As of January 11, 2026: The confirmed in-store retail release dates for the Galaxy S26, Galaxy S26+, and Galaxy S26 Ultra in major markets have been updated in this Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra article.

The much awaited Galaxy S26 series, which includes the Galaxy S26 Ultra, Galaxy S26+, and Galaxy S26, is about to be unveiled by Samsung. Unlike the traditional mid-to-late January timing used for the Galaxy S23, S24 and S25 families, the Galaxy Unpacked 2026 event has been rescheduled.Everything you need to know about the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra’s release date, pre-order information, anticipated deals, review schedule, and in-store availability is provided here.

The Rescheduled Galaxy Unpacked Event and the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra

The Galaxy Unpacked event is typically the focal point of Samsung’s flagship smartphone launches. It was widely expected that the company would introduce three new models in late January 2026: the Galaxy S26 Ultra, Galaxy S26 Edge and Galaxy S26 Pro.

However, weaker-than-expected sales of the Galaxy S25 Edge led Samsung to drop the Edge variant for 2026. Similarly, the strong retail performance of the vanilla iPhone 17 (which maintained the $799 price point) convinced Samsung to keep the same $799 starting price for the base model — resulting in the classic trio returning: Galaxy S26, Galaxy S26+ and the flagship Galaxy S26 Ultra.

This product lineup adjustment reportedly delayed manufacturing schedules, pushing the entire Galaxy S26 series launch to late February 2026.

Renowned leakers Evan Blass (@evleaks) and @IceUniversse have both confirmed that the Galaxy Unpacked event will take place in San Francisco on Wednesday, February 25, 2026. Following the pattern of last year’s New York event (1 pm ET / 10 am PT), a similar start time is highly likely for the Galaxy S26 family announcement.

Galaxy Unpacked Announcement Timeline for Galaxy S26 Ultra

Samsung typically reveals the Galaxy Unpacked date about two weeks in advance. In 2025, the January 22 event was announced on January 6 — coinciding with the opening day of CES.

Samsung has positioned Galaxy Unpacked less than a week ahead of Mobile World Congress (MWC), which is scheduled to begin in Barcelona on March 2, 2026. This will enable the corporation to dominate the tech conversation, just like it did at CES 2025.

If Samsung follows the same two-week lead time, expect official Galaxy Unpacked invites to be sent out during the week of Monday, February 9, 2026.

Will There Be a Fourth Galaxy S26 Model?

Samsung is expected to introduce a fourth member to the family in 2026 — the Samsung Galaxy S26 FE (Fan Edition).

The Galaxy S25 FE launched in September 2025 (eight months after the main lineup) and will continue as the affordable Galaxy S option through the first half of 2026. Just like Google’s Pixel 9a or Apple’s rumored iPhone 16e, the Galaxy S26 FE will arrive significantly later in the flagship lifecycle as a more budget-friendly variant.

Pre-Order Offers & Deals for the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra

Pre-orders are often opened by Samsung right after the Galaxy Unpacked speech, taking advantage of the large livestream viewership.

Pre-orders for the Galaxy S26 series are anticipated to start on February 25, 2026, immediately following the conclusion of the event.

Samsung usually sweetens pre-orders with:

• Generous trade-in values
• Free storage upgrades (“double storage” deal)
• Free accessories or Samsung Credit

The famous double storage promotion (128GB → 256GB, 256GB → 512GB, 512GB → 1TB) has been a fan favorite for years. However, with rising RAM and storage component costs, some analysts believe this popular perk could be scaled back or removed for the Galaxy S26 family.

Samsung is not expected to increase official list prices in the near future and is believed to have secured strong silicon supply contracts, so some promotional flexibility should remain — especially since direct sales through Samsung.com generate higher margins.

Galaxy S26 Ultra Reviews Timeline

Between the Galaxy Unpacked event and general retail availability, the first wave of Galaxy S26 Ultra reviews will drop.

In previous years, embargo lifts occurred roughly one week after launch, with major tech sites and YouTube channels publishing early hands-on impressions and full reviews.

With MWC ending around March 5–6, 2026, it will be fascinating to watch whether Samsung lifts the review embargo during MWC (to compete directly with “Best of MWC” coverage) or waits until the day after to dominate headlines with Galaxy S26 Ultra reviews.

Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra Retail Release Date

The standard industry window between announcement and retail availability is two weeks. Samsung traditionally prefers Friday retail launch days.

However, new information points to a slightly different schedule.

Update – January 11, 2026: According to reliable French source Dealabs (known for accurate European smartphone pricing and release intel):

“All models in the Galaxy S26 series and their range of accessories will be available in Europe from March 11, 2026. This confirms the rumors suggesting a launch in early March.”

Given Samsung’s synchronized global rollout pattern (especially in Europe, UK, North America, and South Korea), the Galaxy S26, Galaxy S26+ and Galaxy S26 Ultra are expected to hit stores worldwide on Wednesday, March 11, 2026.

This places the retail launch exactly two weeks after the February 25 Galaxy Unpacked event — providing Samsung with:

• 14 days of pre-order sales
• 20 days of retail sales in the current financial quarter

Most importantly, the Galaxy S26 family will arrive in stores less than one week after MWC ends — allowing Samsung to maintain maximum media and consumer attention on the Galaxy S26 Ultra while overshadowing any competing announcements from Barcelona.
Samsung will launch the Galaxy S26 series at an Unpacked event in San Francisco on February 25, 2026. Due to lineup adjustments, the classic trio returns: Galaxy S26, S26+, and S26 Ultra, with a starting price of $799. Pre-orders begin immediately after the announcement, potentially with trade-in offers and storage upgrades. Following a two-week pre-order period, the phones are scheduled for global retail release on March 11, 2026.Later in the year, a more reasonably priced Galaxy S26 FE model is anticipated to be released.