Don’t buy the Samsung Galaxy S26 – not yet, anyway | Tech News

Samsung has simply introduced its Galaxy S26 telephones, which will probably be its flagship smartphones for 2026. At an Unpacked occasion in San Francisco, the Korean tech giant confirmed off three new gadgets: the Galaxy S26, Galaxy S26 Plus and Galaxy S26 Ultra.

If you aren’t an iPhone particular person and are on the lookout for an Android improve this yr, one of these three telephones may effectively be in your shortlist as you store round.

But Samsung has priced its new telephones increased than the Galaxy S25 vary that debuted in 2025, with the most cost-effective Galaxy S26 retailing for £879 – that’s an £80 price hike on the most cost-effective Galaxy S25.

Samsung will level out that for this increased price you get 256GB storage in comparison with final yr’s customary 128GB, however that £879 price tag is noticeably £80 more than the £799 iPhone 17 and £799 Google Pixel 10.

And as we’re all watching the pursestrings, there may be an argument available you will get all the telephone you need for £499 with the new Google Pixel 10a.

But you probably have your coronary heart set on the Galaxy S26 and are disenchanted to listen to it’s more costly than ever, then my advice to you is to have a little endurance and easily watch for a couple of months. Historically, Samsung telephones drop in price comparatively shortly after their launch – and proper now might be the worst attainable time to buy a Galaxy S26.

That’s even contemplating Samsung’s pre-order offer, which begins right this moment, February 25 and runs till the new telephones are resulting from ship and go on full sale on March 11. You can get double the storage at no further value – so you’ll be able to spend £879, the RRP of the 256GB Galaxy S26, however get the 512GB Galaxy S26.

On the face of it, that’s a good offer. 512GB will not fill up in a hurry, and is a considerably smart investment if you wish to keep this telephone for the full seven years Samsung says it would keep the software program up to date for.

But I believe most people ought to wait. £879 is a lot of money to pay upfront for a new smartphone, and the price historical past of the yr-outdated Galaxy S25 suggests you may wait and get the S26 cheaper as quickly as May.

Camelcamelcamel tracks Amazon costs, and the S25 is proven as beginning out at its £799 RRP in February 2025 earlier than dropping to £699 in early May. It then dropped again to about £650 in July, and fell to its lowest listed price of £599 in November for Black Friday.

You would possibly not need to wait until November, however you would possibly save £100 by May if historical past repeats itself. If you don’t thoughts a 256GB machine, I counsel holding out for this new Samsung telephone’s inevitable price drop.

The different manner of it’s asking your self should you actually need this yr’s telephone. Sure, Samsung has doubled the base storage, however the Galaxy S26’s digicam specs are virtually an identical to the Galaxy S22 from 2022, and on paper final yr’s Galaxy S25 is all however an identical in specs.

Right now, you’ll be able to get the 256GB Galaxy S25 from AO for £649. To my thoughts, that’s a useful approach to save £230 and get a stable telephone that’s a lot the similar as the S26 introduced right this moment, with the similar quantity of storage.

But should you actually will need to have the newest Galaxy, I believe it’s clear that it’s best to wait should you don’t need to spend high greenback.