Samsung Galaxy 26 could arrive in January after all — with a major camera upgrade on board

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Samsung may finally upgrade the Galaxy S26's telephoto camera — and reveal the phones a month earlier than we expected

Camera lenses on the Galaxy S25 Ultra
(Image credit: Tom's Guide)

A much-needed upgrade could be coming to one of the Samsung Galaxy S26's rear cameras, a new report claims. And even better, another source offers evidence that Samsung could launch its new flagship phones earlier than we had thought.

This is according to Smartprix, who used alleged leaked firmware for the new phones to check their camera IDs. This revealed that the basic S26 and S26 Plus will both get a combination of 50MP main sensors, 12MP ultrawide cameras, and 12MP telephoto cameras.

A January launch is back on the cards

inside the sap center at galaxy unpacked 2025 in san jose

(Image credit: Future)

Now let's get to that other rumor — that the Galaxy S26 may be revealed at the end of January, rather than in February as other rumors had suggested. The retail launch of the phones will be in February, however.

ChosunBiz, a Korean business paper, is the one making this claim. Quoting an inside source, the report claims that Samsung has managed to overcome the delay caused by the alleged discarding of the Galaxy S26 Edge from the launch line-up and the return of the Plus model. Therefore, the company could return to its habitual January launch window.

ChosunBiz's report also repeats claims about the Galaxy S26's chip distribution. We've heard Samsung could be using a mix of Exynos 2600 and Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chips in the new phones. The insider alleges that only the Galaxy S26 Ultra will use the Snapdragon chip, with the base and Plus models using Samsung's in-house Exynos silicon.

The exact mix seems to change with every new rumor we hear, something which happens every year when a Galaxy S series launch is incoming. Given the rumors keep contradicting each other, and the exact blend could differ between regions, we'll wait for more confident rumors before we start getting excited or worried about the S26 series' performance.

But with an apparently earlier launch than expected, and a new telephoto camera at long last, the Galaxy S26 has us looking forward to the new year already. Let us know if you feel the same!

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Richard Priday
Richard Priday
Assistant Phones Editor

Richard is based in London, covering news, reviews and how-tos for phones, tablets, gaming, and whatever else people need advice on. Following on from his MA in Magazine Journalism at the University of Sheffield, he's also written for WIRED U.K., The Register and Creative Bloq. When not at work, he's likely thinking about how to brew the perfect cup of specialty coffee.

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