[Digital Today reporter Daegeon Seok] Samsung Electronics unveiled the Galaxy S26 series as the starting point for the agentic AI era. It improved NPU performance by up to 35 percent and increased light capture on the 200-megapixel main camera by 47 percent, presenting what it called its most powerful flagship smartphone to date.

Samsung Electronics held the "Samsung Galaxy Unpacked 2026" event in San Francisco on Feb. 26 local time and introduced the Galaxy S26, S26 Plus and S26 Ultra. After the event, Roh Tae-moon (노태문), president and CEO of Samsung Electronics, told a meeting with South Korean reporters that the company aims to surpass the previous model's sales performance with the Galaxy S26 series and strengthen mobile AI leadership.

Later that day, it held a media briefing in South Korea and detailed key features of the Galaxy S26 series. Samsung Electronics emphasized that the product was prepared as an AI phone that anyone can use easily, based on its most powerful performance, camera system and evolved AI to date. Samsung Electronics aims to equip more than 1 billion Galaxy devices with AI by 2026.

The Galaxy S26 uses a dedicated processor optimized for Galaxy. NPU performance, which handles AI computation, improves by up to 35 percent, enabling faster on-device AI and large language model (LLM)-based functions. GPU performance also rises 19 percent, providing an uninterrupted user experience in high-spec gaming and multitasking. The S26 Ultra applies a new vapor chamber structure and heat-conducting materials to maintain stable performance during prolonged high-load tasks.

The Galaxy S26 Ultra camera provides the brightest shooting environment to date. The 200-megapixel main camera captures 47 percent more light than the previous model, and the 50-megapixel telephoto camera captures 37 percent more light. It captures sharp detail and natural color even in dark environments. A Nightography Video function that improves video quality in low-light conditions has also been newly added.

Photo editing has also changed. The Photo Assist function recognizes natural-language commands. If a user enters, "Change this photo into a night photo," Galaxy AI converts it into a night scene while maintaining the original feel. If a user selects a uniform photo in the gallery and enters, "Put this outfit on," it naturally composites the clothing onto the person. Edit history is also saved so users can return to an earlier point and work again.

◆200-megapixel camera 47 percent brighter...edit photos with natural language

The core AI function is Now Assist. It understands the context of a user's conversation and suggests needed information first. When arranging plans with a friend by message, it automatically pulls up calendar schedules and indicates whether there are overlapping times. The Auto Briefing function also analyzes emails or notifications to show at a glance schedules that users did not register themselves.

The Automated App Action function automatically performs multi-step tasks with a single voice command. For example, if a user says, "Call an Uber to Seoul Station," Gemini opens the Uber app, searches the destination and checks available vehicles. The user only needs to press the final confirmation button. Circle to Search has also been improved to recognize multiple elements in an image at once and show search results simultaneously.

Security features have also been strengthened. Privacy Display controls the screen at the pixel level so the content is not visible when viewed beyond a certain angle. It applies in four directions — front, back, left and right — blocking side glances even in landscape mode. The call screening function has Galaxy AI respond first when a call comes from an unknown number to confirm the caller and purpose. For spam numbers, AI hangs up instead, and otherwise it summarizes the content on the screen so the user can choose whether to connect.

The S26 Ultra achieves the slimmest thickness among Ultras to date. About 30 minutes of charging can secure 75 percent battery. Samsung Electronics said there were some price increases, but it kept domestic prices at the most competitive level compared with major global markets.