Everything Samsung announced at Galaxy Unpacked 2026

Samsung held its first Galaxy Unpacked event of 2026 on Wednesday, February 25 at the Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco. The theme was “Your Companion to AI Living,” built around what Samsung calls “Agentic AI”  software that anticipates your needs and handles multi-step tasks across your devices. 

The keynote unveiled the Galaxy S26 series, the redesigned Galaxy Buds4 lineup, the Galaxy Z TriFold, and Samsung’s first pair of multimodal AI smart glasses.

If you want to see how this event compares to last year’s, read our full breakdown of Samsung Galaxy Unpacked 2026 vs 2025

Here’s everything that was announced at the event.

Product announcements at Galaxy Unpacked 2026

1. Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra

Image source: Samsung on YouTube

The Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra is Samsung’s most powerful phone for 2026, built around a titanium frame and packed with features aimed at professionals. We covered everything expected from this device in our earlier piece on Samsung Galaxy phones coming in 2026

The biggest new feature is the world’s first built-in Privacy Display. Samsung calls it “Flex Magic Pixel,” and it works at the pixel level using electronic current and light dispersion. When you look at it straight on, you get the full QHD+ Dynamic AMOLED 2X display with 10-bit colour depth and flagship-level peak brightness. 

When someone looks at your screen from the side, they see nothing. No aftermarket privacy film needed. This is especially useful if you work in busy cities like Lagos or Nairobi, where shoulder surfing is a real concern. The display is also covered by Gorilla Armor 2, which cuts glare by up to 75%.

Under the hood, it runs the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 for Galaxy. Samsung also redesigned the internal cooling system, repositioning the vapour chamber to more evenly distribute heat across the device. That means your phone holds its performance during video editing or heavy gaming without slowing down.

For the camera, here’s what you get:

• 200MP main sensor with a wider aperture that takes in 47% more light than the S25 Ultra
• 50MP periscope telephoto lens
• 10MP telephoto lens
• 50MP ultra-wide sensor

You can also shoot 8K video using the new APV (Advanced Professional Video) codec, which preserves near-lossless quality for post-production editing.

Price and availability

• Nigeria: starting at approximately ₦1,705,000 for the 256GB model
• Global: $1,299.99
• Pre-orders open February 26, retail launch March 11, 2026

2. Galaxy Z TriFold

The Galaxy Z TriFold made its global commercial debut at Unpacked 2026. Samsung had teased the tri-folding design before, but this is the first time it’s being launched globally. Using a dual-hinge “Z” design, it unfolds from a standard smartphone into a large AMOLED display that works as a mobile workstation with standalone Samsung DeX support, no external screen needed.

Key specs:

• Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chipset
• 16GB RAM as standard
• 5,600mAh battery, the largest ever in a Galaxy foldable
• 200MP main camera, the same sensor as the Ultra

It’s also built with nine recycled materials, including plastics from discarded fishing nets and recycled lithium.

Price and availability

• Global: $2,500 (approximately ₦3,500,000 in Nigeria)
• Rolling out to the United States, Europe, and Nigeria in Q1 2026

3. Samsung Smart Glasses

Samsung also announced its Smart Glasses, built in collaboration with Google and Qualcomm, with design input from Warby Parker and Gentle Monster. They weigh 50 grams and are designed for all-day wear.

The glasses run on the Qualcomm Snapdragon AR1 platform and Android XR. They come in two versions:

• A voice and sensor model for basic AI assistance
• A display model that overlays digital information onto the lens

The built-in 12MP camera with autofocus lets the Gemini AI see what you see, enabling features like real-time translation of street signs and identification of objects around you just by looking at them.

Pricing is estimated at $500-$800, consistent with high-end AR wearables in this category.

Global release is expected later in 2026.

4. Galaxy Buds4 Pro

Image source: Samsung on YouTube

The Buds4 Pro is a complete redesign. Samsung used over 100 million global ear-shape data points and 10,000 fit simulations to get the fit right, built for comfort even during 24-hour wear.

