- The Samsung Galaxy S26 series, released in Western Europe on March 11, is off to a good start, recording a 4% increase in sales compared to the S25 series for the first four weeks of availability.
- The hero of the S26 series is the Ultra model, which accounted for the highest share ever in the S series. Thanks to no price increase versus the S25 Ultra and the impressive Privacy Display feature, sales of the flagship smartphone increased by 22% YoY compared to the previous generation.
- However, the base S26 and S26 Plus struggled. Price rises of 10%-15% over the previous generation and no major upgrades to speak of meant sales were down versus the S25 and S25 Plus.
- The results are great news for Samsung, especially in this challenging climate. The clear shift to more premium devices is a major revenue boost.
- But with the impacts of the memory crisis and Iran war expected to hit harder from Q2, we still expect a difficult year for Samsung and the rest of the mobile industry.
Samsung launched its latest flagship smartphones under the Galaxy S26 series in Western Europe on March 11, 2026. The series is off to a good start in the market, especially the Ultra variant. When comparing the first four weeks of availability, sales of the S26 Ultra increased by 18% versus the S25 Ultra. Retail checks confirm that Privacy Display is the hero feature in the S26 line-up, with some consumers visiting the store for the base S26 model leaving with an S26 Ultra because of this feature.
