Galaxy S26 Ultra May Fall Behind in Battery and Charging Again

For years, Samsung fans have been calling for meaningful innovation in smartphone battery tech, especially in the flagship series. While rivals continue to push the limits with larger batteries and ultra-fast charging, the Korean tech giant remains cautious. And if you were expecting a major leap with the Galaxy S26 Ultra next year, it looks like you’re in for another letdown.

Galaxy S26 Ultra might keep the same old battery

According to X tipster @PandaFlashPro, Samsung currently has no plans to increase the battery capacity in the Galaxy S26 Ultra. Even if there’s a minor upgrade, the source says it would still fall short of 5,400mAh, which means the Ultra is likely sticking with the same 5,000mAh battery it has used since the Galaxy S20 Ultra launched in 2020.

To be fair, 5,000mAh isn’t terrible. On top of this, Samsung’s power efficiency, thanks to software optimizations and AI-powered battery management, is pretty solid. But in 2025, with Chinese rivals regularly shipping phones with 6,000mAh or even 7,000mAh batteries, the Korean firm’s approach feels out of step with the competition. And it gets worse when we discuss charging speeds.

For the past several years, Samsung’s Ultra flagships have been limited to 45W wired charging, while most other devices, including the base Galaxy S flagship, max out at 25W. It looks like the company has no plans to improve that record. Despite competitors going beyond 100W wired and 50W wireless charging speeds, the Galaxy S26 Ultra may see no improvement.

Samsung’s strategy, it seems, is leaning heavily into slim design. Recent devices like the Galaxy S25 Edge show the company’s commitment to ultra-thin flagships. Even if it frees up some space with other hardware changes, Samsung aims to shrink its phones rather than pack in more power. This has been its broader design philosophy — the firm seems to believe thinner, sleeker phones are what consumers want most.

While nothing is official yet, all signs point to another year of incremental battery specs for the Galaxy S26 Ultra. If Samsung’s goal is to differentiate through thinness and software, it may find itself losing ground in a world where bigger, faster, and longer-lasting batteries are quickly becoming the new standard. Only time will tell if this strategy holds up.