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It’s been four months since I started using the iPhone 17, and it continues to prove that it's one of the best bang-for-the-buck flagships around. This is largely thanks to the upgrades I’ve been begging to get for years now, like a 120Hz refresh rate and 256GB of starting storage. However, the Galaxy S26 could steal its thunder, with even bigger upgrades tipped for Samsung’s base flagship model.
So far, rumors hint at a February 25 reveal at the next Galaxy Unpacked event. That’s less than a month away, and the juiciest Galaxy S26 rumors have me optimistic that it’s going to be a solid best phone contender.
Apple undeniably brought substantial upgrades with the iPhone 17, but I’m hoping Samsung responds with even more— particularly when it comes to software and AI features. Here are all the ways the Galaxy S26 could beat the iPhone 17.
Brighter screen courtesy of M14 OLED
All signs point to yet another 6.3-inch display for the Galaxy S26. While this provides no size advantage over the iPhone 17, the more notable aspect is how the S26’s display could be much brighter thanks to an M14 OLED panel.
If this sounds familiar, it should, because the same material is used by the iPhone 17 Pro Max and Pixel 10 Pro XL. The Galaxy S26’s display has been tipped to reach a peak of 2,600 nits, which would make the 1,505 nits we recorded from the iPhone 17 appear dim by comparison.
I’m highly suspicious of that claim, but considering the Galaxy S25 reached 1,789 nits in our testing. However, it's safe to say that I’m confident the S26 will, at the very least, eclipse that mark.
Newer camera sensor
Since I test all of the best camera phones, I’m always eager to see what changes are coming to the Galaxy S26. Even though it appears Samsung is sticking to the same camera arrangement, we could see a newer sensor that would significantly improve low-light performance.
Specs leak hint at a 50MP main camera, 12MP ultrawide, and a 10MP telephoto with 3x optical zoom. This setup already provides an advantage over the iPhone 17’s dual-camera system, which pairs a 48MP main shooter with a 48MP ultrawide. Reports indicate that Samsung will finally ditch the ISOCELL S5KGN3 sensor it’s leaned on for years, in favor of a newer ISOCELL GN sensor.
This larger sensor would allow the camera to capture more light, which helps when shooting in low-light conditions or capturing fast-moving subjects. Either way, I hope the S26 gets it. I’ve already shown how the iPhone 17 has the upper hand against the Galaxy S25 in low light — which you can see above.
Dedicated telephoto camera to get you closer
Despite the potential for recycled hardware, the Galaxy S26 would still have an upper hand over the iPhone 17 when it comes to capturing photos and videos at longer distances. That’s because the iPhone 17 lacks a dedicated telephoto camera, relying instead on its main camera and sensor-cropping techniques for all its zooming needs.
Rumors don’t hint at any meaningful changes for the Galaxy S26’s telephoto lens, which could still be stuck with the same 3x optical zoom range as before. Nevertheless, it should still prove effective enough at capturing better detail and definition than the iPhone 17. Plus, Samsung could bring newer image processing algorithms to further refine the end result.
More Galaxy AI features
One of the biggest disappointments I’ve had with the iPhone 17 is the lack of more Apple Intelligence features. It was clearly a huge missed opportunity for Apple, giving Samsung the chance to further widen the gap with new Galaxy AI features.
Last year saw the introduction of cross app actions, the Now Brief, and Audio Eraser. Along with the One UI 8 software I expect to run on the Galaxy S26, Samsung is rumored to be opening its suite of AI tools to third-party chatbots — rather than keeping them siloed to Gemini and Bixby. This would undoubtedly be beneficial, but I still want to see more dedicated Galaxy AI features rolled out.
Samsung needs to take a page from Google’s playbook, especially since the Pixel 10 Pro and 10 Pro XL brought even more impressive AI features to the table. I’d love to see Samsung create its own versions of Pro Res Zoom, Ask Photos, and Pixel Screenshots.
Stronger Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 performance
I know very well what Qualcomm’s flagship chipset is capable of after putting the OnePlus 15 to the test against its peers. The Galaxy S26 stands to gain from the same outstanding results I’ve seen with the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chip, beating out the iPhone 17 Pro Max's A19 Pro in many areas, including GPU performance.
Given that the iPhone 17 runs just the A19 chip, the S26 has an inherent advantage from the start with the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5. While it’s unknown if this chip will be specifically tweaked for Samsung’s flagship, I’m already hopeful it’s going to blow the iPhone 17 out of the water in every test. If that's not enough, I also suspect that the new chipset will make the S26 more power efficient, resulting in longer battery life.
I just hope that the Exynos 2600 rumored for other regions will match the impressive performance gains of Qualcomm’s chip.
And there’s more
Other rumored upgrades for the Galaxy S26 include a bump to 256GB of base storage, which would match the iPhone 17. Additionally, reports indicate the S26 will finally feature integrated magnets in its frame to provide native Qi2 support. I’m stoked about this upgrade because it would open up an entire ecosystem of accessories to the Galaxy S26 — like the MagSafe wallet I currently use with my iPhone 17 Pro, or the any of the best MagSafe chargers I’ve tested.
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