Samsung Galaxy S26: Price, specs and cheapest plans

Samsung's latest fleet of flagship devices are just around the corner. 

If you're unsure which device is going to fit your needs, we're here to help you find your way. In this guide, we've compiled a full rundown of everything you need to know about Samsung's newest trio of premium smartphones, including the Samsung Galaxy S26, Galaxy S26 Plus, and Galaxy S26 Ultra. 

Regardless of whether you're after the more general gist or an in-detail breakdown of the specs, we've got you covered. From how the Galaxy S26 Ultra compares to last year's Galaxy S25 Ultra to when you can get your hands on the device and how much it will cost in Australia, here's everything you need to know about the Samsung Galaxy S26 Series in Australia.

Telstra, Optus, and Vodafone are all expected to offer the Samsung Galaxy S26 Series on a plan. 

No matter which telco you go with, you can pick from a 24-month plan or a 36-month plan. A 36-month plan will always be cheaper, but it means you're paying your phone off over a longer period of time. 24-month plans are also available, but cost more per month.

Here's a look at 36-month plans for the 256GB Samsung Galaxy S26:

Here's a look at 36-month plans for the 512GB Samsung Galaxy S26:

Here's a look at 36-month plans for the 256GB Samsung Galaxy S26 Plus:

Here's a look at 36-month plans for the 512GB Samsung Galaxy S26 Plus:

Here's a look at 36-month plans for the 256GB Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra:

Here's a look at 36-month plans for the 512GB Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra:

Here's a look at 36-month plans for the 1TB Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra:

Last year's Galaxy S25 line opted to leave pricing more-or-less untouched. The same can't be said for the Galaxy S26 and its siblings, which arrive alongside a significant price-hike.

When it comes to the asking price, the new devices set a new bar for the brand. The Galaxy S26, Galaxy S26 Plus, and Galaxy S26 Ultra starts at $1,549, $1,849 and $2,199 respectively. For a breakdown that shows how this year's Galaxy S devices compare when it comes to price, check out the table below. 

The biggest selling point for the Galaxy S26 is that it's the cheapest model in the lineup. The second is that it's the most portable, with a smaller 6.3-inch AMOLED display. Other upgrades here include a larger battery and a design tweak that puts it in line with the luxury-grade looks of the Galaxy S26 Ultra. 

• Unified design: The look and design language of the standard Galaxy S26 has been tweaked to match that of the Ultra model.
• Larger screen: The standard S26 has a 6.3-inch screen that's larger than the 6.2-inch one on the S25.
• New processor: Where last year's Galaxy S25 relied on a Qualcomm Snapdragon SoC, this year's Galaxy S26 has tagged in Samsung's own Exynos 2600 instead. 
• New AI features: The Galaxy S26 comes with a few new generative AI-powered tricks out of the box, including Photo Assist, Audio Eraser, Document Scanner, Screenshot Analyser, Now Nudge and a resurrected Bixby assistant. 
• Larger battery: The 4000mAh battery found in the Galaxy S25 has been bumped up to 4300mAh
• Seven years of security updates: This is great to see but the same as last year's Galaxy S25 line.
• A higher starting price of  $1,549. That's more expensive than the starting price for the Galaxy S25 but a little cheaper than the Galaxy S26 Plus.

Past Plus-sized devices in Samsung's Galaxy lineup haven't messed too much with the formula found in the standard model and that's very much the case with this year's Galaxy S26 Plus. Like the Galaxy S26, you're getting a new processor and a refreshed design. However, unlike the Galaxy S26 Ultra, you're missing out when it comes to new features like the Privacy Display as well as a few camera upgrades.

• Unified design: The look and design language of the Galaxy S26 Plus has been tweaked to match that of the Ultra model.
• New processor: Where last year's Galaxy S25 Plus relied on a Qualcomm Snapdragon SoC, this year's Galaxy S26 Plus has opted for Samsung's own Exynos 2600 instead. 
• New AI features: The Galaxy S26 Plus comes with a few new generative AI-powered tricks out of the box, including Photo Assist, Audio Eraser, Document Scanner, Screenshot Analyser, Now Nudge and a resurrected Bixby assistant. 
• Seven years of security updates: This is great to see but the same as last year's Galaxy S25 line.
• A higher starting price of  $1,849. That's more expensive than the starting price for the Galaxy S25 Plus but a little cheaper than the Galaxy S26 Ultra.

Samsung usually saves the best bells and whistles for the top-of-the-line model and that's still true when it comes to this year's Galaxy S26 Ultra. Samsung's latest flagship smartphone is slimmer, light and tougher than its last. It's also got an upgraded camera system, support for faster 60W charging, plus a new Privacy Display feature that promises to keep wandering eyes out of your DMs.

