Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra could get a display upgrade with CoE OLED and depolarization technology. A trusted source revealed key upgrades of the next flagship, including a clearer screen, longer battery life, and a slimmer design.

The new CoE OLED brings several improvements over traditional OLED displays. Samsung’s official presentation (via IceUniverse) highlights advantages including thinner panels, lower power consumption, vivid colors, and reduced light reflection.

Thanks to CoE OLED’s improved light transmission, the display uses less power. This way, the S26 Ultra could last longer than the S25 Ultra with the same battery capacity. The reduced panel thickness would introduce an even thinner design.

CoE OLED

CoE OLED replaces the legacy polarizer with a color filter and swaps the standard Pixel Definition Layer (PDL) with a black PDL. This change makes the display thinner and boosts light transmission, lowering power consumption.

In addition, the leaker claimed that the Galaxy S26 Ultra sports a third-generation CoE+ anti-reflective coating. It trims the display’s thickness even more and lightens the phone’s weight, helping Samsung make the S26 Ultra sleeker.

While the input comes from a trusted source, it remains unconfirmed till Samsung officially spills the beans. The next-gen flagship phones will launch in early 2026, which will bring some notable upgrades over the S25 series.

The Galaxy S26 Ultra is also rumored to use a 200MP sensor from Sony. It could be nearly 1 inch in size and replace the ISOCELL HP2. This is a wild rumor, and we speculate the S27 Ultra might make this shift, not the S26 Ultra.

Well, Samsung’s Design Chief recently highlighted the potential evolution of the Mobile segment. The upcoming products will focus on nurturing a connected ecosystem and the S26 series may be the first AI Phone to feel more like a human.

Samsung appears to be upgrading the display, battery, and charging of the Galaxy S25 FE. The company is likely to replace the Plus model with Edge in the Galaxy S26 series. Meanwhile, the next Fan Edition is getting closer to S25 Plus specs.

Flexible LTPO OLED display

A new report talks about the display specifications of the S25 FE. The device will retain a 6.7-inch panel, but it will have LTPO, enabling a 1Hz- 120Hz refresh rate. The screen’s resolution would be FHD+ with Dynamic AMOLED 2X tech.

Samsung Display is reportedly prepping to start mass production of flexible OLED screens for the Galaxy S25 FE. It’s a notable hardware upgrade, as previous Fan Edition phones were equipped with a legacy rigid OLED display.

Source – Wireless Power Consortium

Upgraded battery and charging

Samsung Galaxy S25 FE could be equipped with a 4,900mAh battery and 45W charging. It’s a 200mAh upgrade in battery, and charging is going up from 25W. These are the same battery and charging specs as the S25 Plus.

We may not see the Galaxy S25 Plus successor ever. However, the Korean tech giant is bringing flagship-grade features to its FE model. With these upgrades, the Galaxy S25 FE will have significant sales potential in the market.

Other specifications

Galaxy S25 FE may be the thinnest Fan Edition by Samsung ever. It would be just 7.4mm thick and weigh around 190 grams. It’s great to see that Samsung’s reducing thickness and weight despite upgrading the battery capacity.

Under the hood, the device will be powered by the Exynos 2400 chip. The storage configurations are expected to be 128GB, 256GB, and 512GB, paired with 8GB RAM. Is 8GB RAM enough to handle One UI 8 resources and Galaxy AI features?

Additionally, the Galaxy S25 FE will replicate image sensors from the S24 FE, including a 50-megapixel primary, a 12-megapixel ultrawide, and an 8-megapixel telephoto; however, the selfie snapper will have a new 12-megapixel sensor.

Samsung will launch the Galaxy S25 FE later this year. It will come with Android 16-based One UI 8 pre-installed. With seven years of software support, it will beat the Galaxy S25 lineup with an additional OS upgrade at last.

Samsung is reportedly considering a wild upgrade for its next Ultra flagship. A new rumor hints that the Galaxy S26 Ultra might drop Samsung’s ISOCELL HP2 camera and adopt a Sony-made 200MP sensor of nearly 1-inch size.

Weibo leaker FocalDigital claims that the Galaxy S26 Ultra could be equipped with a 200MP camera from Sony. The said image sensor might be nearly 1-inch big (1/1.1 size), which is said to be “super powerful.”

Samsung introduced the Galaxy S23 Ultra as its first 200MP camera phone. The S24 Ultra and S25 Ultra reused the same ISOCELL HP2 image sensor. Recent leaks revealed that the S26 Ultra would stick to a 200MP sensor for the main camera.

