords and notifications, or specific apps.
The technology has caught on fast. Reports have surfaced that a number of other smartphone makers, particularly those from China, are testing their own versions and planning to release them soon.
Hardware-wise, there are minimal improvements. The camera pixel counts have stayed put, though Samsung promises more light. The Galaxy S26's display is slightly up at 6.3 inches (16cm) and has a bigger battery, and all three have a higher ceiling when it comes to 30-minute charging. These are on top of the overall performance and speed upgrades.
Of course, there are also the usual bump-ups in performance and other AI features.
When and where are they available in the UAE?
Samsung is now accepting orders for the Galaxy S26 devices, and their general availability will be on March 11. They are available from the UAE's telecom companies, e& and du, as well as major technology retailers.
All S26 models will share the same colour options – black, cobalt violet, sky blue and white, in addition to pink gold and silver shadow that are exclusive on the company's website.
