Edge or Plus? Lineup confusion reportedly delays Samsung Galaxy S26 series

Samsung Galaxy S26 lineup could arrive later than planned, following an internal shift that sees the company abandoning the Edge variant and returning to its Plus variant

Samsung has reportedly pushed back the launch of its next-generation flagship smartphone line, the Galaxy S26 series. According to a report by 9To5Google, the Samsung Galaxy S26 series launch date has been delayed till late February 2026 or early March 2026, marking a delay of several weeks. The key reason behind this is expected to be Samsung’s last minute decision to continue with the Plus variant in the lineup, rather than replacing it with the Edge variant. 

Why has Samsung delayed Galaxy S26 series launch

For several weeks now, reports have been doing the rounds about Samsung planning to discontinue the Plus variant in the Galaxy S26 series, which has been part of the Galaxy S25 series and older. Earlier, the South Korean company was reportedly expected to replace the Plus variant with the Edge, and replace the base variant with Pro, making the upcoming Galaxy S26 series comprise Galaxy S26 Pro, Galaxy S26 Edge, and Galaxy S26 Ultra.

 

However, recently, another report by 9To5Google, citing South Korean news platform NewsPim, claimed that Samsung has pulled the plug on the Galaxy S26 Edge, and its efforts on ultra-thin “Edge” phones as a whole. As per the report, the reason that led to this decision was that the sales of the Galaxy S25 Edge fell “far” short of expectations, due to which it has been scrapped.

 

Now, the Galaxy S26 series is expected to feature three smartphones, namely – Samsung Galaxy S26, Samsung Galaxy S26 Plus, and Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra.

Samsung Galaxy S26 series launch to follow older timeline

Over the years, Samsung has attempted to prepone the launch of its flagship Galaxy S series smartphones. The Galaxy S22 series debuted in late February of 2022, whereas the Galaxy S23 series launched in mid-February 2023. After this, both the Galaxy S24 series and the Galaxy S25 series were launched in January of 2024 and 2025, respectively. 

 

Now, with this reported delay of the Galaxy S26 series, the launch falls closer to the timeline of the Galaxy S22 series.

 

Notably, Samsung has not yet made any official announcements either with regard to the variants in the Galaxy S26 series, or the launch timeline. Hence, it is possible that the base variant and Plus or Edge variant might still change later, as the launch date nears. However, the Ultra variant of the Galaxy S26 series is expected to remain its top flagship offering, akin to previous series. The Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra is likely to be powered by either the Exynos 2600 chip or the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chip. 

Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra: Expected specifications

• Display: 6.9-inch AMOLED with Colour-on-Emitter (CoE) depolariser, third-gen anti-reflective glass
• Processor: Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 for Galaxy or Exynos 2600
• RAM: Up to 16GB
• Storage: Up to 1TB
• OS: One UI 8
• Rear camera: 200MP (wider aperture) + 50MP periscope + 50MP ultrawide + 12MP telephoto
• Battery: 5000mAh
• Charging: 60W wired, Qi2 wireless magnetic charging
• Thickness: 7.9mm