Samsung Galaxy S26 Plus vs Galaxy S25 Plus: Too similar?

Design and Size

Almost identical

A leaked design render of the Galaxy S26 Plus | Image by OnLeaks

The first leaked renders of the Galaxy S26 Plus popped up online a couple of days ago. There’s nothing radical, the phone falls into the same design pattern that other devices from the Galaxy S26 series are expected to sport.

We have the same flat sides, back and front, the new pill-shaped camera bump, and the same rounded corners. If you put these leaked renders next to a photo of the Galaxy S25 Plus, the main difference will be the camera bump.

The information about dimensions and materials is scarce at the moment, but we expect the Galaxy S26 Plus to be very close to its predecessor. There is a rumor placing the thickness just a hair over the S25 Plus, but overall we expect nearly identical dimensions and weight.

Display Differences

Given the latest leaked dimensions of the Galaxy S26 Plus are almost identical to the ones of its predecessor, we can deduce that the former will sport the same 6.7-inch AMOLED screen, at least in size.

There’s no info about the display tech involved, but we expect similar panels, with the same 1440 x 3120 resolution, resulting in the same 513 PPI pixel density. The refresh rate of the display in the S26 Plus will most likely also mimic the 120Hz dynamic refresh rate of the S25 Plus. The only difference might come in brightness as new materials are constantly developed pushing those boundaries. 

*rumored

Speaking of brightness, the Galaxy S25 Plus is plenty bright. The phone managed to output 2391 nits of brightness, which is impressive. We can’t wait to see how the S26 Plus will perform in our display tests.

The biometrics are expected to remain the same – namely, an under-display fingerprint scanner. Samsung has been using this tech for a couple of generations now, and it works like a charm.

Performance and Software

Exynos again?

Camera

No changes

The rumor mill is surprisingly silent when it comes to the camera system of the Galaxy S26 Plus, probably because this model was in peril until recently. Given our experience from the past couple of generations though, we don’t expect any huge upgrades in the camera hardware, compared to the S25 Plus. 

Of course, nowadays algorithms play a huge part in how images look, so we shouldn’t rule out a different score in our camera benchmark for the Galaxy S26 Plus. Speaking of scores, the S25 Plus managed to score 147 (out of 158), which is a very impressive result for a phone that’s not marketed as a “camera” device. We will test the S26 Plus once it arrives in our lab and also include some side-by-side samples.

Battery Life and Charging

Another copy-paste?

This is becoming a trend in this comparison, but it seems that we won’t be getting any battery capacity or charging upgrades on the Galaxy S26 Plus. The S25 Plus features a 4,900 mAh battery, which is not small, but with all silicon-carbon models coming out recently (pushing the 8,000 mAh threshold), it starts to look outdated.

In our battery test the Galaxy S25 Plus scored 7h 36m which put it in 43rd place among phones tested in the past 2 years. It’s not a terrible result, but nothing to write home about. It will be interesting to see how efficient the new chipset inside the S26 Plus will actually be and compared directly the two.

The charging situation is another area where we don’t expect major changes. The Galaxy S26 Plus is expected to mimic the 45W wired and 15W wireless charging speeds of its predecessor. The S25 Plus charges from zero to full in 1 hour and 11 minutes, so we expect similar results from the S26 Plus.

Specs Comparison

Samsung Galaxy S26+	Samsung Galaxy S25+

Dimensions
	158.4 x 75.7 x 7.3 mm (~8.55 mm with camera bump)
Weight
	190.0 g

Size
6.7-inch	6.7-inch
Type
Dynamic AMOLED, 120Hz	Dynamic AMOLED, 120Hz

System chip
Snapdragon (3 nm)	Snapdragon 8 Elite SM8750-AB (3 nm)
Memory
12GB (LPDDR5X)/256GB (UFS 4.0) 12GB/512GB	12GB (LPDDR5X)/256GB (UFS 4.0) 12GB/512GB
OS
Android (16), up to 7 OS updates	Android (15), up to 7 OS updates

Type
4900 mAh	4900 mAh
Charge speed
Wired: 45.0W Wireless: 15.0W	Wired: 45.0W Wireless: 15.0W

Main camera
50 MP (OIS, PDAF) Sensor name: Samsung GN3 Aperture size: F1.8 Focal length: 24 mm Sensor size: 1/1.56″ Pixel size: 1.0 μm	50 MP (OIS, PDAF) Sensor name: Samsung GN3 Aperture size: F1.8 Focal length: 24 mm Sensor size: 1/1.56″ Pixel size: 1.0 μm
Second camera
12 MP (Ultra-wide) Sensor name: Sony IMX564 Aperture size: F2.2 Focal Length: 13 mm Sensor size: 1/2.55″ Pixel size: 1.4 μm	12 MP (Ultra-wide) Sensor name: Sony IMX564 Aperture size: F2.2 Focal Length: 13 mm Sensor size: 1/2.55″ Pixel size: 1.4 μm
Third camera
10 MP (Telephoto) Sensor name: Samsung S5K3K1 Optical zoom: 3.0x Aperture size: F2.4 Focal Length: 67 mm Sensor size: 1/3.94″ Pixel size: 1.0 μm	10 MP (Telephoto) Sensor name: Samsung S5K3K1 Optical zoom: 3.0x Aperture size: F2.4 Focal Length: 67 mm Sensor size: 1/3.94″ Pixel size: 1.0 μm
Front
12 MP	12 MP

Bluetooth
5.4	5.4
WLAN
a,b,g,n,ac,Wi-Fi 6,Wi-Fi 6E,Wi-Fi 7 Wi-Fi Direct, Hotspot 802.11 a, b, g, n, ac, ax	a,b,g,n,ac,Wi-Fi 6,Wi-Fi 6E,Wi-Fi 7 Wi-Fi Direct, Hotspot 802.11 a, b, g, n, ac, ax
USB
Type-C, USB 3.2	Type-C, USB 3.2
Sensors
Accelerometer, Gyroscope, Compass, Barometer, Ambient light sensor, Proximity sensor	Accelerometer, Gyroscope, Compass, Barometer, Ambient light sensor, Proximity sensor
Hearing aid compatible
M3/T4	M3/T4
Location
GPS, A-GPS, Glonass, Galileo, BeiDou, Cell ID, Wi-Fi positioning	GPS, A-GPS, Glonass, Galileo, BeiDou, Cell ID, Wi-Fi positioning
Other
NFC, Ultra Wideband (UWB)	NFC, Ultra Wideband (UWB)

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Samsung Galaxy S26+ vs Samsung Galaxy S25+ specs comparison

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Summary