The Galaxy S26 will be very similar to its predecessors, so don’t expect a revolutionary new device, because it doesn’t seem we’d be getting that here.
Galaxy S26 vs iPhone 17 Pro expected differences:
| Galaxy S26 | iPhone 17 Pro |
|---|---|
| Flat design language with a unified camera island | Flat design language, large camera plateau at the back |
| Will most certainly use Armor Aluminum | Sidelines titanium for aluminum |
| Triple camera, gets new 50MP ultrawide | Triple camera with new 48MP telephoto |
| 10MP telephoto with 3X optical zoom | 48MP telephoto with 4X optical zoom |
| Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5/Exynos 2600 depending on the market | Apple A19 Pro chip, 3nm |
| 6.3-inch screen with Gorilla Glass Victus 2 | 6.3-inch screen with Gorilla Glass Ceramic 2 |
| 4,300 mAh battery | 4,252 mAh |
| 25W wired charging, 15W wireless | 40W wired charging, 25W wireless |
| Qi2 support with magnetic attachments | MagSafe support |
Table of Contents:
Design and Size
Little change, little was needed
We’ve reached a point in time where major design differences between two phone generations are a wild exception rather than the rule. Both the iPhone 17 Pro and the Galaxy S26 prove that true.
The Galaxy S26 will come with a modern flat design, with a flat Armor Aluminum frame and Gorilla Glass Victus 2 up at the front and in the back. It will look like pretty much like most previous base Galaxy S flagships, save for the tiny change at the back: the three camera lenses are getting unified in a slightly raised camera island, whereas previously theese were more independent from one another. The most minor design change, for sure.
The iPhone 17 Pro is also largely similar when you break down its design intricacies. Flat aluminum frame (Apple moved away from titanium), slightly curved corners, and Gorilla Glass at the front and back. The much larger camera plateau and the two-tone aesthetics are new here.
In terms of size, we expect the Galaxy S26 to measure 149.5 by 71.6 mm and will likely be 7.24 mm thin. In contrast, the iPhone 17 Pro is marginally longer, wider, and thicker, and most certainly heavier, too.
| Galaxy S26 | iPhone 17 Pro |
|---|---|
| Thickness 7.24 mm |
Thickness 8.75 mm |
| Dimensions 149.5 x 71.6 |
Dimensions 150 x 71.9 |
| Weight – |
Weight 206 grams |
The iPhone 17 Pro has the Action Button and the Camera Control key. No such extra buttons are expected on the Galaxy S26.
Display Differences
The Galaxy S26 is expected to sport a slightly larger 6.3-inch display (versus a 6.2-inch on the previous model), which would bring it up to par with the iPhone 17 Pro, which also features a 6.3-inch Liquid Retina XDR display.
Most of the specs here will be common on both devices: refresh rate up to 120 Hz, HDR, and great color calibration. Which one will be brighter, though? The iPhone 17 Pro reaches nearly 2,800 nits of peak brightness, and we hope that the Galaxy S26 gets as close to that as possible.
| Galaxy S26 | iPhone 17 Pro |
|---|---|
| Size 6.3″ |
Size 6.3″ |
| Brightness ~3000 nits (peak) |
Brightness 3,000 nits (peak) |
One thing to note here is the fact that the iPhone 17 Pro has anti-reflective coating to passively boost the legibility under bright daylight conditions. Samsung also has had such a tech for the past two years… but only on the Galaxy S Ultra models. Here’s to hoping the technology trickles down to the Galaxy S26 and the Galaxy S26 Plus either.
In terms of biometrics, the Galaxy S26 will boast an ultrasonic fingerprint scanner embedded in the screen, while the iPhone 17 Pro comes with Face ID. Fast and accurate.
Performance and Software
An interesting mix of chips
The Galaxy S26 will come with one of two high-end chips depending on the market, which is the old Samsung adage resurrected.
In the US, Canada, and China, the Galaxy S26 will feature Qualcomm’s 3nm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chipset, whereas all other markets will get Samsung’s 2nm Exynos 2600 chipset.
Meanwhile, the iPhone 17 Pro features Apple’s latest A19 Pro chip, which is by far the fastest iPhone chipset so far. It’s an impressive performer that shines in both CPU-heavy and GPU-demanding tasks, striking an excellent balance between raw power and efficiency that translates to good battery life.
| Galaxy S26 | iPhone 17 Pro |
|---|---|
| Chip Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 (US, Can, China) Exynos 2600 (ROW) |
Chip Apple A19 Pro |
| Process 3nm/2nm |
Process 3nm |
| RAM, Storage 16/256GB 16/512GB |
RAM, Storage 12/256GB 12/512GB 12/1TB |
Rumors have it Samsung will put 16GB of RAM in the Galaxy S26, which should provide enough headroom for on-device AI and multitasking. It would make sense to have that much memory given that the iPhone 17 Pro got 12GB of RAM, and Samsung wouldn’t want to trail behind, right?
Camera
Improvements on some fronts
Both phones come with triple camera systems, and both have scored some key improvements.
