Quick summary
Codenames have surfaced for the Samsung Galaxy S26 family, with suggestions of a major change in the lineup.
The Plus model could be replaced by the S26 Edge, with an enhanced ultrawide camera.
The Samsung Galaxy S26 family is expected to launch in early 2026, with a familiar lineup of devices presenting several different options. But there could be some changes coming down the line too.
The Galaxy S26 Ultra will continue to be the flagship phone and we’ve already heard some details about this device, namely that it will make changes to the cameras and could drop the S Pen from its housing.
New information from WinFuture has now fleshed out some of the details about Samsung’s plans. It’s reported that the Galaxy S26 family is being referred to as “Next Paradigm”. This is then abbreviated to “NPA”, with three models cropping up: NPA1, NPA2 and NPA3.
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It’s thought that the Galaxy S26 Ultra is NPA3 and the details say that it will have a 200-megapixel main camera, as expected. There’s then talk of a 50-megapixel telephoto camera, thought to be the 5x periscope zoom. So far, we haven’t really learnt much new, except for some confirmation about how the codenames align with expected devices.
The next set of details refer to NPA2, which logically, would be the middle device of the family. There’s some contention here though, because it’s previously been reported that the Plus model of the Galaxy S family could be in for the chop.
(Image credit: Future / Mike Lowe)
Of all the devices, the Plus model doesn’t sell well, and in 2025 found itself challenged by the Galaxy S25 Edge. The details about NPA2 suggest that there’s going to be a 50-megapixel ultrawide camera (presumably unlocking macro features too) which would be quite the upgrade over Plus models of the past.
In fact, the assumption is that there will be no Galaxy S26 Plus as we know it, with the Galaxy S26 Edge replacing it as a premium slim model instead, with upgraded cameras.
There are no new details on NPA1 – thought to be the standard Galaxy S26 – which might suggest that the most affordable member of the family isn’t in line for any great changes.
Beyond these new nuggets of information, it’s expected that the Galaxy S26 Ultra will be powered by the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 2 for Galaxy.
As always, there’s speculation that the Exynos 2600 might power the other devices in Europe – and I’m sure there will be a lot more back and forth on this point before the phones are launched in January.
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