Samsung Galaxy A26 Review: Keeping Up With the Times

Samsung’s mid-tier mix? It is one we have tasted, and honestly, the flavor is becoming stale. It is served to us year in and year out with almost identical designs, unimpressive software, and hardware that vaguely asks, “seen it, done it.” Such is not a comforting feeling of déjà vu; it is a standing still.

Rewards definitely come with loyalty, and Samsung’s software update commitment has always been a stronghold for its title. Galaxy A26, in turn, adds design and display upgrades to this list. But here’s the rub: in a market full of innovation, Samsung is playing it safe while falling behind.

Samsung Galaxy A26 Design

The Galaxy A26: Don’t be misguided by its “inexpensive” label. The mid-ranger actually brews a luxurious feel under its possession having got Corning Gorilla Glass Victus+ at the front and back by Samsung. A little warning: Though it looks great, simply does not resist smudges!

Familiarity augurs comfort, yet we have a design in the crossroads of familiarity: it draws inspiration from last year’s Galaxy A25. Thankfully, the tactile charm, however faint, remains: the gently raised island on the flat frame that crutches the volume rocker and power button lends itself to effortless navigation, despite the dimensions of the phone.

The raised bump around the volume and power buttons makes it easier to find them

Sleek from its first impression, it really proffers a pinch of luxury inside one’s palm. A hush, a mere flip, and down comes that illusion, pitched into a reality otherwise.

With 6.7 inches of Super AMOLED, one would expect the screen to serenade the eyes. Kind of a larger portion of letdown, this one. Atop is the ironclad water drop notch, while so-called thick bezels, reminiscent of yesteryears, surround the display. That heavy bottom bezel? Not exactly sitting well in a modern-day ensemble. For 2025, seeing this mutant display on a mid-range device kind of hurts. Then the next question in line is the value proposition. Are you really paying premium bucks for last-gen screens? (Of course, we’ll be talking about this in detail-how it affects performance-and so forth).

The display glass on the Galaxy A26 gets smudged easily

The glossy back of the phone sets up a stark contrast with the matte frame in a stylish tango. Unfortunately, all of this just translates into slipperiness in hand. In case you tend to be a bit clumsy with your phones, you’d be better off putting this one in a case, but strangely, one is not provided by default. On a bright note, it boasts an IP67 rating, which should allow for submersion in fresh water (up to 1m to be specific). But word of warning: your phone might be water-resistant, but your warranty isn’t. So, just take the risk!

Samsung Galaxy A26 Performance

More screen space? A blip, maybe. Stubborn colors, even on an acquiescent setting called natural. Viewing angles are so generous that the screen basks in direct sunlight and rather dislikes being indoors. HDR10+? Nope. Budgetary restrictions kicked in again. The upside: HD streaming is there at least with the Widevine L1 down the line.

There’s just one bottom-firing speaker and it does not sound good

The Galaxy A26 has a surprise in store for you, one that is not a terribly pleasant one. For a mid-range contender, the single, bottom-firing speaker feels like a serious compromise. Forget rich, immersive sound; if anything, prepare for a high-pitched, piercing assault on your ears, especially at higher volumes. With a plethora of budget-friendly smartphones in the market offering better audio experiences, this feels like a big misstep.

This phone, brand new in the box, comes with Samsung’s stylish One UI 7 on the base of Android 15. Expect a gamut of choices to customize alongside the slick.

The software runs silky smooth. Give kudos to Samsung’s optimizations, but also tip the hat to the ultrafast 120Hz display. Locked in at a steadfast 120Hz when High motion smoothness is enabled, it is just a joy to watch-although this battery can drain somewhat quicker from keeping a high refresh rate all the time.

The SuperAMOLED panel offers deep blacks but can you get past those thick borders and that notch?

While the AI playground is brimming with new toys, language translation stole immediate favor with me. A few hiccups for the image editor, though. It is competent but, when I tried to throw it a curveball–a bit more complex object removal–it could not quite do the finesse of the top Galaxy models. On the brighter side, the “Now Bar” is a revelation on the lock screen, streaming in live notifications from everything, including system apps and keeping me effortlessly updated.

Apart from the usual suite of Samsung apps, there are a few third-party applications thrown in-the Microsoft apps, a VPN pre-loaded and installed (that is defiantly refusing my attempts to uninstall), and some pre-installed games. But what is truly overtly unusual? Illicit lock screen ads, that are a hammer-hard aesthetic disorder placed by Samsung’s Glance Lockscreen integration. Locating the off switch feels like a mini-quest of its own. One is required to go to Settings, then Wallpaper and style, to finally choose None against the default Dynamic, Glance, or Samsung Global Goals. Consider this a sort of tech treasure hunt, and the reward is an ad-free lock screen.

Samsung’s One UI 7 offers plenty of AI tools

The Galaxy A26 isn’t exactly winning any gaming trophies, but it’s a surprisingly apt mobile gaming assistant. Premium graphics are out of the question due to chipset and RAM limitations, but the phone easily runs popular titles such as “Call of Duty: Mobile” and “Asphalt Legends Unite” on default (medium) settings. I was quite surprised when the phone did not falter even with a slight increase in graphics. The downside is that it does get hot. Despite the graphite sheets inside, prolonged gaming sessions lead to much heat buildup that eventually causes frame drops and slowdowns. However, touch response stays very sharp and lag-free through all this.

