Galaxy S26: Samsung's new compact flagship to launch with over 35% longer battery life

The Galaxy S26 will be replacing the Galaxy S25 in a few days (curr. $414 - refurbished on Amazon). For reference, Samsung's next compact flagship is slated to launch on February 25 during the company's next Galaxy Unpacked event. Plenty is already known about the Galaxy S26 though, including a full specification sheet.

To recap, the Galaxy S26 is expected to reach all countries with a 4,300 mAh battery and the same camera hardware as its predecessor within a 167 g housing that measures 149 x 71.7 x 7.2 mm. However, the device is anticipated to follow the Galaxy S24 by adopting an Exynos chipset in Europe and South Korea, but the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 elsewhere.

Based on leaked European Union (EU) energy labels, the Exynos 2600 variant will deliver significantly longer battery life than the Snapdragon 8 Elite-based Galaxy S25. Specifically, the label indicates that the Galaxy S26 should last 36% longer than its predecessor.

Partly, this improvement can be chalked up to the Galaxy S26 having a 7.5% larger battery. Unfortunately, the EU indicates that this massive increase in battery life will come at the cost of reduced battery longevity. Apparently, the Galaxy S26 will retain 80% of its battery health after 1,200 cycles compared to 2,000 cycles for the Galaxy S25.