Samsung Galaxy S26 and S26+: From RM5,199 onwards for nearly the same phone as before
The Samsung Galaxy S26 series is finally here… and it’s mostly the same as before. With Samsung playing it safe again for their mainstream flagship, you’d think the price would stay the same or even drop a little, but on the contrary, these Korean smartphones are more expensive than ever.
Samsung Galaxy S26 and S26+ Malaysia pricing and availability
There will only be one variant for both the Galaxy S26 and S26+ this year, with both models now available for pre-order with 512GB of storage as default:
- Samsung Galaxy S26, 12GB RAM, 512GB storage – RM5,199
- Samsung Galaxy S26+, 12GB RAM, 512GB storage – RM6,199
If those prices look incredibly expensive for the non-Ultra Galaxy devices, that’s because they are. For context, the Galaxy S25 started at just RM3,999 last year for the base model with 256GB of storage, while the matching 512GB Galaxy S25 was priced at RM4,599. As for the Galaxy S25+, it was priced at RM4,999 for the base model with 256GB of storage, rising to RM5,599 for the 512GB model.
That means that, even when compared to the 512GB model of its predecessors, the Galaxy S26 and Galaxy S26+ are now priced RM600 more, with the overall difference in price being RM1,200 if you compare to last year’s base model. That being said, it does seem that Samsung plans to launch the 256GB versions soon.
If you do opt to pre-order the new Galaxy S26 series, the Galaxy S26 is now priced at RM4,399 while the Galaxy S26+ is priced at RM5,399. These are being called ‘double storage’ upgrades, which seems to imply that if and when the 256GB models debut, these will be the new starting prices of the Galaxy S26 and Galaxy S26+ respectively.
Samsung Galaxy S26 and Galaxy S26+ specs
Despite the rather significant increase in pricing, the actual hardware of the Galaxy S26 and Galaxy S26+ aren’t much different compared to before. For starters, they share a near identical camera setup as before: a 50MP, f/1.8 main camera, a 12MP, f/2.2 ultrawide, a 10MP, f/2.4 telephoto offering 3x optical zoom and a 12MP, f/2.2 selfie shooter.
You also get a 4,300mAh battery on the S26, a slight increase compared to the 4,000mAh on the S25, albeit with the same 25W wired fast charging, 15W wireless and 4.5W reverse wireless charging as before. The S26+ meanwhile retains a 4,900mAh battery as before, with 45W wired fast charging and 4.5W reverse wireless charging and a mild upgrade to 25W wireless charging.
As for displays, the Galaxy S26 gets an ever so slightly larger 6.3-inch, FHD+ Dynamic AMOLED 2X display while the Galaxy S26+ again has the same 6.7-inch, QHD+ Dynamic AMOLED 2X panel. Both phones have a 1-120Hz adaptive refresh rate, and now get Corning Gorilla Armor 2 over it for scratch resistance. You’ll also find IP68 dust and water resistance ratings on both devices.
Under the hood, the Galaxy S26 and Galaxy S26+ come with their new Exynos 2600 system-on-chip, the industry’s first 2nm mobile chipset; this will reportedly deliver up to 39% improved performance and up to 50% better ray tracing while gaming. You’ll find One UI 8.5 out of the box, skinned over Android 16. One consistently positive thing Samsung continues to do here though is its long term software support, with up to seven years of updates.
Speaking of software, this is perhaps where the Galaxy S26 series gets the most ‘upgrades’, so to speak. There’s a bunch of new AI-powered tools as well as improvements to current features, such as Photo Assist, Creative Studio and Document Scan, as well as Now Nudge, Now Brief, Circle to Search, an upgraded Bixby, Call Screening, Private Album and more.
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