Samsung unveiled its slew of new devices at Galaxy Unpacked 2026, including the next generation of Galaxy smartphones which we’ve been itching to get our hands on. Lucky for us, we had early access to the new S26 series, and let’s just say we weren’t let down.
In the most recent episode of the TechRadar Podcast, which you can catch on the likes of Spotify and YouTube, tech YouTubers Daniel Rotar (ZONEofTECH) and Hayleigh Chamberlain (HaylsWorld) joined us for an exclusive hands-on with the Galaxy S26 series, which, in short, made quite the impression on us.
Despite some minor reservations about camera quality, Samsung’s next smartphone lineup brings some much-needed upgrades. It embraces a refined design with softer edges, a departure from the sharpness of previous series, and is the thinnest smartphone out there (0.3mm less than the iPhone 17) — but nothing stands out more than the Galaxy S26’s huge AI wins, which Apple should watch and learn from.
"Other companies have made some very big AI promises and none of that has come to fruition, and I hope that's not the case with Samsung"
When it comes to the Galaxy S26’s AI ecosystem, it’s pretty much ticking all the boxes on the convenience and simplicity front, succeeding in building on its existing AI tools as well as introducing new smarts. As our guest Chamberlain puts it, “I think when it comes to AI, [people] just want it to help them with their daily life”.
This is where agentic AI comes in (although only to the US and South Korea for now), but despite its limited availability, it marks a solid start for Samsung’s rollout of simpler and concise AI components, removing any inconvenient reliance on multiple third-party AI platforms to do certain tasks.
Rotar agrees; “I think that’s where the future is, telling your phone to do specific actions, and then your phone just does that”, and the new Bixby upgrades reflect this. For example, you can amend certain phone settings right from the chatbot without having to go manually through different steps in the Settings app.
But the Galaxy S26 series doesn’t lock you into just one AI assistant. This time around, Samsung is integrating platforms such as Gemini and Perplexity into its ecosystem, giving you the option to stick with your preferred chatbot and have it work with your phone’s system itself instead of using a third-party app, which doesn’t possess the same power.
Overall, it’s a reflection of Samsung’s focus on user interest; the integration of these AI services opens doors for users who have more specialised needs. That’s not to say it won’t be daunting for some users, however. Being presented with several different AI solutions can be overwhelming, but it could pave the way for a singular AI model that will direct you to Gemini, Perplexity, and beyond, depending on what you want it to do.
That said, this mass integration does one thing that other brands have yet to accomplish, and that’s offer users the option to choose which AI works best for them from a vast selection of trusted models.
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