Galaxy S26 launch reportedly pushed to late February 2026 — with Unpacked returning to San Francisco

Samsung usually kicks off its Galaxy S cycle in late January or early February. This time, however, the Galaxy S26 family may arrive a few weeks later than expected, reflecting recent shifts in the lineup.

Galaxy S26: Reported date and venue

According to a MoneyToday report, Samsung is targeting February 25, 2026 for Galaxy Unpacked 2026, with the event slated for San Francisco. It would mark Samsung’s first San Francisco Galaxy S launch since the Galaxy S23 series—symbolically fitting as the city remains a focal point for the current AI boom. A Samsung official is cited as the source of the timing and location.

Why San Francisco?

Samsung has leaned heavily into on-device and cloud-assisted AI features over the past two generations. Planting the S26 launch in the heart of Silicon Valley’s AI ecosystem neatly underlines that strategy—and yes, the optics are deliberate.

Lineup reset: no “Edge” sequel

Multiple reports over recent months suggested a reshuffle introducing Galaxy S26 Pro, S26 Edge, and S26 Ultra. Following tepid Galaxy S25 Edge sales, though, Samsung is said to have abandoned the S26 Edge, reverting to its more traditional tiering. In other words: course correction executed.

Chipset strategy: Exynos 2600 returns, Snapdragon for Ultra

Samsung has hinted that at least part of the S26 range will adopt the Exynos 2600, billed as the first 2nm-class smartphone SoC. Designed by System LSI and fabbed on Samsung Foundry’s 2nm node, it’s expected to pair a 10-core ARM C1 CPU with an AMD RDNA-based Xclipse 960 GPU.

• Galaxy S26 / S26+: Exynos 2600 in most markets worldwide, with exceptions reportedly including Canada, China, and the USA.

• Galaxy S26 Ultra: Exclusive Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 for Galaxy, manufactured on TSMC’s 3nm process.

Bottom line

If the reporting holds, Samsung will use a late-February slot and a San Francisco stage to frame the S26 series as its next big AI showcase—while quietly trimming experimental variants and doubling down on a split-silicon strategy that puts Exynos back in wide circulation and keeps Snapdragon entrenched in the Ultra.