The year isn’t over yet, and there are already plenty of wild rumors about the upcoming Galaxy S26 line of phones. 

Months ago, there was speculation that Samsung would replace its base phone with the Pro. It was rumored that the Plus would be discontinued in favor of the S26 Edge (much like how Apple dropped its Plus phone for the thin iPhone Air), and the Ultra would remain without any name change. 

But just a few weeks ago, new reports emerged. Word is that the S26 Pro will simply be the S26, and the S26 Edge might be on its way out. 

Here’s a quick rundown of the latest Galaxy S26 talk to make sense of it all.

Galaxy S26 line release date

Samsung typically hosts a few Unpacked events each year, with the first event usually taking place in either January or February. Most of this year’s S25 handsets were announced at a Galaxy Unpacked event on Jan. 22, 2025, and released on Feb. 7, so we can expect a similar timeline for the Galaxy S26 series.

However, it’s possible that additional S26 releases may occur throughout the year. In 2025, for example, Samsung released two more S25 handsets — the S25 Edge and the S25 FE — at two separate events in May and September, respectively. 

Galaxy S26 Pro

For months, one of the biggest rumors surrounding the Galaxy S26 was that it might not exist at all. Internal build code uncovered by Android Authority suggested Samsung could be scrapping the base model entirely and replacing it with the S26 Pro. That might sound strange at first, but it could have signaled Samsung’s plan to position the S26 lineup as a more premium offering than its predecessors.

According to a new report from SamMobile, the Galaxy S26 Pro might actually just be the standard Galaxy S26. Given that most other rumors suggest the phone will be pretty entry-level, that could very well be the case.

Leaked renders of the S26 (whether the base or Pro model) show a design very similar to the S25, with one key difference: the rear camera. The S26 appears to have a vertical bump on the back housing three camera lenses, while the S25 has no bump at all, with its lenses fitted directly into the body.

According to Android Headlines, the S26 will feature a 50-megapixel ultrawide camera, representing a significant upgrade from the S25’s 12-megapixel ultrawide camera. There have been conflicting rumors about this, though. Others have speculated that the S26’s camera specs will remain unchanged from the S25. 

Other speculations about the S26 include a slightly bigger 6.3-inch screen, along with an overall slightly larger and slimmer build. Android Headlines also reports that the S26 Pro could have a 4,300-mAh battery, up to 12 GB of RAM and as much as 512 GB of storage.

As for the processor, Samsung’s VP of its Mobile Experiences Division, Daniel Araujo, said in a recent earnings call that the S26 lineup will «revolutionize the user experience with user-centric, next-gen AI, a second-generation custom AP, and stronger performance, including new camera sensors.» 

This is a strong indicator that the Galaxy S26 series will be powered by the Exynos 2600 processor at least in some regions, according to Android Headlines. 

That said, rumors suggest that the S26 will use Qualcomm’s latest Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chipset in the US and China. According to Qualcomm, the new Snapdragon chip is about 20 percent faster and 35 percent more power-efficient than its predecessor. 

Galaxy S26 Edge and Plus

The Galaxy S25 Edge debuted with a lot of fanfare this year, thanks to its ultra-slim form factor, so it’s not a stretch to imagine Samsung will come out with a successor next year. However, there have been conflicting rumors about whether this will happen at all. 

For months, there were leaks suggesting Samsung would replace the Galaxy S26 Plus with the Galaxy S26 Edge. The S26 Edge was expected to have a super slim profile of around 5.5 mm, making it 0.3 mm skinnier than the S25 Edge. That’s also 0.1 mm thinner than the iPhone Air. There was further speculation that it would have the same 6.7-inch screen, a larger 4,200-mAh battery and the newer Snapdragon processor. 

Now, however, this rumor looks to be on shaky ground. According to SamMobile and 9to5Google, the company could be dropping the Galaxy S26 Edge from its 2026 lineup due to poor sales of the Galaxy S25 Edge, especially in comparison to the rest of the Galaxy S25 series. Instead, Samsung could be replacing the S26 Edge with the Galaxy S26 Plus. We currently don’t know too much about the S26 Plus, but it’ll likely have the same 6.7-inch screen as its predecessor.

Galaxy S26 Ultra

With all the uncertainty surrounding the Galaxy S26 (or Pro) and the Galaxy S26 Edge (or Plus), the only handset seemingly free of confusion is the Galaxy S26 Ultra. According to renders uncovered by Android Headlines, the S26 Ultra looks to have a slightly different design than its predecessor.

