The Samsung Galaxy S26 is a few months away, but that doesn’t stop the rumor mill from spinning. And, in the day of AI-generated art and imagery, there are some pretty convincing renders of the new phone out there.
While some are seemingly based on insider information and others feel largely like guesswork, I took a look at a bunch of them to decide which ones might be the closest to being realistic – if not entirely accurate.
It’s also worth noting that, aside from the smaller details, it would be fair to say smartphones are pretty homogenized these days (bring back the slide-out keyboard I say), but with the caveat that I haven’t seen an S26 (and, most probably, neither have these artists), here are some renders of the new phone with my rating.
Before we start:
I’m taking into account the general realism of the render (no line drawings, please), as well as how closely the images here stick to what Samsung has been doing in the last few generations of Galaxy S models, and a little from other lines.
I’m also factoring in just how likely they are to be able to be manufactured. As much as I’d love a Samsung phone that turns into a Transformer, it seems unlikely. With that said, Autobots, roll out – or, y’know, let’s get to the renders.
Who are you calling a dummy?
This set of renders claims to include the dummy units for Samsung’s latest lineup, and it’s hard to argue that it looks pretty much like what you’d expect.
The main difference from the S25 lineup is a raised platform around the lenses, which might help avoid getting dust in the sensor, while one model (which we assume is the S26 Ultra) looks to have liberally borrowed from Apple’s ‘plateau’ from this year’s iPhones – but we won’t tell.
I’m giving this one a solid 8 out of 10 – give me colors, damn it! Still, given its nature as a ‘dummy unit’, I wouldn’t be surprised for this to be pretty close to what we end up with next year.
Is that an iPhone 5?
Now we’re cooking, with a nice animated, spinning CAD render I could look at all day. It shows the Ultra, sans plateau, and looking an awful lot like an iPhone 5 at first glance with its flat sides.
That display looks so close to the top of the chassis that it’s almost floating, and it sure looks bezel-less, which you’d expect.
It’s a 9 out of 10 for me, but again, where are the colors? Aside from that nitpick, I’d argue this feels a little too sleek, and I think we’ll get some kind of plateau on the S26 models.
The Spider-Phone
Richie’s not happy with these renders, and they look an awful lot like the ones shared by Beebom above.
From this viewpoint, the middle device’s sheer volume of lenses and sensors gives me the same sort of vibes as a staring contest with a spider, and all three look impressively dull in this gray shade.
I’m going for 7/10 – flat, uninspiring, and a little unsettling, and I think it’s probably less likely to be what we end up with as a result.
The Note Is Back
There’s a lot to take in with this one from Tech Home. For one, I quite like the idea of a raised, glass-protected camera system, although I wonder if having extra glass runs up the price or increases the opacity so the sensors have to work harder.
As commenters have noted, it perhaps looks a little closer to the Samsung Galaxy Note, but what I’m most interested in here is the slick coloring.
It’s somewhere between rose gold and a more coppery tone, and I must say, I’m vibing with it.
Another 8 out of 10 for me, I just wish we could see the rest of the phone. That glass is likely to be another cost, though, so don’t expect to see it in the final model.
We’ve Seen That Orange Before…
Another entry from OnLeaks here. I’m a big fan of this orange shade, even if it feels derivative of the iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max that Apple launched this year.
Still, that edge-to-edge display looks really nice, especially with the matching hue of the wallpaper, and it looks like another suggestion that we’re getting that raised platform along the camera lenses.
Would Samsung borrow from that orange, though? I think I prefer the Coralred from the S25 for something a little more unique.
Not A Bezel In Sight
Wow – that’s the first word that comes to mind when looking at this Galaxy S26 Ultra mock-up from Miror Pro.
The sheer size of the display, with no bezels anywhere, is breathtaking – although it’s highly unlikely we’d get such a clean look (I’d be terrified of dropping it).
Naturally, the other side looks about as familiar as the others on this list, but for the commitment to a big, beautiful display, this one gets a 9 out of 10. Maybe one day, eh?
Ooo, fancy
This concept from Technizo Concept looks almost exactly like an iPhone at first glance, no doubt thanks to that lovely orange shade we mentioned earlier.
Seeing the S-Pen is a nice touch, but the ‘fake OS’ on the screen looks so much like iOS that I’m trying not to imagine it just being the iPhone with a stylus.
I do appreciate that the back gets a proper look, though, and shorn of any fancy effects, this might be my favorite orange so far. For that, it gets a 7/10, and I think color aside this is probably going to end up being relatively close to what we end up with.
