No Battery Upgrade for Galaxy S26 Ultra, Leak Suggests

If you were hoping for a bigger battery in next year’s Galaxy S26 Ultra, you might be disappointed. According to a new report from GalaxyClub, Samsung is once again sticking with a 5,000mAh battery, continuing the trend seen since the Galaxy S20 Ultra. While the decision may not come as a shock, it reinforces the Korean firm’s conservative approach when it comes to battery upgrades on its Ultra-branded flagships.

Galaxy S26 Ultra looks set to keep the same battery and charging speed

The new leak suggests that no bump in battery size or major improvements in charging speed are on the horizon for the Galaxy S26 Ultra. While there’s no official word yet on charging specs, history tells us not to expect anything beyond 45W fast charging, which has remained unchanged for years. If accurate, this will put the S26 Ultra behind some competing flagship smartphones, especially those from Chinese brands offering 100W+ charging and newer battery technologies.

One of the key takeaways from the leak is that Samsung does not plan to adopt silicon-carbon battery technology in the Galaxy S26 Ultra. Silicon-carbon batteries can store significantly more energy in the same physical space compared to traditional lithium-ion cells and have become increasingly common among Chinese flagship phones. However, the world’s largest smartphone company continues to avoid it, sticking with the tried and tested lithium-ion batteries.

Samsung did manage to pack batteries more densely using traditional tech in the Galaxy S25 Edge. It may adopt the same method in the Galaxy S26 Ultra. However, the company will use the saved space to make the phone thinner rather than increase the battery capacity. We may still get improvements in battery life, thanks to other changes and efficiency upgrades across the display and chipset. Stay tuned as Galaxy S26 leaks pick up pace.