In a tactical move indicating its aspirations in the race for artificial intelligence (AI) smartphones, Samsung Electronics is reportedly preparing the date for its next major launch event – the Galaxy S26 series Unpacked event is expected to take place in San Francisco, a world capital of artificial intelligence, on February 25, 2026, according to a report from Korean outlet Money Today citing Samsung officials.
While Samsung has not yet issued an official Unpacked invitation, industry reports say preparations for the event are already underway.
This will be Samsung’s first return to San Francisco for a Galaxy S Unpacked event since 2023 and signals its desire to position its flagship smartphone identity more prominently as an “AI smartphone” intertwined with Silicon Valley’s rapidly evolving AI ecosystem.
The connection to an “AI hub”
San Francisco is emerging as a global capital of AI technology – home to OpenAI’s headquarters, Google DeepMind’s presence, and scores of dual-use technology companies and start-ups powering the next generation of machine learning and automation. Samsung’s decision to return to the U.S. West Coast, while striking, is no accident.
“It’s symbolic,” a source from San Francisco noted. “Samsung is attempting to define the S26 as the standard of the ‘AI smartphone era,’ and no stage is better than San Francisco.”
The strategic move indicates Samsung’s intended messaging: their smartphones are now more than communication tools; they are AI-embedded digital partners. The S26 will build on the foundation set by the Galaxy S24 and S25 series, which introduced Galaxy AI features such as live translation, AI-based image editing, and generative text suggestions.
Samsung has traditionally held its Galaxy S Unpacked events in late January or early February, with recent flagships like the S24 and S25 announced in mid-to-late January. For 2026, however, the company appears poised to shift the S26 launch to late February — roughly a month later than usual — if the reported February 25 date holds.
There were early rumors that Samsung would replace the base model with a “Pro” model, along with a possible continuation of the ultra-thin Edge-style concept. Those plans now appear to have been shelved: after the lukewarm commercial reception of the Galaxy S25 Edge, multiple reports say Samsung has canceled the Galaxy S26 Edge and is reverting to its classic three-device strategy – Galaxy S26, S26+, and S26 Ultra.
This suggests that Samsung wants consistency in design and branding, while redirecting its boldest innovation toward hardware performance and AI-driven experiences rather than risky form-factor experiments.
One of the most intriguing storylines around the Galaxy S26 is the return of Samsung’s in-house processor, the Exynos 2600. Built on Samsung’s new 2nm GAA process, the chip is expected to power a significant share of Galaxy S26 units globally, particularly in Europe and South Korea. At the same time, Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 is still tipped for markets such as the US, China, and Japan.
Rather than replacing Snapdragon outright, the Exynos 2600 looks set to sit alongside it in a region-based split, but this is still Samsung’s most aggressive use of its own silicon in a flagship S-series since the Galaxy S22 era – a clear vote of confidence in the capabilities of the System LSI Division.
Benchmarks have leaked, showing the Exynos 2600 performing strongly, with prototype devices clocking around 3,400–3,500 (single-core) and ~11,600 (multi-core) on Geekbench. Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 scores slightly higher in some CPU metrics, but Samsung’s internal testing reportedly shows the Exynos 2600 performing better than Apple’s A19 Pro chip in the iPhone 17 line across several areas.
These claimed performance improvements indicate Samsung has bigger long-term ambitions—to re-establish itself as an actual hardware and AI powerhouse capable of rivaling Apple’s tightly integrated ecosystem and Qualcomm’s dominance in Android flagships.
Samsung is explicitly trying to market the S26 as more than just a hardware refresh – it wants the device to act as an AI hub in its users’ digital lives. Following the rollout of Galaxy AI on recent devices, the company is expected to implement additional AI agents across its applications, deepen collaborations with existing partners such as Google Gemini, and lean on its own on-device models.
The goal is to provide a unified intelligence layer: whether a customer accesses a personalized recommendation, receives a predictive assistant prompt, executes real-time language translation, or navigates with context-aware productivity tools, the experience should feel cohesive and consistent across apps and devices.
In recent statements and earnings calls, Samsung executives have emphasized that Galaxy AI experiences will expand across the broader Galaxy ecosystem – phones, tablets, PCs, and wearables – implying a singular AI strategy rather than scattered one-off features. Such integration aligns with the wider industry direction in which smartphones serve as the central hub of a user’s AI ecosystem.
The global smartphone market is entering a phase where chipset intelligence, not just raw speed, defines competitiveness. While Qualcomm remains a powerhouse in traditional CPU and GPU performance, Samsung’s focus on neural efficiency and on-device processing mirrors the industry’s shift toward AI experiences that prioritize privacy, lower latency, and reduced cloud dependence.
Apple’s A19 Pro continues to lead in power optimization and tight ecosystem synergy. Still, on paper, the Exynos 2600’s claimed AI and GPU numbers give Samsung a platform that can challenge both Apple and Qualcomm in raw AI computing throughput, even if real-world performance will ultimately depend on software tuning, thermals, and One UI’s implementation.
As the February 25, 2026, date circulates widely in industry reports, all eyes are on Samsung as it prepares to break new ground in both hardware and deeper integration with the AI ecosystem. Analysts anticipate advancements in AI-driven camera performance, computational photography, more intelligent power management, and a refreshed One UI experience that puts automation and generative AI at the center.
As Samsung returns to the stage in San Francisco, the S26 series is not just another flagship smartphone release, but a declaration of intent. Samsung isn’t just competing in the smartphone market; it is determined to redefine what an AI-enabled phone can do. In the age of intelligent connectivity, the Galaxy S26 is likely to function as a barometer for how well silicon, software, and AI can work together – shaping Samsung’s bid to lead the next stage of mobile innovation.
