Phone comparison · UK prices · October 2026
Galaxy S26 or Galaxy S25: which should you buy?
The short answer
These two phones are closely matched on everything we compare. We have no current UK price for the Galaxy S26.
Comparing 2 phones
Galaxy S26Overall score 87/100
Galaxy S25Overall score 86/100
Differences in daily life
Battery and charging
EvenBoth have similar battery sizes (4,300 mAh and 4,000 mAh), close enough not to matter much day to day.
Screen
EvenBoth have similar sharpness (411 ppi and 416 ppi), close enough not to matter much day to day.
Speed
EvenBoth have similar benchmark results, close enough not to matter much day to day.
Size and weight
EvenBoth have a similar size (149.6 × 71.7 mm and 146.9 × 70.5 mm) and similar screen sizes (6.3 inches and 6.2 inches), close enough not to matter much day to day.
Still can't decide?
Your pick
Galaxy S26
It's a close call between the Galaxy S26 and the Galaxy S25: either suits your answers.
What you give up: Nothing that shows up in the specs we compare.
We may earn a commission whichever phone you buy. It does not change the pick.
Scores
| Score | Galaxy S26 | Galaxy S25 |
|---|---|---|
| Battery | 64 | 60 |
| Screen | 88 | 89 |
| Camera | 89 | 89 |
| Speed | 94 | 90 |
| Toughness | 92 | 92 |
| Connections and extras | 93 | 93 |
| Overall | 87 | 86 |
How these scores are made: Each score is calculated from the maker's published specs and benchmark results, using one fixed formula for every phone. We have not tested these phones in the hand. How we score phones
Specs side by side
42 of 72 specs differ
Galaxy S26
Galaxy S25
Display
- Size
- 6.3 inches6.2 inches
- Resolution
- 1080 × 2340 pixels1080×2340 pixels
- PPI
- 411416
- Screen-to-body ratio
- 90 %91.1 %
- Display features
- Capacitive Touchscreen, HDR10+, Multi-touch displayAlways-On Display Capacitive Touchscreen HDR10+ Multi-touch display
- Screen protection
- Corning Gorilla Glass Victus 2, Mohs level 5Armor aluminum 2 frame with tougher drop and scratch resistance (advertised), Corning Gorilla Glass Victus 2
Core Specifications
- Chipset
- Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 (United States), Samsung Exynos 2600 (International)Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite
- CPU cores
- 8 (United States), 10 (International)8
- Fabrication Technology
- 3 nm (United States), 2 nm (International)3 nm
- CPU max frequency
- 4.6 GHz (United States), 3.8 GHz (International)4320 MHz
- Microarchitecture
- 2x 4.6 GHz – Oryon V3 Phoenix L, 6x 3.62 GHz – Oryon V3 Phoenix M (United States), 1x 3.8 GHz – C1-Ultra 3x 3.25 GHz – C1-Pro 6x 2.75 GHz – C1-Pro (International)2x 4.32 GHz – Oryon V2 Phoenix L 6x 3.53 GHz – Oryon V2 Phoenix M
- GPU
- Qualcomm Adreno 840 @1.20 GHz (United States), Samsung Xclipse 960 @985 MHz (International)Qualcomm Adreno 830
- Storage
- 256GB, 512GB128GB, 256GB, 512GB
- Expandable Storage
- NoN/A
Software
- Operating System
- Android 16 (Baklava), with up to 7 major Android upgradesAndroid 15 (Vanilla Ice Cream) , with up to 7 major Android upgrades
Main Camera
- Video Resolution
- 4320p @ 24/30 fps, 2160p @ 30/60 fps, 1080p @ 30/60/120/240 fps4320p @ 24/30 fps 2160p @ 30/60 fps 1080p @ 30/60/120/240 fps
- Features
- Auto-HDR, Best Face, Horizon Lock, PanoramaPanorama
- Lenses
