Samsung Galaxy A26 Smartphone Review – The Samsung Galaxy A26 smartphone was announced in March 2025, but it won’t start shipping until late March. The smartphone will be available globally in a majority of countries, including the US, UK, and India. The design of the Samsung Galaxy A26 is quite simple but looks quite sophisticated, which is similar to the company’s flagship lineup, at least from the back.
This new smartphone is designed with budget users in mind but comes with features that are usually found in mid-range smartphones, including 5G, water resistance, Gorilla Glass Victus+, and a lot more. It seems Samsung seriously wants to impress its budget users, but whether it can or not remains to be seen. Let’s begin with a detailed review of the Samsung Galaxy A26 and see if this smartphone is worth purchasing.
Table of Contents
Samsung Galaxy A26 Smartphone Review
Highlights
- The Samsung Galaxy A26 features a 6.7-inches Super AMOLED display with a 120Hz high refresh rate.
- The phone comes with Exynos 1380 5nm for global and Exynos 1280 5nm chipset for latam that is capable of reaching clock speeds of 4×2.4 GHz/2×2.4 GHz.
- The smartphone arrives with Android 15 OS out-of-the-box with OneUI 7 for more customization options.
- The Galaxy A26 has a 50MP main rear camera system with a 13MP selfie camera.
- The phone has a 5000mAh battery with support for 25W wired fast charging.
Design and Display
The design of the Samsung Galaxy A26 smartphone looks simple yet elegant, especially from the back, and the colors are beautiful. It is available in Black, White, Mint, and Peach Pink. The mint color is our personal favorite but you are free to choose whichever you like. The Samsung Galaxy A26 is made of plastic, but the build quality is incredibly solid for this price it is available.
The phone features a flat design, which feels quite comfortable in the hand and is easy to grip. All the buttons are located on the right side for easier access, while the SIM card slot is on the left side. The speakers, microphone, and USB port are on the bottom. On the front, you get a 6.7-inches Super AMOLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate, which is absolutely fantastic. However, the waterdrop notch at the front looks hideous.
Nonetheless, the display looks excellent, thanks to the AMOLED panel with FHD+ resolution. This panel is color-accurate and can get quite bright, so you won’t have any issues using the phone outdoors. The best part is that this amazing display is protected by Corning Gorilla Glass Victus+, so there’s nothing to worry about. The entire phone is protected from dust and water, thanks to the IP67 certifications.
Memory and Internal
Samsung has configured the Galaxy A26 with 5nm Exynos 1380 for global variant octa-core SoC, which can reach clock speeds of up to 4×2.4 GHz. Therefore, it has enough raw performance to deliver a smooth experience and a great multitasking performance. However, there’s another variant of the phone that ships specifically to Latin America, and it will have the Exynos 1280 5G chip, which is a bit slower than the Exynos 1380.
However, they are both decently powerful in terms of price, and this performance is seen on the gaming side as well. In fact, the Mali-G68 MP5 can easily handle games and deliver smooth framerates. The smartphone also has support for 5G connectivity for a better gaming experience and faster download speeds. For memory and storage, the Samsung Galaxy A26 is available for purchase 6GB with 128GB, 8GB with 128GB/256GB of RAM, and internal storage. Also, the shared microSDXC slot is available for external storage.
The Galaxy A26 runs on Android 15 with OneUI 7, which provides a lot of customization support. Samsung also provides six years of Android OS and security updates, which will enhance the software experience in the long run.
Camera
The Samsung Galaxy A26 has a 50MP main rear camera setup. The photos from the 50MP main camera have great detail levels with accurate color tones and a high dynamic range. Even the fine details in the shadows and the highlights are preserved correctly. This allows you to zoom in a little without much blurriness. The algorithm is also optimized to process more light than ever before, so night photos have more details when night mode is turned on.
The 8MP ultrawide camera is just average at best. The photos do have a wider field of view but the ultrawide camera fails to capture the fine details, so the image appears softer and not on par with the main camera. The third 2MP camera is not useful in any way whatsoever and is there just for the show. On the front, there’s a 13MP selfie camera, which can take some great selfies with perfect skin tones and natural color saturation.
