Samsung galaxy s26 plus vs s24 plus: should you upgrade?
Design and size
Despite rumors pointing toward Samsung ditching the Galaxy S26 Plus in favor of the Edge model, it seems that we'll get another Galaxy Plus this year.
The design of the Galaxy S26 Plus closely follows the design language of its siblings, featuring a new, pill-shaped camera bump as the main differentiator.
Galaxy S24 Plus features the same flat design, with separate holes for each camera on the back. The new camera bump on the S26 Plus would make a visual difference, but apart from that, we expect both phones to look very similar.
Dimensions between the two models are almost identical, with the S26 Plus expected to be thinner than its predecessor.
Display
The rumored dimensions
of the Galaxy S26 Plus point toward the same 6.7-inch screen size as the S24 Plus.Resolution and pixel density
may also remain unchanged at 1440 x 3120 and 513 PPI respectively.The dynamic LTPO 120Hz refresh rate could potentially get a boost in brightness for the S26 Plus.
Performance and software
According to the latest info, the Galaxy S26 series will bring back the duality of Exynos and Snapdragon chipsets, depending on the market.
The S26 Plus is expected to feature the latest Qualcomm silicon—the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 in North America and China—while Europe and the rest of the world will get the Exynos 2600.
In terms of software, RAM, and storage—things look identical at this point, with 12GB of RAM and 256 or 512GB of onboard storage.
Camera
According to the little rumor info we have, there won't be any big upgrades to the back camera system on the Galaxy S26 Plus.
This would mean Samsung is choosing to keep the same three cameras for yet another year, a slightly disappointing notion.
There's still a chance we can get a new ultrawide with a better pixel count, given other competitors are moving toward 50MP ultrawide cameras, but we have to wait and see.
Battery life and charging
The expected battery capacity inside the Galaxy S26 Plus copies the one in the previous generation and the one before that—4,900 mAh.
In our battery test, the Galaxy S24 Plus scored 7h 31m, which put it in 46th place among phones tested in the past 2 years.
No silicon-carbon involved, sadly, and it seems the S26 Plus might get a very similar score.
Specs comparison
| Feature | Samsung Galaxy S26+ | Samsung Galaxy S24+ |
|---|---|---|
| Dimensions | 158.4 x 75.8 x 7.3 mm | 158.5 x 75.9 x 7.7 mm |
| Weight | 190.0 g | 196.0 g |
| Display | 6.7-inch Dynamic AMOLED, 120Hz | 6.7-inch Dynamic AMOLED, 120Hz |
| Chipset | Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 (3 nm) | Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 (4 nm) |
| Memory | 12GB (LPDDR5X)/256GB (UFS 4.0) | 12GB/512GB, 12GB/256GB (UFS 4.0) |
| OS | Android (16), up to 7 OS updates | Android (15, 14) |
| Battery | 4900 mAh, 45.0W wired, 15.0W wireless | 4900 mAh, 45.0W wired, 15.0W wireless |
| Camera | 50 MP (OIS, PDAF), 12 MP (Ultra-wide), 10 MP (Telephoto) | 50 MP (OIS, PDAF), 12 MP (Ultra-wide), 10 MP (Telephoto) |
Summary
Samsung seems to be stuck with the Galaxy S-series and the Plus models in particular.
The last couple of generations the upgrades were incremental, and it seems that this trend will continue with the Galaxy S26 Plus.
Some of the specs can still change though, but if they stay the same, people would find it hard to justify an upgrade from the S24 Plus—the overall experience will most likely be the same.