The images appear to show that the Galaxy S26 Ultra has curvier corners compared to its predecessor and a slightly different camera layout on the rear. The four cameras are positioned in the same locations, but three of them are housed in a raised vertical bump. There’s also speculation that the Ultra could be slightly slimmer, at 7.9 mm thick, which is 0.3 mm thinner than the current S25 Ultra. Android Headlines also says that the phone’s 6.9-inch display could use new M14 OLED panels, which would be brighter and more power efficient. 

Unfortunately, current rumors suggest that the S26 Ultra will feature very similar camera specs. ETNews claims it will still have a 200-megapixel main camera, a 50-megapixel ultrawide, a 10-megapixel 3x telephoto and a 50-megapixel 5x telephoto. The front-facing 12-megapixel camera also appears unchanged. 

Like with the Galaxy S26, the Galaxy S26 Ultra is said to ship with the aforementioned Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 in the US and China, and with the Exynos 2600 chip in other markets. Other rumored specs include 16 GB of RAM, up to 1 TB of UFS 4.0 storage, a 5,000-mAh battery and faster 60-watt wired charging.

With Tim Cook turning 65 on Saturday, Nov. 1, talks have been growing around the question of who his successor as Apple CEO could be, should he choose to retire. Cook has made no announcement that he’ll be stepping down, but according to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, the tech giant is working behind the scenes to ensure a seamless transition when the time does come.

Cook replaced Steve Jobs in 2011, and after a period of uncertainty, Cook ushered Apple into its most profitable era. Stock-watching website Stocktwits reports that the company’s stock has increased by around 1,800% since Cook took over leading the company.

Don’t miss any of our unbiased tech content and lab-based reviews. Add CNET as a preferred Google source.

Jobs may have introduced devices like the iPhone into everyday use that changed how we interact with technology, but Cook expanded on the Apple experience. Under his guidance, the company built upon Apple’s smartphone by introducing subscription services and more mobile products, including earbuds and wearables.

He introduced Apple Pay, Beats headphones became part of the company’s ecosystem, the Apple Watch launched 10 years ago, and Apple even entered the entertainment business, producing original Oscar-winning movies and Emmy-winning TV shows through Apple TV Plus.

Read more: Best iPhone in 2025: Here’s Which Apple Phone You Should Buy

We should reiterate that the notion of Cook stepping down is pure speculation at this point. We don’t know what Apple’s CEO is currently planning or what his thoughts about retirement may be. That said, there are a handful of contenders who have reportedly been part of the succession conversation. 

Potential Apple CEO contenders

Apple likely has «a solid bench of successors» that the company’s board has been developing, says Bryan Ma, VP of Devices Research at IDC.

«But the anxiety gets amplified when there isn’t clear visibility for such a valuable and iconic company,» Ma says. «Compounding the challenge is the fact that the bar has been set by big rock stars like Steve Jobs and Tim Cook. The next generation of leaders have very big shoes to fill.»

John Ternus, Apple’s current vice president of Hardware Engineering, was top of Gurman’s list. Ternus has been with the tech giant for more than two decades, so he has the knowledge and experience for a chief executive upgrade. There would be value in having an engineer behind the wheel. 

Ternus appeared during the September Apple event to introduce the iPhone Air. At 50, he’s the same age Cook was when he took over as Apple CEO.

Other potential contenders are also being considered, including Craig Federighi, Apple’s senior vice president of software engineering; Greg Joswiak, Apple’s senior vice president of worldwide marketing; and Jeff Williams, the company’s former chief operating officer, according to a report by Apple Insider. On Oct. 10, Bloomberg reported that Federighi also will soon be overseeing the Apple Watch operating system watchOS, while Ternus will be overseeing Apple Watch hardware engineering once Williams departs at the end of the year.

Federighi has been with Apple for a long time and has the public speaking experience — frequently speaking during Apple Events — that would be vital if he replaced Cook as CEO. Considering his current role, Joswiak has a more marketing perspective and a broader overview of the company and may not be as hands-on with the tech as Ternus and Federighi. And according to Gurman, Williams was viewed as a shoo-in to be Cook’s replacement until his role as COO was announced to be ending. (He’s now Apple’s senior vice president of design, watch and health.) Cook held the position of chief operating officer before he replaced Jobs as CEO in 2011. Sabih Khan will be stepping into that COO role, which also puts his name in the running.

