Samsung Confirms March Release for Galaxy S26 Series: Korean Media

Samsung has reportedly confirmed a March 2026 release of its next-gen flagships, the Galaxy S26 series. This would be the first time in five years that new Galaxy S phones won’t hit stores in February. A price increase is also on the cards, the Korean media reports.

Galaxy S26 launch delayed by a month due to delayed product planning

Recent reports suggest that Samsung will host its next Galaxy Unpacked event on February 25, 2026, in San Francisco, to unveil the Galaxy S26 series. While pre-orders may begin immediately after launch in most markets, official sales are unlikely to start until March.

If the company follows its traditional two-week pre-order window, the new flagships may not hit store shelves until the second week of March. More precisely, on March 13, the third Friday after launch. Thankfully, a new report from ETnews suggests the Galaxy S26 series will have a shorter pre-order period.

The publication claims that sales will start in the first week of March. In that case, Samsung may open general sales on March 6, the second Friday after launch. Even then, we are looking at a month of delay compared to the Galaxy S25 series, which hit store shelves on February 7, 2025.

Industry insiders say this revised schedule has been internally confirmed as part of Samsung’s updated launch roadmap. The delay reportedly stems from a change in product lineup. Samsung had initially planned to include the Galaxy S26 Edge, an ultra-slim follow-up to the S25 Edge, but canceled it after weak sales performance.

The company has now decided to revive the Plus model, which required a full adjustment to the development and mass production timeline. A Samsung official cited “delayed product planning” as a factor, adding that the final schedule could still shift slightly before mass production begins.

Meanwhile, industry analysts expect a price increase across the Galaxy S26 lineup due to rising component costs. Application processor prices have climbed 12% year-over-year, while camera modules and DRAM are up 8% and 16%, respectively. As such, Samsung may find it difficult to launch the new flagships at the same price as the S25 lineup. More details are awaited.