The retention of the Galaxy Plus phone model speaks volumes, as Samsung admits that thin phones are not their preferred choice. Bulky has always been their way, and it still is. Not long ago, the company planned to discontinue the Plus model in favor of the flashier Edge.
It was a slimmer and not particularly powerful alternative that looked like the future of the Galaxy S line. Reports from Korea now indicate that the Galaxy S26 Plus is still in development and will join the S26 Pro, S26 Edge, and S26 Ultra.
Galaxy S26 Plus is making a comeback
Samsung is officially retaining the Galaxy S26 Plus, contrary to previous rumours saying otherwise. They've quietly added a new development project called “M Plus”. It directly refers to the Plus model of the Galaxy S26 series.
The news first surfaced through Korean outlet The Elec, which reports that the parts industry has been briefed about the change and that suppliers are already preparing for production.
Previously, three codenames had already been used to tease the Galaxy S26 series: M1, M2, and M3. Insiders confirmed correspond to the standard, Edge, and Ultra models. It was only a matter of time before the phone made a comeback. Forecasts provided to suppliers in September of this year indicated unimpressive sales of the Galaxy S25 Edge.
More specifically, the numbers pointed to the low 300,000s between September and December. The S25 Plus, introduced earlier this year, was forecasted in the low 500,000s over the same timeframe. Meanwhile, the top sellers were the S25 Ultra, at around 3.4 million units, and the regular S25, at about 2.9 million units.
If you take the average $1,000 base price of the S25 Plus and multiply it by 200,000 more units compared to the Edge, Samsung gets an extra ₩270 billion, roughly $200 million in sales.
Losing the Plus line hurts them too much to let it go. Even though it’s never been the most popular Galaxy model, those few hundred thousand units translate into hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue.
Related: Samsung’s TriFold Foldable May Launch in US and Korea Simultaneously
Samsung means business for the Galaxy S26 series
Samsung’s suppliers are preparing four different OLED display panels for the aforementioned Galaxy S26 lineup. But it doesn't mean all four phones will actually launch. It depends on the company's final decision, which we expect to receive in the coming days.
It seems they are eager to use their own Exynos 2600 chip instead of Qualcomm’s Snapdragon for the regular Galaxy S26 models in Europe. Every Galaxy S25 model this year used Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Elite chip across many regions.
It'll be a shame not to use the latest Snapdragon 8 Elite 5. However, they did mention that it will “preferentially apply”, meaning that they would make Exynos the default processor in Europe. At the same time, Snapdragon might still be used in the USA or other markets.
Samsung has also changed its camera supply chain and added South Korean company MCNEX, which will handle the Ultra’s 50MP 5x folded zoom camera. Previously, Samsung Electro-Mechanics and China’s Sunny Optical were handling it, but Sunny Optical has had quality problems over the past two years.
Overall, rumoured cameras for the phone include a 200MP main camera, a 50MP ultra-wide camera, and a 10MP 3x zoom telephoto lens. The selfie camera is a 12MP lens.
The Galaxy S26 Pro, the new base model, features a 50MP primary camera, a 12MP ultra-wide camera, and a 10MP 3x telephoto camera, along with 12MP selfie cameras. The S26 Edge should feature a 200MP main camera and a 50MP ultra-wide lens, complemented by a 12MP selfie lens.