The latest rumor aligns with previous inputs, keeping the sensor resolution the same at 200MP. Meanwhile, the Korean tech giant might be dropping its in-house ISOCELL camera in favor of a Sony-made CMOS for photography upgrades.

Source – Focal Digital / Weibo

Back in March 2025, it was rumored that Sony’s 200MP camera is in the works. This sensor might be used by Android flagships with the Snapdragon 8 Elite 2 chipset. That said, the S26 Ultra heading to Sony’s 200MP camera doesn’t seem impossible.

Samsung’s HP2 and HP9 are mobile camera sensors with 200MP resolution. There’s another solution from Omnivision dubbed OVBoB for those vendors who don’t want to use Samsung’s ISOCELL image sensor.

Meanwhile, the 200MP camera that Sony is reportedly developing features a physical size of 1/1.1-inch. It is practically much bigger than ISOCELL HP2 and ISOCELL HP9, which are 1/1.3-inch and 1/1.4-inch, respectively.

As the competition rises, Samsung can’t hold on to upgrading Ultra specs. Apple is also aggressive on iPhone specs, which forces the Galaxy maker to set new standards. While it’s a rumored info, the S26 Ultra may upgrade camera capabilities with a Sony sensor.

Mauro Porcini, Samsung’s Chief Design Officer, published his Editorial on Samsung Newsroom, shedding light on the AI and design strategy across Galaxy products, which gives us a glimpse of what could come with the Galaxy S26 series.

As the Design Chief highlighted, Samsung is focusing more on a connected ecosystem, rather than nourishing standalone devices. The next year’s Galaxy S26 series will integrate seamlessly with other Samsung products through AI, including:

• Galaxy Watches
• Galaxy Buds
• Galaxy Book Laptops
• Samsung Smart TVs
• Samsung Home Appliances

Beyond AI Phone, the South Korean tech giant is advancing Galaxy AI, aiming to make tech feel human. That said, the Galaxy S26 series might understand better when you need rest or suggest content to lift your mood.

With the Galaxy S26 series, Samsung might focus on seamless integration with its TVs, wearables, and appliances to create a unified, intuitive user experience. The devices may anticipate needs quietly, rather than requiring constant attention.

Source – Samsung

Galaxy AI may be upgraded to learn preferences to offer relevant suggestions based on habits. With a connected ecosystem (watch/ring/appliances) the phones might be able to sense users’ moods and optimize with users’ emotional states.

The scope penned out by Samsung’s Design Chief has just made the Galaxy S26 a big deal. It could be the company’s first true emotion-driven AI phone. Well, it also means a less notable physical design shift in the next year’s flagships.

A recent revelation suggests that the Galaxy S26 might see a major upgrade, Plus is retiring to promote the Edge, and Ultra remains as it is. The focus will continue to be on AI, along with sequential hardware upgrades.

Samsung has just revealed three new foldable phones that are available for pre-order. You can purchase these devices and save up to $1,100 in the US. The company is scheduled to put the handsets on open sale on July 25.

On July 9, Samsung introduced the Galaxy Z Fold 7, Flip 7, and Flip7 FE foldable phones. A new finding of model numbers suggests that Samsung is planning a big shift for its next mainstream flagship lineup, the Galaxy S26 series.

The GSMA database recently listed three models: Galaxy S26 (SM-S942), S26 Edge (SM-S947), and S26 Ultra (SM-S948). This confirms Samsung is working on the S26 series, but there’s no Galaxy S26 Plus, which would likely be SM-S946.

What the model numbers suggest

Samsung’s model numbers offer clues about the hierarchy:

1. Galaxy S26 (SM-S942): Likely upgraded with Plus-like features, such as a larger display or better battery.
2. Galaxy S26 Edge (SM-S947): A sleek, mid-tier option replacing the Plus model (succeeding the S25 Edge).
3. Galaxy S26 Ultra (SM-S948): The flagship with top-tier specs, continuing Samsung’s premium tradition.

Source – SammyPolice

Samsung’s model numbers usually follow a pattern. For instance, Galaxy S25: the base was SM-S931, the Plus was SM-S936, and the Ultra was SM-S938. Everyone expected the S26 to be SM-S941, but it’s SM-S942, which is a clue that something’s different.

The base model is replacing the usual “1” with “2” – suggesting that the Galaxy S26 may get some fruitful upgrades, probably a better display, battery, and charging. The S26 Edge (SM-S947) and S26 Ultra (SM-S948) stick to the usual numbering.

Well, it’s all based on the listing of Galaxy S26 family’s model numbers on the GSMA database. The smartphone may be announced nearly 6 months later, and dramatic changes might happen. So we suggest you take this info as a pinch of salt.

(via)