Why the Galaxy S24 is a better buy than the S26 in 2026

It’s difficult to gauge the state of Samsung flagships.

On one hand, successive generations have lacked meaningful upgrades; Samsung has prioritized AI above hardware and software improvements.

On the other hand, Samsung shipped more phones than ever in 2025; the company achieved its strongest July-quarter growth on record.

However, Samsung isn’t growing as fast as Apple, which overtook Samsung in global smartphone shipments in 2025.

Clearly, Samsung is doing something right. But what?

Samsung’s success is due to its A-series of devices, which make multiple appearances in each year’s list of top smartphone sales.

However, its flagship models have experienced similar growth; its S-series secured a spot in Counterpoint’s top 10 best-selling smartphone models for the second year in a row.

So Samsung, despite being overtaken by Apple, is enjoying more success than ever with its flagship models.

But don’t be fooled by the data; just because Samsung’s flagships are successful doesn’t mean you should buy one in 2026.

What Samsung will bring to the table in 2026

AI, more AI, and minor upgrades for its phones

The shifting demand towards premium devices helped the Galaxy S24 Ultra and Galaxy S25 Ultra break the top 10 best-selling smartphones in 2024 and 2025, respectively.

However, whether Samsung will be able to continue this trend depends on what the Galaxy S26 Ultra brings to the table.

Unfortunately, leaks are plentiful, and they’ve dampened our enthusiasm.

Perhaps the most disappointing leak occurred in the last few days when reliable leaker Ice Universe confirmed that the Galaxy S26 Ultra will not ship with built-in magnets.

While the company will provide first-party magnetic cases, you will not be able to take advantage of magnetic charging or accessories without them.

Strangely, an earlier rumor claims that the S26 Ultra will support 25W wireless charging, which suggests that the magnetic cases supplied by Samsung will support the Qi2.2 standard needed to achieve these charging speeds.

Some people have reported that built-in magnets interfere with the S-Pen, but these reports are too inconsistent to justify Samsung ignoring Qi2-compatibility again.

Nobody held out much hope that Samsung would launch a Google Pixel 6-esque redesign for the Galaxy S26 series, and a full 360-degree leak of the S26 Ultra confirmed our expectations.

While there is an interesting tweak with regard to the camera bar, nothing exciting is going on here.

Not only does the Galaxy S26’s hardware look set to unimpress (apart from the welcome elimination of the 128GB model), but its software is set for disaster.

In Samsung’s fourth-quarter earnings report, it stated that its MX (Mobile Experience unit) will “strengthen leadership in the AI smartphone market through an agentic AI experience” (via The Korea Herald).

Agentic AI has the potential to be seriously powerful, but considering Samsung’s track record with launching new AI tools, it could very well end up as the company’s biggest software disappointment yet.

This is all disappointing news, but that’s not why you shouldn’t pick up an S26-series phone in 2026.

You shouldn’t buy a Galaxy S26 in 2026

It won’t be worth it

Android phones are better than ever, but progress is slowing.

Each generation of Android phone is barely better than its predecessor. The days of visible improvements each year are long gone.

It has me wishing for the return of novel features like curved screens just to break up the monotony of superficial changes year after year.

But while stagnant design is bad news for Android enthusiasts, it’s great news for everyone else.

Smartphones now last longer than ever and are able to handle the most demanding tasks (with the exception of AI processing) without fault.

Midrange phones can play the most demanding Android games, and multitasking is possible on all but the cheapest devices.

Choosing last year’s phone is the most sensible decision you can make when buying an Android phone, which is why I direct you towards the Galaxy S24 if you want a new Samsung phone this year.

What about the Galaxy S25, I hear you say? To answer, I’ll defer to ex-AP writer Taylor Kerns, who reviewed the S25 last year:

Samsung promised seven years of software support for the S24 family, so you can use it until 2032 without missing out on the latest Android updates.

Its Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset is still more than enough in 2026, and while it does charge slightly slower than the upcoming S26, it won’t affect your everyday life.

I would only recommend upgrading your phone if you’re rocking an S23 or earlier, but even then, only if you can find a good deal.

The truth of the matter is that most new smartphones in 2026 will not offer enough value over their predecessors, so you shouldn’t buy them.

Don’t buy a brand-new smartphone in 2026

We’ll have to wait until Samsung Galaxy Unpacked 2026 to see the manufacturer’s new devices in full.

Alongside the S26 series, we’re expecting new Galaxy Buds, One UI 8.5 news, and the aforementioned AI updates.

It looks like AI will dominate the presentation (again), so if you’re excited for hardware, temper your expectations, skip the stream, and look at deals for last year’s phones instead.