We're pretty much done for major phone launches in 2026, certainly for devices that will be coming to the U.S. and Europe, which means it's time to start looking forward to what might be coming next year. And, as usual, we expect the first big release of the year to be Samsung's Galaxy S27 series.
The S27 series is said to be made up of four phones: The Galaxy S27, Galaxy S27 Plus, Galaxy S27 Ultra and the new Galaxy S27 Pro. We've started hearing some rumors about what those phones could have to offer, including one of the first major redesigns Galaxy phones have had for several years. Obviously there are a few things we also really want to see on these phones as well.
So here are the top seven changes we want to see on the Samsung Galaxy S27.
Larger silicon carbon batteries
Galaxy battery capacity does not change much, if ever. In fact the Galaxy S Ultra batteries have been stuck on the 5,000 mAh plateau since 2020. Meanwhile companies like OnePlus have been offering over 7,000 mAh batteries without any meaningful change to the design.
Frankly, people are sick of it, and it's time the Galaxy S27 changed that. Thankfully Samsung has shown that it can do this, thanks to the introduction of silicon carbon batteries in the Galaxy Z Fold 8 series. This technology allows for greater energy density, meaning you can offer more battery capacity without increasing the size of the battery.
Rumors suggest this may be happening too, with the S27 Ultra reportedly getting a 5,700 mAh battery. The S27 Pro is tipped to get a 5,200 mAh battery, though we don't know what the S27 and S27 Plus might be getting. We hope they'll get an increase from the 4,300 mAh and 4,900mAh batteries on their S26 counterparts.
Magnetic wireless charging
One of my biggest gripes with Android phones is how so few of them have adopted the full Qi2 wireless charging standard — complete with the magnetic charging ring. Samsung is one such offender, adding Qi2 charging technology, while relying on special cases to add the magnetic support.
Many reasons have been given over the past couple of years, ranging from issues with the S Pen to the fact the camera bump blocks where the magnetic ring should sit. Whatever the reason, it's high time that Samsung got its act together and added Qi2 magnets to its phones, and the S27 series' redesign is the perfect place to do it.
A better Privacy Display
The Privacy Display is one of the best features on the Galaxy S26 Ultra, but it definitely needs some improvements. In particular, Samsung needs to counteract the fact the Privacy Display dims the screen — even when the feature is switched off.
Brighter screens offer huge visibility benefits, especially in bright conditions, and that shouldn't be affected by a new screen feature. Especially if you're not actually using it.
Similarly viewing angles are also reduced, even when the privacy features are switched off, which is far from ideal. I'd also like to see more control over the Privacy Display and the parts of the screen that are blacked out — rather than letting the phone handle everything automatically.
Upgraded camera features
Samsung has a habit of neglecting the camera hardware on some of its phones, particularly the cheaper models like the Galaxy S26 and Galaxy S26 Plus. 50MP main lenses are fine, but 12MP ultrawide and 10MP telephoto lenses aren't befitting a flagship device. It doesn't matter that they don't bear the Ultra branding.
At the very least the S27 and S27 Plus need a higher resolution ultrawide lens, ideally something closer to 50MP. Any extra upgrades on the telephoto lens will be a nice bonus.
As for the Galaxy S27 Ultra, it's about time we started seeing more advanced camera features. Variable zoom has been rumored for at least a couple of years, and the rumored loss of the secondary telephoto lens feels like the perfect time to offer that. Likewise, now that the iPhone 18 Pro has a variable aperture lens, it's time Samsung brought that particular feature back to its own phones.
Faster charging
Samsung has not been the best at improving charging speed, though it earned some goodwill by upping the Galaxy S26 Ultra's charging speed from 45W to 60W. But sadly the S26 and S26 Plus were left at their old speeds of 25W and 45W, respectively. It's high time that changed.
There's little reason to keep both phones charging so slowly, especially since the Plus and Ultra models shared the same 45W charging speeds for a few years. It's also worth pointing out that the S26 Ultra can wirelessly charge at 25W speeds, which means the standard model really should be running faster by now.
Hopefully the Galaxy S27 series will fix that particular issue, even if the Ultra model sticks at 60W for a little while longer.
An S27 Pro that doesn't feel redundant
I have my concerns about the prospect of a Galaxy S27 Pro, because I'm not entirely sure there's room for another Galaxy flagship to sit between the S27 Plus and S27 Ultra. Certainly not if the other three devices in the lineup are sticking around in their current forms.
What I hope is that Samsung can find some kind of niche for the S27 Pro to ensure that it's not a complete waste of time and money. Ideally without compromising features on the S27 Plus or hiking up the price of the S27 Ultra to ridiculous levels.
The Pro needs to balance the line between features and price, while justifying its own existence. Otherwise, Samsung is just going to end up cannibalizing its own customer base and making the whole endeavor pointless.
No more price hikes
Samsung has been an absolute demon for price hikes this year. Not only were multiple S26 models more expensive than their S25 counterparts, it also increased the price of the entire line-up back in September. To the point where the Galaxy S26 Ultra now costs $1,400. Officially, anyway, since the S26 series has been on sale almost everyday since.
Prices are high due to the skyrocketing cost of RAM and storage, and that means everyone has been hiking up the cost of their devices. With that in mind it would be really nice if Samsung didn't do that with the S27 series. Even if it's just a temporary reprieve, the last thing we need is phones getting even more expensive.
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