On the audio side:

• A new bezel-less woofer expands the vibrating surface area by 20%
• Paired with a dedicated tweeter for ultra-high-resolution 24-bit/96kHz audio
• Adaptive ANC that adjusts noise-blocking intensity based on your ear shape and environment

Two features worth highlighting: “Head Gestures” lets you answer a call with a nod or decline it with a head shake, no hands needed. You can also launch AI agents like Gemini and Perplexity directly from the buds using your voice, so your phone can stay in your pocket.

5. Galaxy S26+

The S26+ sits between the base S26 and the Ultra, giving you a large-screen experience without the S Pen or Privacy Display. It comes with a QHD+ Dynamic AMOLED 2X display with peak brightness suited for gaming and streaming.

New this year is “ProScaler,” an AI feature that improves the resolution and colour of your streaming video in real time. For Nigeria, the S26+ may ship with either the Exynos 2600 or Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5, depending on regional distribution, both paired with 12GB of RAM.

6. Galaxy S26

The base Galaxy S26 is the most accessible phone in the S26 lineup. Samsung has standardised 12GB of RAM across the entire S26 series, a 4GB increase over last year’s base model, specifically to support on-device Agentic AI tools.

The 128GB storage option is gone. You now get 256GB as the baseline, double what you got before. Globally, the price went up by $100.

7. Galaxy Buds4

The standard Buds4 brings most of the Pro’s improvements at a lower price. It keeps the Machine Learning-powered “Super Clear Call” feature, which uses three microphones per earbud and 16kHz bandwidth support for clear audio in noisy environments. It also has a semi-transparent charging case and full “Hey Plex” Perplexity AI support.

Price and availability

• Global: $179.99
• Nigeria: approximately ₦175,000

Software & feature announcements

The biggest software announcement at Unpacked 2026 was One UI 8.5, based on Android 16. Samsung is calling it an “AI OS,” meaning intelligence is built into the system itself rather than tucked away in separate apps.

1. Agentic Bixby and the Multi-Agent ecosystem

Bixby has been completely rebuilt as a conversational device agent. It now understands natural language in context. Samsung demonstrated this on stage by asking Bixby to: “Send the budget report from my recent email to the WhatsApp group, and then remind me to follow up in two days.” Bixby completed all of that across three different apps on its own.

You also get a choice of AI agents on your device:

• Bixby for device settings and local files
• Google Gemini for creative tasks
• Perplexity AI for web research, activated by saying “Hey Plex” or long-pressing the side button

Perplexity can browse the web, summarise results, and cross-reference information across your Notes, Calendar, and Gallery apps.

2. Proactive suggestions and “Now Nudge”

One UI 8.5 introduces “Now Nudge,” a feature that acts before you ask. If someone texts you asking for photos from a recent wedding, Galaxy AI automatically suggests the relevant photos in your message bar from your Gallery.

“Now Brief” on your lock screen learns your daily routine and proactively shows weather updates, health metrics, and upcoming tasks.

3. Advanced privacy and Knox Matrix

Samsung upgraded Knox Matrix to include Post-Quantum Cryptography (PQC) end-to-end encryption for critical services such as eSIM transfers. You also get two new tools:

• A “Security Status of Your Devices” dashboard showing the security health and firmware update status of all your connected Galaxy hardware
• “Privacy Alerts” that notify you in real time if an app tries to access your sensitive data without permission

4. Creative AI: Photo assist and Super Steady 9

Photo Assist now lets you edit images using plain language. You can type something like “remove the spill on my shirt” or “add a sunset to this beach photo,” and the AI handles it.

For video, “Super Steady 9” adds a horizontal lock that keeps your horizon level during fast or bumpy recording. The AI ISP has also been extended to the selfie camera for more natural skin tones in tricky lighting.

Pricing & availability

The Galaxy S26 series and Galaxy Buds4 lineup launch globally on March 11, 2026. Pre-orders open in late February, and if you order early in Nigeria, you get the “double the storage” deal, meaning you pay the 256GB price and get the 512GB model.

All Nigerian prices are estimates based on current exchange rates and typical regional markups. Final prices may vary depending on local availability.

In Nigeria, you can buy from Samsung Experience Stores and retail partners such as Rifugio, Jumia, and Pointek. Because of import logistics, local stock is expected to hit shelves between April and May 2026.