- 50 MP, ƒ/1.8, 24 mm ( Wide angle ), 1.0 μm, 1/1.56" Sensor size, - Optical Image Stabilization (OIS), - predictive dual pixel (PDAF) 10 MP, ƒ/2.4, 67 mm ( Telephoto ), 1.0 μm, x3 Optical zoom, 1/3.94" Sensor size - Optical Image Stabilization (OIS) - predictive dual pixel (PDAF) 12 MP, ƒ/2.2, 13 mm, 120° ( Ultra-wide angle ), 1.4 μm, 1/2.55" Sensor size - Super Steady Video50 MP , ƒ /1.8, 24 mm ( Wide-angle ), 1.0 μm , 1/1.56" Sensor size - Multi-Directional PDAF - Optical Image Stabilization (OIS) 10 MP , ƒ /2.4, 67 mm ( Telephoto ), 1.0 μm , x3 optical zoom, 1/3.94" Sensor size - Optical Image Stabilization (OIS) - PDAF 12 MP , ƒ /2.2, 13 mm , 120° ( Ultra-Wide angle ), 1.4 μm , 1/2.55" Sensor size - Super Steady Video
Selfie camera
- Lenses
- 12 MP, ƒ/2.2, 26 mm ( Wide angle ), 1.12 μm, 1/3.2" Sensor size, predictive dual pixel (PDAF)12 MP , ƒ /2.2, 26 mm ( Wide-angle ), 1.12 μm , 1/3.2" Sensor size - Dual-Pixel PDAF
- Video Resolution
- 2160p @ 30/60 fps, 1080p @ 30 fps2160p @ 30/60 fps 1080p @ 30 fps
- Video Features
- HDR10+ High Dynamic Range (HDR)N/A
- Features
- predictive dual pixel PDAFHDR10+ High Dynamic Range (HDR)
General
- Announced
- Wednesday, 25 February 2026Wednesday, 22 January 2025
- Released
- Friday, 06 March 2026Monday, 03 February 2025
Battery
- Capacity
- 4300 mAh4000 mAh
- Wired charging power
- 25 W25W
- Wireless charging power
- 15 W15W
- Features
- Qi2 wireless charging, Reverse wireless charging, Wired charging from 0-55% in 30 minutes (as advertised)Qi2 wireless charging, Reverse wireless charging, Wired charging from 0-50% in 30 minutes (official specs),
Battery Life Test
- Browsing
- N/A18:29 hh:mm
- Video watching
- N/A8:01 hh:mm
- Playing games
- N/A12:20 hh:mm
Design
- Height
- 149.6 mm146.9 mm
- Width
- 71.7 mm70.5 mm
- Weight
- 167 g162 g
- Resistance cert. meaning
- Dust-tight and water-resistant (submersible up to 1.5m for 30 minutes)Dust and water-resistant (withstands high-pressure water jets; submersible up to 1.5m for 30 minutes)
Network
- Network Type support
- 5G, LTE (CA), HSPA5G, LTE (up to 7CA), HSPA
- Network_5G bands
- n1, n2, n3, n5, n7, n8, n12, n20, n25, n26, n28, n38, n40, n41, n66, n71, n75, n77, n785G: n1 (2100), n2 (1900), n3 (1800), n5 (850), n7 (2600), n8 (900), n12 (700), n20 (800), n25 (1900), n26 (850), n28 (700), n38 (2600), n40 (2300), n41 (2500), n66 (2100), n71 (600), n75 (1500), n77 (3700), n78 (3500), n257 (28000), n258 (26000), n260 (39000), n261 (28000 MHz)
- Network_4G bands
- b1, b2, b3, b4, b5, b7, b8, b12, b13, b14, b17, b18, b19, b20, b25, b26, b28, b29, b30, b32, b38, b39, b40, b41, b48, b66, b71LTE: b1 (2100), b2 (1900), b3 (1800), b4 (1700), b5 (850), b7 (2600), b8 (900), b12 (700), b13 (700), b14 (700), b17 (700), b18 (800), b19 (800), b20 (800), b25 (1900), b26 (850), b28 (700), b29 (700), b30 (2300), b32 (1500), b38 (2600), b39 (1900), b40 (2300), b41 (2500), b48 (3800), b66 (1700), b71 (600 MHz)
- Network_2G bands
- GSM: 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 MHz, CDMA: 800 / 1900 MHzGSM: 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 MHz CDMA: 800 / 1900 MHz
Connectivity
- WiFi support
- Yes (Wi-Fi 7)Yes ( Wi-Fi 7 )
- USB ports
- USB Type-C 3.2, DisplayPort 1.2USB Type-C 3.2, DisplayPort 1.2, USB On-The-Go,
Multimedia
- Audio type
- High-bitrate audio support, Stereo speakers32-bit/384kHz Hi-Res audio, Stereo speakers, Tuned by AKG,