Joe Maring / Android Authority
TL;DR
- Reports conflict over the Samsung Galaxy S26 launch date, flip-flopping between late January and February as the date for the next Galaxy Unpacked.
- The latest report aligns with an earlier leak suggesting a February 25, 2026, event in San Francisco.
- Frequent changes to product plans for the Galaxy S26 Edge and Galaxy S26 Plus have delayed Samsung’s design and production timeline.
It would be a slight understatement to say that Samsung’s plans for its upcoming flagships are all over the place. We first heard that the Galaxy S26 launch is reportedly set for February 2026 in San Francisco. A subsequent leak disagreed with this timeline, stating that the company had managed to pull itself together and is now gunning for a late January launch. Now, a new report is reverting to the February launch timeline, and everyone is confused about which leak to believe now.
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According to a new report from South Korea’s ET News, the Galaxy S26 launch event is scheduled for February 25, 2026, in San Francisco, USA. This is the same date mentioned in the first leak from South Korea’s Money Today. On the other hand, South Korea’s ChosunBiz had mentioned that the Galaxy S26 launch would take place in late January, with availability set for mid-February onwards, as Samsung managed to overcome the delays through a “company-wide effort.”
There’s a chance that ETNews is merely regurgitating the initial report, but given the news platform’s reputation, there’s an equally good chance that it’s a corroborative leak. As such, it isn’t very clear which date to believe; however, with two sources pointing to February 25, 2026, that date is the frontrunner for the next Galaxy Unpacked.
If you’re wondering why Samsung’s plans seem disjointed, it’s because the company is reacting to Apple more than innovating on its own front. Samsung launched the Galaxy S25 Edge as a preemptive product against Apple’s then-upcoming iPhone Air, but poor sales for it reportedly led to the cancellation of the Galaxy S26 Edge, its successor. Samsung had reportedly cancelled the Galaxy S26 Plus in favor of the Galaxy S26 Edge, but then had to roll back on these plans when the S26 Edge was cancelled. On the sidelines, the Galaxy S26 was about to be called the Galaxy S26 Pro, but it has reverted to being the Galaxy S26 once again.
All of this shuffling has pushed design and manufacturing plans. Even as other Android OEMs are already releasing their Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 flagships, Samsung is still at least two months away, if not more. We hope to see the Galaxy S26 series land in our hands sooner rather than later.
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