When Cook steps down, Apple will undoubtedly have a pool of qualified talent to choose from to take up the leadership mantle. Who exactly will take the mantle remains to be seen.

Apple didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

The OnePlus 15 is the next premium handset from the Chinese phone-maker, and I just got my hands on it. To give its cameras a whirl, I took it out for a quick spin through a hip corner of Los Angeles.

The OnePlus 15’s big advantage is that it’s one of the first to run the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5, Qualcomm’s next-generation chip for high-end phones, which was launched in September. The system-on-a-chip has a big influence on how photos come out, processing every image captured through the rear cameras. 

The OnePlus 15 has three 50-megapixel rear cameras, along with a selfie shooter on the front, and I took photos of my neighborhood flora and fauna using them all. While there’s a certain level of polish expected of premium phone cameras, this phone has something new: it’s the first major OnePlus handset released since the company’s partnership with Hasselblad ended. For years, OnePlus incorporated the iconic Swedish camera maker’s color science and image calibration in its cameras.

With Hasselblad gone, the OnePlus 15 features the debut of the DetailMax Engine, a loftily-titled computational processing system that aims to «present scenes as they truly are, without over-beautification or distortion,» as the company’s official blog post explained. 

That means a new page for shooting photos on a OnePlus phone, which made me want to know what the OnePlus 15 is capable of. Join me through a casual tour of a vibrant Los Angeles neighborhood, taking the kinds of snapshots that make up the majority of everybody’s camera roll. I’ll need to spend a lot more time with the device to give it a comprehensive review. 

Our first shot is of the outside of The Silver Lake House, a neighborhood Thai restaurant. While I clearly can’t resist a slight Dutch angle here, the blend of colors look distinct and not oversaturated — a win for true-to-life processing. I like the way the OnePlus 15 captured the light and shadows filtering through the trees, and the camera has handled the lens flare well without over-exposing that area. Also, notice the reflection on the chrome on the heat lamp.

Here’s a close-up of knick-knack plant vases on a windowsill overlooking the restaurant’s indoor tables. The light is really balanced, bright on the foreground outside the eatery and dimmer within — but colors and details are still visible inside. You can also pick out some detail in the reflections on the window of the street behind me.

I couldn’t resist this 1960s Ford Thunderbird sitting idly on the street, a cruising car from yesteryear resting in a hipper corner of LA. Note the texture of the dirt streaks over the paint contrasted against the shiny chromed metal surrounding the taillights. More importantly, despite the camera’s focus on the foreground, the OnePlus 15  still manages to capture the blue sky in the background, complete with details in the clouds.

I took this photo of a nearby dog park with the ultrawide lens, which preserves humdrum details in the brown dirt amid sprouted grass along the bottom.

Here’s an image of the same dog park that I took while zoomed in at 7x magnification. It has a lot of detail and color. But we can go further!

Here’s the dog park photographed at 120x magnification, the farthest this phone can zoom in. The image looked grainy as heck on the phone’s screen when I shot it, but that DetailMax Engine’s post-processing has done relative wonders, making this semi-recognizable despite a lot of smudging at the edges caused by noise reduction — look between the chain links. To be sure, this is not a great image — it’s nearly painterly — but the fact that it can zoom in this far and still serve up a photo with something recognizable is amazing.

Here’s a selfie featuring yours truly. I think this photo has good detail and shadow, but what most impresses me are the mountains in the distance, which can be seen to some degree through the classic Los Angeles haze (marine layer, not smog) occluding the air, not the OnePlus selfie camera.

For comparison, here’s a selfie I took at night. The color is fine, with decent details in the foreground, though they start to blur behind me — notice the bricks on the bottom right, the posters on the light pole on the mid-left, and especially the building over my shoulder.

Here’s the obligatory night shot of a Los Angeles street. While the city will never be dark enough to test the phone’s ability to capture constellations of stars in the night sky, this does show the contrast between warm streetlights and the bright neon. The details of the stucco pockmarked the walls of the bowling alley are clear, even from across the street. Look closely at the texture of the street’s pavement. It’s a granular mix of grays flecked with white spots. All the grime of the city, preserved by the OnePlus 15’s new shiny cameras.

That’s it for the first look at the OnePlus’ camera capabilities. Happy Halloween! And keep an eye out for my full OnePlus 15 review.