The Galaxy S26 Ultra gets the expected processor bump, but the cameras remain the same, there is still no full Qi2 support, and Samsung has yet to adopt the battery tech that is allowing Chinese manufacturers to pack 10,000mAh batteries into their phones. That single sentence from BGR’s review captures the growing frustration among flagship buyers in 2026. And the data backs it up.
The Battery Has Not Changed in Three Years
The Galaxy S26 Ultra runs on the same 5,000mAh battery as last year’s S25 Ultra model. In fact, this same 5,000mAh capacity has been the standard since the Galaxy S22 Ultra. Meanwhile, the OnePlus Nord 6, a mid-range phone launching at roughly $400, packs a 9,000mAh silicon carbon battery. The iQOO 15 ships with 7,000mAh. The OnePlus 15T has 7,500mAh.
Samsung’s flagship costs $1,299 and still carries the same battery capacity as a phone from 2022. That is a hard sell in a market where $400 phones now outlast it by two days.
No Full Qi2 Despite Pixel 10 Leading the Way
Samsung was a target of criticism for not adding full Qi2 support. The Pixel 10 series is leading the way. Apparently, the Pixel 10 did not quite signal the avalanche of magnetic supporting phones expected. Samsung has added those magnets to its official cases, but that is not good enough.
Qi2 brings MagSafe-style magnetic alignment to Android. Google adopted it; Samsung chose to put magnets only in their cases, not in the phone itself.
What Faster Charging Looks Like in 2026
The Galaxy S26 Ultra introduces faster charging with the new Super Fast Charging 3.0 standard rated at up to 60W. Wireless charging has also been upgraded and now supports up to 25W. That is an improvement over the S25 Ultra’s 45W wired. But the OnePlus 15T charges at 100W wired and 50W wireless. The gap is still significant.
What Samsung Is Betting On Instead
The introduction of the Privacy Display this year caught everyone off guard and highlighted the company’s leadership in display tech. Beyond the nominal chipset upgrade, Samsung appears to be mostly leaning on new software features rather than major hardware changes. Samsung’s strategy is clear: instead of competing on battery size or charging speed, they are competing on display innovation and AI software.
The Market Pressure Samsung Cannot Ignore Forever
The company seems unfazed by the advancements of its Chinese competitors, and its product strategy seems to disregard any market pressure to introduce radical innovations. The Galaxy S Ultra sales have remained steady in key markets over the past few years. Having the US flagship space shared only with Apple certainly has its advantages.
In the US, Samsung competes almost exclusively with Apple. Chinese brands like OnePlus, Xiaomi, and iQOO have limited or no US presence. So the urgency to adopt silicon carbon batteries or full Qi2 is lower for Samsung than it would be if those brands were selling in Best Buy and carrier stores.
But globally, the gap is widening every quarter. And if OnePlus or Xiaomi ever cracks the US market at scale, Samsung’s conservative hardware strategy could become a serious vulnerability. The Galaxy S26 Ultra is still a superb phone.
Samsung manages to keep putting all of those elements together in a way where, while actually using it, you cannot get that mad. But charm only carries a $1,299 phone so far when $400 competitors are offering double the battery and triple the charging speed.
Written by Ameer Hamza
Tech Analyst and Founder of Global Tech Press. Currently expanding the GTP hardware testing labs and building the next generation of digital tech media.
