An insider report indicates that Samsung may have “noped” out on delivering the Galaxy S26 Edge alongside the traditional three devices, which pushes the Galaxy S26 series release up to its initially expected February launch timeframe.
Reports began surfacing in October that put the Galaxy S26 Edge in a tough spot, as if the previous model’s sales hadn’t already done so. Apparently, there were growing concerns that Samsung’s next super-slim “Edge” device would get scrapped.
A report from Chosun Biz cites private insider sources that say the Galaxy S26 Edge will not become a reality, and the phone has been taken out of the lineup. This wasn’t at all unexpected, as the previous reports uncovered the writing on the wall.
The Galaxy S26 Plus has reportedly been restored to its original middle-child role rather than the impressive, but unpopular Edge design. Doing so reportedly put Samsung on track for a March release timeframe, as further testing was needed when the Galaxy S26 Plus was reintroduced.
The extended hardware verification period, which could have delayed the series launch, has since ended earlier than anticipated. It’s unclear what Samsung did to resolve the delay in testing brought on by swapping devices back and forth, but the finished process brings Samsung back on course for an earlier launch.
Samsung is now expected to stick to its familiar January announcement and February launch window.
Samsung may still yet release an “Edge” model, but it looks like that would happen later in the year outside of the traditional Galaxy S lineup – if it happens at all.
The same report offers more background on Samsung’s Exynos 2600 chipset, noting that its sources say the Galaxy S26 and S26 Plus will be the only devices with the company’s SoC. The Galaxy S26 Ultra will only be available with Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5.
This comes as rumors of Samsung’s Exynos 2600 taking a larger foothold in the Galaxy S26 lineup have grown. Those rumors have since been tempered by reports from Qualcomm, which indicate that it expects to power a 75% share of Galaxy S26 devices.
The recent news backs that up further, and it’s looking increasingly likely that Samsung will not achieve the Exynos breakout it had hoped for.
All of this to say that Samsung is likely to launch the Galaxy S26 around February, though there are no official details from the company yet.
More on Samsung:
- Samsung Health adding guided workouts for Galaxy Watch, but with a subscription
- Samsung compares Galaxy S25 Edge to iPhone Air, runs out of things to talk about [Video]
- Qualcomm expects to dominate Galaxy S26 lineup, casting doubt on Exynos takeover
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