Samsung Galaxy S26 family: First accessories affirm camera designs

Summer is almost over, and with it, the turn of the year is slowing approaching. While the first new smartphone flagships based on next-gen chipsets from Qualcomm and MediaTek are expected in China in just a few days, the new high-end phones of the next generation traditionally only arrive in Europe and the US in early January. Whether Samsung will once again usher in the new smartphone year in 2026 with the Galaxy S26 series, or whether Vivo, Oppo, and others will steal the show from the Koreans this time with global Find X9 Pro and Vivo X300 Pro launches, as some have rumored, remains to be seen.

Since the beginning of September, the design of the Galaxy S26 trio appears to have been finalized, with images of dummies and CAD-based renders showing what we can most likely expect in January 2025. While the successor to the Galaxy S25 and Galaxy S25 Ultra is likely to look roughly the same as its predecessors aside from a small camera bump like the Galaxy Z Fold 7, the replacement for the Galaxy S25+ and Galaxy S25 Edge appears to be completely bucking tradition.

A camera bump spanning the entire width of the back of the Galaxy S26 Edge, aka Galaxy S26 Air, is now also appearing in the first accessories for the Galaxy S26 series. These are protective camera films made of tempered glass, images of which were recently shared by Ice Universe on X. So while rumors of faster charging speeds and a significantly improved 3x telephoto lens do not appear to have been confirmed by certifications and recent leaks, the three protective films match the previously expected camera designs of the Galaxy S26 family.