• Slimmer: This year's biggest Galaxy S26 device is 0.3mm slimmer than the Galaxy S25 Ultra and 0.7mm thinner than the Galaxy S24 Ultra.
• Lighter: The Galaxy S26 Ultra is 4g lighter than its predecessor and 18g lighter than the Galaxy S24 Ultra
• Tougher looks: The titanium edges found on the Galaxy S25 Ultra has been swapped out for an aluminum. 
• Rear camera upgrade: The camera setup on Samsung's portable photography powerhouse have gotten an upgrade in the form of wider aperture lenses. There are also new features like APV support and Super Steady Video.
• Faster charging: Although Samsung still lacks proper Qi 2 support, its latest flagship does boast 60W wired fast charging and 25W wireless charging via selected accessories. 
• Privacy Display: When this feature is enabled, the wider pixels on the Galaxy S26 Ultra's screen get disabled. This reduces the overall brightness, but more importantly, it reduces the viewing angle such that only someone staring dead-on at the display can actually see what’s happening on it. 
• New processor and performance: Samsung's snazziest new Galaxy S device comes powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon Elite Gen 5 for Galaxy chipset, with further performance gains courtesy of revamped thermal architecture and a new vapor chamber.
• New AI features: The Galaxy S26 comes with a few new generative AI-powered tricks out of the box, including Photo Assist, Audio Eraser, Document Scanner, Screenshot Analyser, Now Nudge and a resurrected Bixby assistant. 
• Seven years of security updates: This is great to see but the same as last year's Galaxy S25 line.
• A higher starting price of  $2,199. That's more expensive than the starting price for the Galaxy S25 Ultra.

The only three mobile providers in Australia that offer Samsung Galaxy S26 plans are the big three: Optus, Vodafone, and Telstra.

Regardless of which provider you pick, you plan will be structured the same way so be sure to pick the one that best suits your individual needs. Optus, Telstra, and Vodafone offer a variety of perks and plan features, which we'll cover below.

Firstly though, you'll want to consider coverage. When it comes to size, the Telstra network has a well-earned reputation for offering the widest coverage in Australia. Optus sits in second place and Vodafone is a close third thanks to a new network sharing agreement with Optus. As a result,Vodafone customers in regional and rural areas now use the Optus network.

Optus' smallest plan has a big 50GB of data, which is well above the average national usage. There's also data sharing if you have multiple plans on the same account, which can be handy for families. 

That said, Optus' Samsung Galaxy S26 plans include more than just a bigger data allowance. The more expensive options also come with unlimited international calls to select destinations. That's great to have if you're looking to keep in touch with friends and family overseas. If you're planning to travel abroad yourself, Optus has good roaming add-ons too. You can score 5GB of data and unlimited local talk & text for $5 per day when roaming in select countries.

It's also worth remembering that Optus mobile plans come with no data overage fees. If you go over your monthly data limit, you won't incur any unexpectedly high fees but you will have you speed capped at 1.5Mbps until the end of your current billing cycle. 

Optus customers also get access to SubHub – a platform that lets you combine multiple subscription services (such as Netflix, Microsoft 365, and others) into a single bill, along with a 5% or 10% discount, depending on whether you sync two or three-or-more services.

Vodafone's Samsung Galaxy S26 plans are just a little cheaper than Optus when it comes to pricing.

Like Optus, the smallest plan is 50GB (excluding promotions), which is much higher than the average national usage. All its plans come with unlimited international texts to select countries, and the more-expensive plans have international call inclusions.

Again, as with Optus, there's plenty of data and perks like no excess data fees. Instead of cutting you off, Vodafone slows your connection to 2Mbps once you pass your monthly limit. This is slightly faster than the 1.5Mbps speed cap that Optus and Telstra employ. However, like its rivals, Vodafone's plans don't include any data banking or rollover for unused data.

That said, you can share data between multiple Vodafone mobile plans if they are attached to the same account. You'll also save between 5% and 20% off your total monthly bill, depending on how many services you bundle together. This discount doesn't include any hardware repayments but it's a neat bonus regardless.

In any case, Vodafone's best feature is its international roaming. For just $5 per day, you can use your phone as you normally would while overseas. This kicks in automatically when our phone connects to an overseas network and lasts for 24 hours. It's one of the best roaming options on the market for both value and ease-of-use.

On the other hand,  Vodafone's biggest drawback is network coverage. Its 4G network is only slightly smaller than the other two networks (98.4% population coverage for Vodafone, compared to the 99.7% of Telstra and 98.5% of Optus), its 5G network is small enough that Vodafone is the only major network provider to hold back on publishing clear 5G coverage figures. 

Telstra's Samsung Galaxy S26 plans are the most expensive, but Australia's biggest telco is also well known for its wider network coverage and all the perks you'd expect given the premium price.

Once again, the smallest plan has 50GB. This is far higher than the average Australian uses each month and while there are no overage charges for going past your data limit (instead you're slowed to 1.5Mbps), there's no data banking or rollover to let hang onto your unused data. Fortunately, as with the other big three providers, you can share data between up to 10 mobile services on the same eligible account.

All Telstra's Samsung Galaxy S26 plans come with 30 minutes of international calls to all destinations – not a lot of minutes, but without the usual limit on number of countries that are included. International calling packs are available for additional minutes.

Roaming is relatively easy to do, but not as affordable as Optus or Telstra in most circumstances. Traveling in New Zealand will cost you $5 per day, but most other countries are $10 per day. You'll get 2GB to use per day. 

Finally, you've got the Telstra Plus system. You earn points based on eligible plan payments. You can these put towards purchases from the Telstra Plus Rewards store, such as discounted movie tickets and sport events, pre-sales for concerts, and more.

In any case, Telstra's biggest selling point is still the size of its network.With a population coverage of 99.7% for 4G, Telstra sits ahead of Optus' 98.5% and Vodafone's 98.4%. When it comes to 5G, Telstra offers an even bigger lead. With 91% of the population covered with 5G, it's comfortably ahead of Optus' 80.5%. Meanwhile, Vodafone doesn't even publish clear 5G coverage stats, so there's no comparison to be made there.