New surveys paint a worrying picture for the Samsung Galaxy S26

The Galaxy S26 series isn’t even official yet, but the mood around Samsung’s next flagship launch already feels unusually flat. New Galaxy S day used to be the standout event of the Android phone launch calendar. However, between leaks pointing to modest upgrades and early reactions to the phones’ overall direction, there’s a growing sense that 2026 might be another conservative year for the device lineup, at best. If Samsung has picked up on this vibe, it must be setting off some alarm bells at HQ.

That backdrop is what led us to ask you a blunt question about your expectations in a recent opinion piece by my colleague Rita. Specifically, we wanted to know if you think that the Galaxy S26 and S26 Plus will underperform their competitors in 2026. For her part, Rita argued that Samsung’s smaller flagships look set to lag behind rivals on specs, value, and ambition, even if they still sell well. Judging by your responses to the poll, a lot of you aren’t convinced Samsung is going to keep pace this time around.

Let’s take a look at the results.

Do you think that the Galaxy S26 and S26 Plus will underperform their competitors in 2026?

Just under two-thirds of respondents said they expect the Galaxy S26 and S26 Plus to underperform their rivals next year, with 44% answering “yes, for sure” and another 20% saying “probably.” That’s a pretty decisive lean toward skepticism, especially given that this is about relative performance rather than whether the phones will sell well. A smaller group pushed back, with 23% saying the phones probably won’t or definitely won’t fall behind, while 14% said it’s still too early to judge.

That said, it’s worth taking these results with a pinch of salt. The poll ran in an opinion piece that laid out a strongly argued case for why Samsung’s base flagships look stagnant, and that framing will naturally shape how people respond. Even so, the results give a useful snapshot of the current sentiment around the Galaxy S26 and S26 Plus — and it’s not an especially optimistic one.

A lot of the discussion under Rita’s article lined up with the poll’s results. Many commenters suggested that Samsung appears to be getting complacent with the Galaxy S26 and S26 Plus, particularly in terms of battery, charging, and camera hardware. A few people pushed back on the idea that Samsung has run out of ideas, arguing instead that the company is simply comfortable doing the minimum while competitors, particularly Chinese brands, move faster. The Plus model in particular drew criticism, with more than a few readers questioning why it exists at all if it’s so close to last year’s phone.

Not everyone agreed, though. Some felt that the article was placing too much emphasis on leaks and rumors, arguing that real-world performance would matter more than spec comparisons. Others defended Samsung’s approach, saying AI performance and long-term support are being undervalued, or that the entire phone industry is slowing down, not just Samsung.

Those are reasonable arguments, but another issue for Samsung is that it isn’t just the performance of the upcoming flagships that’s under the spotlight. As early renders of the Galaxy S26 series have surfaced, attention has also turned to how these phones actually look, and whether their design does anything to shake the feeling that Samsung is playing things very safe. That question came up in a separate poll tied to a recent Galaxy S26 design leak, where we asked how you feel about the overall look of the upcoming lineup.

What do you think of the Galaxy S26 series designs?

The response to the Galaxy S26 series designs was less charged than the performance poll. Just over half of respondents said the phones look fine but could be better, while 27% said they like the design outright. Only 19% said they aren’t fans at all. In other words, most of you don’t seem offended by how the Galaxy S26 lineup looks, but there isn’t much excitement there either.

Taken alongside the first poll, that indifference is where the alarm bells for Samsung come in. There’s nothing here to get too mad about, but the lack of enthusiasm for the next generation of Galaxy S handsets is palpable. The brand may not have suffered a big setback just yet, but perhaps fewer fans than usual will be encouraged to upgrade in 2026, and the lack of buzz about a device line can snowball over the years.

A couple of comments under the design article reflected that mood. Rather than debating whether the phones look good or bad, readers questioned why the discussion was happening at all, pointing out that Samsung’s base Galaxy design has barely changed for years. That reaction arguably sums things up neatly — people want a phone that looks and acts like a significant upgrade. If Samsung isn’t offering the public this in either design or performance terms, it could become a problem.