So, after near couple of weeks using the Samsung Galaxy S26+, I still feel that Exynos 2600 chipset and One UI 8.5 will lead the way to consumer to purchase one. While it lacks major upgrade especially on the hardware side, the Galaxy S26+ is still able to deliver the flagship device. So, let’s go through the whole phone.
Design – Evolution of iconic aesthetic
First of all, the Galaxy S26+’s design still retains Samsung iconic look but receiving an evolution update. With the camera rings now sits on top of the plateau, it offers a bolder looks for the camera. The phone’s corner are now finished with rounded corner while still retaining the minimalist looks. This new uniformed design is also applied on the Galaxy S26 and Galaxy S26 Ultra.
While it’s nothing major change in the design as you still gets IP68 rating, the overall design will easily appeal with the mass audience.
Performance – Exynos 2600 is now delivering one of the best flagship performance in the market
The Galaxy S26+ in Malaysia is powered by Samsung’s latest 2nm chipset, Exynos 2600. It is paired with 12GB RAM and up to 512GB storage. For your normal day to day usage, Exynos 2600 is going to handle it without breaking a sweat.
However, when you really need the horsepower, especially in mobile gaming, it shines bright like a diamond. Exynos 2600 handle game title like Genshin Impact with much more stable high frame rate on Highest graphic settings. Plus, it can keep up for longer period game session while sustaining a stable performance. The Galaxy S26+ only feel slightly warm during more than 10+ minutes of Genshin Impact gameplay, largely thanks to its redesigned Vapor Chamber and tailored thermal interface material (TIM).
I also tried the device for a PUBG Mobile gameplay and surprised that out of the box it can support Ultra Extreme (120 fps) frame rate option. I proceed to ran a match with the Ultra Extreme frame rate option and Galaxy S26+ managed to keep up with stable frame rate with no lag.
Overall, you can confidently rely the horsepower on the Galaxy S26+ when you need it for gaming, video editing or heavy productivity.
Software – One UI 8.5 continues to lead the mobile software experience
Out of the box, Galaxy S26+ is running the One UI 8.5 with Android 16. It looks cleaner and animation scrolling is a bit faster, when compared with predecessor. The Quick Settings slider now offers quick access for some features like Audio Eraser to pairing your brand new Galaxy Buds4 series.
Samsung also adds several more Galaxy AI features, but I won’t highlighting them all. However, features such as Call Screening, Audio Eraser, and Photo Assist is my favourite as they helps a lot in privacy, entertainment and creation, respectively.
Also with One UI 8.5, you can turn on frame rate monitoring when you’re gaming!
Display and Audio – Still great for any content consumption, Audio Eraser on 3rd party app wins
Galaxy S26+ display is using a 6.7″ Dynamic AMOLED 2X, that supports up to 120Hz refresh rate and up to 3120 x 1440 (Quad HD+). This year’s display employs mobile Digital Natural Image engine (mDNIe) technology to deliver 4 times better processing precision for richer tones while ProScaler brings AI processing improvements, providing true-to-life details for an immersive experience.
The speakers is a dual stereo speakers setup. Along with Dolby Atmos support, the audio delivery is crisp as usual. However, this year’s inclusion of Audio Eraser for 3rd party app like Instagram, Facebook and so on, it helps to remove background noise to allow you to hear vocals with more clarity. It helps a lot, especially when you have scenes from certain content where you want to hear it clearly.
Camera – Software to the rescue!
Galaxy S26+ camera’s still produce adequate photos and videos, thanks to its constant evolving ProVisual engine. However, with competitions offers better hardware and software for their camera department, it makes no sense to why Samsung still retaining the same setup for so many years, a 50MP main camera, 12MP Ultrawide camera, 10MP 3x optical zoom telephoto camera and a 12MP front camera.
The main camera still produce the best photos, you get nice dynamic range with clarity, at any lighting conditions. As for the ultrawide, if you don’t need to zoom in after taking the shot, the ultrawide photos are great for social uploads. If you’re required to use the ultrawide in low light conditions, I recommend to turn on the night mode or flash for better quality.
The telephoto camera is just producing averagely good photo, but you are required to have good lighting conditions. Also, if you still need to do longer range digital zoom with the telephoto camera, try to keep up around 5x to 7x digital zoom range to retain the quality for social uploads. Night mode kicking in is good when low light conditions, however, the 10MP 3x optical zoom telephoto camera will show signs of dated as smoothing appearing on night mode shots.
The front camera still produce good selfie shots as Samsung did update the software on the front camera.
As for video recording, you can do video up to 8K30 on the main camera, but reality wise, all the camera can shoot up to 4K60 with lens switching when recording. You can shoot in HDR and LOG, but not APV as it is reserved for the Ultra model. The new SuperSteady video with Horizontal Lock works great, albeit its only max up to QHD60, needs good lighting conditions and works with ultrawide and main camera only. The Horizontal Lock video is going to be great for content creators and aspiring filmmakers.
Overall, the video quality coming from the main camera is still delivering the best recording, while the ultrawide and telephoto camera is best used with good lighting conditions.
Battery – A little bit better battery life thanks to new chipset and software
No new battery hardware on the Galaxy S26+, but the 4,900 mAh battery still perform excellent to give you at least a day worth of battery life. If you’re a light user, you can stretch it around 2 days of battery life. With the new chipset and software, it does provide a little bit better of battery life.
Verdict – Still a good buy, however…
With pre-order now offering the Galaxy S26+ (12+512GB) for RM5,399, limited time only, it’s a pretty good buy. Meanwhile, the 256GB storage can be seen available online, but Samsung Malaysia is still pushing for the 512GB storage.
As of now, the Galaxy S26+ in Malaysia is still a good buy, especially for those who are looking to upgrade to a flagship device in 2026. But, if you’re someone that is enthusiastically chasing for the latest hardware, then Galaxy S26+ will not be your in your top buying list. However, if you just need that flagship device that works like charm for daily, productivity and entertainment, Galaxy S26+ will sit right perfect in your hands and pockets.
Don’t get me wrong, the Galaxy S26+ still comes with numerous upgrades which are mostly in software, but certain aspects such as camera, battery, charging speed and others are hardly changed. Galaxy AI has improved with more features, but let’s be honest, hardly most users will use more than 3 or 5 AI features. They need to step up the game for the base and Plus models, otherwise the competition will continue to offer better innovations as consumer slowly attracted to move along to that direction.
Galaxy S26+ gets a solid 8 out of 10 ratings.