Samsung Galaxy S26 could offer a larger screen and battery — but not by much

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Any change can offer a better experience

Samsung Galaxy S25 review photos.
(Image credit: Tom's Guide)

A new leak has indicated that Samsung could be making incremental screen and battery improvements to the Galaxy S26.

The leak in question comes from a well-known source, Digital Chat Station, via Wccftech, who states that the Galaxy S26 will feature a 6.27-inch display, compared to the 6.2-inch display seen on the Galaxy S25. On top of that, it is claimed that Samsung will increase the battery to 4,300 mAh, compared to the current model's 4,000 mAh battery.

Minimal improvements, but good ones

This rumored screen size increase for the Galaxy S26 is minimal, but there’s an argument that this is ideal. Small phones are a rare breed these days, so while a 6.27-inch Galaxy S26 will have more display for users to take advantage of, Samsung fans will still be getting a smaller-than-average phone; one that's easy to fit into a pocket or bag.

Meanwhile, the battery increase is certainly appreciated, but how much it actually increases battery life is dependent on several factors. For instance, there are rumors that Samsung could return to using its own Exynos chips, meaning we could see a major difference between it and other Android phones using the Snapdragon 8 Elite 2 chip or the Exynos 2600. Looking at previous generations of chips, Qualcomm’s Snapdragon silicon has a proven record of superior power efficiency compared to Samsung's Exynos chips.

Galaxy S25 Plus held in the hand.

(Image credit: Tom's Guide / John Velasco)

On top of the bigger battery, we recently heard from Ice Universe that Samsung would include 60W charging for the Galaxy S26 Ultra, an increase from the current 45W charging. However, it was later revealed that this might not mean as big an increase in speed as many would hope, with the phone reportedly only reaching 75-80% charge from 0% after 30 minutes. However, it could be substantially faster in less official tests, which can be quite conservative when it comes to figures.

For the time being, we will always caution users to take any leaks with a pinch of salt, and to hold off judgment until we see the phones ourselves. On that note, Samsung is well known for sticking to the same release window for its devices, with new Galaxy S models typically arriving around the end of January, with the new phones going on sale around two weeks later.

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Josh Render
Josh Render
Staff Writer

Josh is a staff writer for Tom's Guide and is based in the UK. He has worked for several publications but now works primarily on mobile phones. Outside of phones, he has a passion for video games, novels, and Warhammer. 

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