When it comes to video recording, the main rear camera can shoot videos at 4K@30FPS, while the selfie camera can capture at a maximum resolution of 1080p@30FPS. The videos captured from the rear cameras are also stabilized thanks to OIS and gyro-EIS but the same cannot be said for the selfie camera.
Battery and Others
The Samsung Galaxy A26 has a huge 5000mAh battery, which can last about 2 – 3 days on a lighter usage. Even if you are a heavy user or shoot a lot of pictures or videos, the battery should still last one full day. However, if you play a lot of games, then the battery will drain faster and may end up needing a recharge before the day ends.
Nonetheless, you will be glad to know that the Samsung Galaxy A26 supports 25W wired fast charging, which can fully charge the smartphone in about 2 hours. Apart from that, the smartphone has support for Wi-Fi 5, Bluetooth 5.3, a side-mounted fingerprint sensor, NFC, and a USB Type-C connector for charging. The smartphone is available for $320 (Rs 29,900 approx in India).
Samsung Galaxy A26 Pros and Cons
Samsung Galaxy A26 Specifications Detail
Down below you can see the full specifications of the Samsung Galaxy A26 Smartphone.
| Specifications | Samsung Galaxy A26 |
| Network | 2G, 3G, 4G, 5G |
| Announced | March 2025 |
| SIM | Nano-SIM + Nano-SIM |
| Dimensions | 6.46 x 3.05 x 0.30 inches |
| Weight | 200 g |
| Size | 6.7 inches |
| Display | Super AMOLED 120Hz 19.5:9 ratio ~385 PPI density Always-on display |
| Protection/Others | Corning Gorilla Glass Victus+ IP67 dust/water resistant |
| Resolution | 1080 x 2340 pixels |
| OS | Android 15, up to 6 major Android upgrades, One UI 7 |
| Chipset | 5nm – Exynos 1380 – Global 5nm – Exynos 1280 – LATAM |
| CPU | Octa-core 4×2.4 GHz Cortex-A78 4×2.0 GHz Cortex-A55 – Global Octa-core 2×2.4 GHz Cortex-A78 6×2.0 GHz Cortex-A55 – LATAM |
| GPU | Mali-G68 MP5 – Global Mali-G68 – LATAM |
| Card slot | microSDXC (uses shared SIM slot) |
| RAM | 6GB, 8GB |
| Internal | 128GB, 256GB |
| Camera | 50 MP (wide), PDAF, OIS 8 MP (120˚ultrawide) 2 MP (macro) LED flash, panorama, HDR Max – 4K@30fps, gyro-EIS |
| Selfie | 13 MP (wide) Max – 1080p@30fps |
| Loudspeaker | Yes |
| 3.5mm jack | No |
| WLAN | Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, dual-band, Wi-Fi Direct |
| Bluetooth | 5.3, A2DP, LE |
| GPS | GPS, GALILEO, GLONASS, BDS, QZSS |
| NFC | Yes (market/region dependent) |
| Infrared port | No |
| Radio | No |
| USB | USB Type-C 2.0, OTG |
| Sensors | Side-mounted fingerprint, accelerometer, gyro, compass Virtual proximity sensing Circle to Search |
| Battery | 5000 mAh 25W wired |
| Colors | Black, White, Mint, Peach Pink |
| Expected Price | $320 (Rs 27,999 in India) approx |
Conclusion
The Samsung Galaxy A26 smartphone brings the focus back to the budget mid-range market, which didn’t see any competition for a long time. Most smartphones launched in the budget market tend to have budget specs and features that don’t appeal to modern users. They have displays that are not color-accurate and are quite dimmer outdoors. Their performance is also way off the mark and their cameras lack quality.
Many smartphones in this price range still don’t have 5G connectivity, which is unacceptable in 2024. The Samsung Galaxy A26 excels in design, display, gaming, camera, and even battery. The main camera is simply outstanding for this price tag as it punches way above its class and certainly surprised us.
It also comes with the latest Android out of the box and a commitment to six years of software updates. The Samsung Galaxy A26 is also protected against dust and water. For all that it offers, we believe the pricing is on point and makes this smartphone a great deal that you shouldn’t refuse. The only decent alternative to this smartphone would be the Samsung Galaxy A36. It brings similar specs and features while costing a bit less. However, the final decision is up to you, so it is better to choose a smartphone based on your requirements and needs.
