Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra Launch Date, Features, and Pre-Order Details

Samsung is all set to launch the Galaxy S26 series, which will include Galaxy S26, Galaxy S26+, and the flagship Galaxy S26 Ultra. The company does not plan on following the same pattern of launching its lineup in January, as it has done for many years.

Still, the signs are all pointing towards a delayed but strategically timed launch, in order to maximize the attention around it. This will reset the momentum of the flagship lineup ahead of Mobile World Congress.

Galaxy Unpacked Event is Rescheduled

Samsung’s flagship launch events have been usually around the same time as the Galaxy Unpacked event, and that will be the case in 2026 as well, but with a few changes this time. Initially, a late January launch of the Ultra, Edge, and Pro models was expected.

But, the decision of Samsung to keep a competitive $799 entry price along with the weaker than expected sales of the Galaxy S25 Edge, led to the return of the traditional trio, which is Galaxy S26, S26+, and S26 Ultra. This change of plan seems to have pushed back the manufacturing timelines, which is ultimately resulting in a late February launch.

As per the reliable industry sources like Evan Blass and Ice Universe, the Galaxy Unpacked will be hosted in San Francisco on Wednesday, 25^th February 2026. If Samsung continues its recent trend, the keynote event should start at around 1pm Eastern Time, which will set the stage for a global livestream that millions of people will be watching.

Galaxy Unpacked Announcement Strategy

Samsung’s official announcement of Galaxy Unpacked is likely to happen about two weeks before the event. Last year, the invites were sent on the first day of CES, which was a smart tactic, as it made sure that Samsung would be the focal point of early tech news.

In 2026, the company seems to be doing the same thing by scheduling Galaxy Unpacked just before the Mobile World Congress, which will start on 2^nd March 2026. Therefore, invites will probably go out during the week of 9^th February, which will allow Samsung to be the center of attention.

Probable Arrival of a Galaxy S26 FE

Samsung is expected to make a major announcement later this year, where a Galaxy S26 FE smartphone will be part of the new S26 lineup. The Fan Edition models are known to be cheaper versions of the flagship, where it has many of the same features, but they are released months after the main launch.

Since the Galaxy S25 FE was released in September 2025, it is fine to assume that the S26 FE will not be seen before the end of 2026.

Galaxy S26 Ultra Pre-Order Expectations

Samsung is famous for opening pre-orders just after the end of the Galaxy Unpacked keynote, which is a strategy for attracting maximum attention. The same method is expected this year as well, with pre-orders most likely to commence around 25^th February 2026. Buyers will be able to take advantage of familiar offers, such as improved trade-in values and online exclusive incentives.

However, one of the long-lasting benefits may be in risk. The double storage update, which allows the users to purchase the storage, where if they pay for 128 GB storage they’ll get 256 GB and so on, has been the most attractive thing about the Samsung offer.

However, the rising prices of memory and RAM are the reasons why it may not be sustainable anymore. Samsung is not likely to increase the retail prices, but the overall pre-order deal might be less generous than the previous years.

The Reviews

The initial reviews of the Galaxy S26 Ultra are expected to be out between the unpacked event and retail launch. Generally speaking, the review embargoes are lifted about a week after the launch events. This would cause the reviews to be at the same time as the Mobile World Congress, which will create a situation of an interesting clash for attention.

Samsung might decide to take advantage of this situation by using the bold embargo timing to guarantee that the Galaxy S26 Ultra conquers the headlines even when the MWC coverage is at its peak.

Retail Release Dates

Samsung usually launches its flagship phones about two weeks post-launch, preferring a tightly controlled global rollout. Fridays are frequent days for retail launches, but as per the latest news from Dealabs, a different day is suggested this time.

The informants say that the Galaxy S26, S26+, and S26 Ultra will be available in Europe on 11th of March 2026, which is a Wednesday. Normally, Samsung has a similar approach to all major markets, which means that customers in North America, the UK, and South Korea would all have the same availability from day one.

An 11^th March launch would mean that retail sales begin exactly two weeks after Galaxy Unpacked, which will give Samsung a good pre-order period and a significant contribution to sales in the financial quarter.

The Timing Strategy

Samsung is taking less than a week approach after Mobile World Congress to be sure that the Galaxy S26 Ultra gets the attention of the consumers and media that are still there. With the help of good marketing and store visibility, Samsung will try to make sure that its top product message will be heard over other announcements from Barcelona.

If it is done right, then this new timetable will allow the Galaxy S26 Ultra a smoother path compared to its predecessors.