TL; DR
- Samsung should host its first Galaxy Unpacked event of 2026 in February 2026.
- Notably, this marks a later launch date than in previous years. To recap, the Galaxy S25 launched on January 22, 2025, while the Galaxy S24 series debuted on January 17, 2024. The shift to late February may suggest a meaningful change in the product cycle.
- One reason could be the development and product delays for the Galaxy S26 series reported over the last few months.
It looks like the Galaxy S26 series development really hit a snag after all, as the leaked launch date for the lineup isn’t in line with recent years. The Galaxy S26 series is one of the most crucial smartphone launches of 2026. Major Chinese manufacturers like Vivo, Oppo, Xiaomi, and OnePlus, and Google have already unveiled their 2026 flagships, and now it’s Samsung’s turn.
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Samsung Galaxy Unpacked January 2026 Event Date (Leaked)
According to the Korean publication Monday Today, Samsung should host its first Galaxy Unpacked event of 2026 on February 25, 2026. At the event, the company is expected to unveil the highly anticipated Galaxy S26 series, including the vanilla Galaxy S26 (previously reported as the S26 Pro), the S26 Plus, and the S26 Ultra.
Notably, this marks a later launch date than in previous years. To recap, the Galaxy S25 launched on January 22, 2025, while the Galaxy S24 series debuted on January 17, 2024. The shift to late February may suggest a meaningful change in the product cycle.
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Three Reasons Why Samsung Is Delaying The Galaxy S26 Launch
Production Delays
One reason could be the development and product delays for the Galaxy S26 series reported over the last few months. Multiple sources have indicated that two of the three smartphones in the S26 series — the Galaxy S26 and the Galaxy S26 Plus — will enter mass production later than the S26 Ultra, possibly in January 2026.
If the Galaxy S26 series is announced on February 25, 2026, the phone could be released in March 2026. This should give the company enough time to assemble the required number of units (reportedly in January 2026 for the regular S26 and S26 Plus variants) and ship them to global markets.
Reported Lineup Rejig
Another reason could be the decision to rejig the Galaxy S26 lineup, replacing the vanilla S26 with the S26 Pro and the S26 Plus with the S26 Edge. However, the Korean giant reportedly abandoned this strategy to maintain a familiar naming scheme across its 2026 flagship lineup.
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Finalization of Exynos 2600
Last but not least, Samsung could also be taking more time to fine-tune its Exynos 2600 chipset, which is said to power all three phones in select markets. If everything goes well, this could be the first commercially available chipset to be based on 2nm fabrication technology.
Apple, Qualcomm, and MediaTek are also working on the manufacturing technology, but they’ll follow suit in the third and fourth quarters of 2026.
Galaxy Unpacked January 2026 Could Take Place In San Francisco
Another interesting tidbit about the launch is that it could take place in San Francisco. A company official spoke to the outlet about how the city has emerged as the center of artificial intelligence development and could be the perfect location for the Galaxy Unpacked event. For those catching up, the last Samsung event was held in San Francisco in 2023.
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