Samsung Electronics has unveiled its Galaxy S26 smartphone series, positioning the devices less as incremental hardware upgrades and more as a platform for artificial intelligence.

The company’s latest flagship line — the S26, S26+ and S26 Ultra — centres on what it describes as “proactive” AI, with software agents designed to anticipate tasks, automate workflows and reduce manual inputs across apps.

Samsung said unlike previous smartphone cycles dominated by camera and display upgrades, this generation reflects a broader industry shift: embedding AI at the processor level and integrating multiple software agents directly into the operating system.

The Galaxy S26 Ultra runs on a customised Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 processor, with Samsung highlighting gains in neural processing performance to support background AI functions. The device also introduces a redesigned thermal system to sustain performance during AI-heavy tasks such as image generation, real-time translation and advanced video capture.

Samsung is integrating multiple AI agents, including its own Bixby alongside third-party systems such as Gemini and Perplexity, allowing the device to execute multi-step actions — such as booking services or organising media — with minimal user input.

The company is also attempting to differentiate on privacy. The S26 Ultra introduces what Samsung calls the first built-in “Privacy Display” for mobile devices, limiting side-angle screen visibility through hardware-level light dispersion control. The firm also said it is expanding post-quantum cryptography protections across key system processes.