Heat management continues to remain impressive for the Samsung. Throughout the day, of course, under blistering heat, the phone remained cool while snapping pictures, without any unjustified performance notifications. Benchmark scores? It is among the very best in its class, although Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 chip-bearing phones are clearly more performant.

The Samsung Galaxy A26 keeps the familiar triple-lens setup on the back: the workhorse 50MP main camera (with OIS), an 8MP ultra-wide for expansive landscapes, and a 2MP macro for extreme close-ups. Meanwhile, selfies get the assurance of the trustworthy 13MP front camera.

Samsung Galaxy A26 Primary camera samples (tap images to expand)

The camera can hardly be called brilliant. Images are too often ruined by bright blown-out highlights and dull dynamic range, even under the forgiving light of an overcast day. However, the worst insult to worthy photography is the camera’s blatant inability to resolve detail. Sharpness is lacking more often than not, rendering textures and minute details into blur. Occasionally, it seems as if the camera just throws in the towel, casting random patches of blur here and there.A great deal of this is down to foliage being particularly compromised: it really just looks like an impressionist oil painting. Colors are mostly authentic, though every shot has this slight blueish cast to it. OIS, tragically, is never enough to save the camera.

With the automatic night mode on, low-light shots would go blurry and become a watercolour kind of tragi-comedy, smearing fine details as if a distraught artist had let his brush slip! (Tap the image to see the smeared mess).

Bright cartoon colors and brilliant contrast make the photograph exciting for viewing. However, the ensemble has a telltale halo, which shows that the camera mixing is not good with the precise definition of an edge. (Close Click to enlarge)

Acceptable portraits get made by the primary camera. Skin tones are true to life; textures, however, tend to get a little too soft. Edge detection does come into play, sometimes somewhat exaggerated, thus creating that unnatural sharpening look. (Tap image for closer examination).

Macro lens? Blur, pixelation, and a whole-of-a-mess. I think some better close-up shots were managed using just the main camera. Do check them out for yourself. (tap image to expand)

Samsung Galaxy A26 ultrawide camera sample (tap image to expand)

The ultrawide lens paints a very different story, this one in shadow. Daylight scenes lose their enumerable vibrancy and stir away into the whirlpool of murk, particularly in darker shades. Purple fringing glows with violence, outlining bright spots, while the warped perspective points its finger accusingly at the lens’s barrel distortion. In the dim light, the camera bows to defeat, as faintly usable images come up noise, the noise.

Video functions of the camera are a mixed bag. Capturing beautiful detail in 4K, the camera inconsistently focuses during pans. The 30fps shaky mode cries for stabilization in the worst way possible – more like Jell-O on wheels. But with 1080p at 60fps, watching videos are meant to be beautiful at 60fps, wobbly goodness! Forty-eighty frames per second at 1080p wins the stabilization contest while giving away just a minor bit of detail. Darkness is never forgiving. With 1080p/30fps, stable videos can be produced but details melt away into the gloom. Whereas 4K/30fps makes everything noisy and shaky.

Despite packing a 5,000mah battery, the Galaxy A26’s screen time figures aren’t impressive

The Galaxy A25 is staying in familiar power territory. You’ve got a big 5,000mAh battery in there, but charging is lazy take-your-time kind of stuff. With a 100W PD charger, a 30-minute fill-up will give you around 30% while a full charge requires a laid-back 1 hour and 57 minutes.

Unfortunately, battery time is a significant letdown. With no breaks, our harsh PCMark Battery Life test practically simulating a full day of work saw the phone expire at 8 hours and 53 minutes. The Nothing Phone 3a with a comparable battery, for perspective, lasted almost twice as long at a stunning 17 hours and 40 minutes! And that’s not all: the HD video loop test saw the Galaxy A26 suck wind at 17 hours and 11 minutes. Short answer: be ready. Power users will curse the day their charger went missing before 6 PM. Lighter usersmightget out of it with a full day, but only if they treat the phone like an oiled machine.

Samsung Galaxy A26 Verdict

The Samsung Galaxy A26: A Software Oasis in a Desert of Disappointment?

Let’s face it. Except for the promise from Samsung of long-term software support and the welcome IP67 dust and water resistance, the Galaxy A26 has little else going for it. Surrounded by so many contenders, it almost feels like it’s running to catch up. So, who needs this one? If you’re going for cutting-edge AI smarts and value software updates over anything else, this might just be your digital haven. For anyone else, the looking continues.

Navigating the jungle called smartphone market? The Nothing Phone (3a) shines for people who crave a little bit of vibe. But the Poco F6 and the iQOO Neo 10R, which one can almost say sandwich the illusory Galaxy A26 in terms of price, bring serious muscle. Do you swear by long battery life? Then one thing must come into your mind: Vivo T4, with a monster size 7,400mAh battery, looks down upon chargers. Should your kitty manage to move beyond Rs. 26,000, OnePlus Nord 4 has been a dependable all-rounder.

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