Let’s start with the Galaxy S26, which is expected to score a new 50MP ultrawide after years of using a 12MP unit. The rest of the cameras are unchanged: a 50MP GN3 main and a 10MP S5K3K1 unit with 3X optical zoom complete the camera setup. So, in essence, the image quality here wouldn’t be that different from previous Galaxy phones.
| Galaxy S26 | iPhone 17 Pro |
|---|---|
| Main 50 MP, f/1.8 24 mm 1/1.56″ |
Main 48 MP, f/1.8 24 mm 1/1.28″ |
| Ultrawide 50 MP |
Ultrawide 48 MP, f/2.2 13 mm 1/2.55″ |
| Telephoto 10 MP, f/2.4 3X zoom (67mm) 1/3.94″ |
Telephoto 48 MP, f/2.8 4X zoom (100mm) 1/2.55″ |
Battery Life and Charging
One-day warriors
The Galaxy S26 will score a slightly larger 4,300 mAh battery, a modest but still noteworthy increase over the 4,000 mAh that ticked inside its predecessor.
Meanwhile, the iPhone 17 Pro comes with a 4,252 mAh battery in the eSIM version and a 3,988 mAh one in the SIM-enabled model, and achieves a slightly lower score than the Galaxy S25, so the Galaxy S26 will likely deliver slightly better battery life.
| Galaxy S26 | iPhone 17 Pro |
|---|---|
| Battery size 4,300 mAh |
Battery size 4,252 mAh 3,988 mAh |
|
Charging speeds 25W wireless charging Qi2 |
Charging speeds 40W wired 25W wireless charging MagSafe |
One thing that the Galaxy S26 will score here could be full Qi2 support with faster wireless charging speeds and the full magnet paraphernalia at the back, which would allow you to easily attach chargers and accessories at the rear of the device. Qi2 is backwards compatible with MagSafe, so any MagSafe accessory should play well with the Galaxy S26.
Specs Comparison
|
|
| Samsung Galaxy S26 | Apple iPhone 17 Pro |
| Dimensions | |
|---|---|
| 149.5 x 71.6 x 7.24 mm | 150.0 x 71.9 x 8.75 mm (~9.9 mm with camera bump) |
| Weight | |
| 206.0 g | |
| Size | |
|---|---|
| 6.2-inch | 6.3-inch |
| Type | |
| Dynamic AMOLED, 120Hz | OLED, Variable 1-120Hz |
| System chip | |
|---|---|
| Snapdragon (3 nm) | Apple A19 Pro (3 nm) |
| Memory | |
| 12GB (LPDDR5X)/128GB (UFS 4.0) 12GB/256GB 12GB/512GB |
12GB (LPDDR5)/256GB 12GB/512GB 12GB/1TB |
| Type | |
|---|---|
| 4000 mAh | 4252 mAh |
| Charge speed | |
| Wired: 25.0W Wireless: 15.0W |
Wired: 40.0W Wireless: 25.0W |
| Main camera | |
|---|---|
| 50 MP (OIS, PDAF) Sensor name: Samsung GN3 Aperture size: F1.8 Focal length: 24 mm Sensor size: 1/1.56″ Pixel size: 1.0 μm |
48 MP (Sensor-shift OIS, PDAF) Aperture size: F1.8 Focal length: 24 mm Sensor size: 1/1.28″ Pixel size: 1.22 μm |
| Second camera | |
| 12 MP (Ultra-wide) Sensor name: Sony IMX564 Aperture size: F2.2 Focal Length: 13 mm Sensor size: 1/2.55″ Pixel size: 1.4 μm |
48 MP (Ultra-wide, Sensor-shift OIS) Aperture size: F2.2 Focal Length: 13 mm Sensor size: 1/2.55″ Pixel size: 0.7 μm |
| Third camera | |
| 10 MP (Telephoto) Sensor name: Samsung S5K3K1 Optical zoom: 3.0x Aperture size: F2.4 Focal Length: 67 mm Sensor size: 1/3.94″ Pixel size: 1.0 μm |
48 MP (Telephoto, OIS, PDAF) Optical zoom: 4.0x Aperture size: F2.8 Focal Length: 100 mm Sensor size: 1/2.55″ Pixel size: 0.7 μm |
| Front | |
| 12 MP (HDR) | 18 MP (Time-of-Flight (ToF), Autofocus, HDR) |
Samsung Galaxy S26 vs Apple iPhone 17 Pro specs comparison
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Summary
The Galaxy S26 will be an important device for Samsung, as it will have to battle both the affordable iPhone 17 and the more premium iPhone 17 Pro at the same time. Despite it’s not out yet, the pressure is already here, as Apple did many things right with the iPhone 17 launch, throwing the ball back in Samsung’s court with a smirk.
Currently, it doesn’t seem that the Galaxy S26 will score that many changes, and the market will decide if that’s a good or a bad move on Samsung’s part.
Totally undeserved, as it’s one mighty fine phone.
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