The Samsung Galaxy S26 Plus has been tipped to get a display upgrade to bring back a WQHD screen for non-Ultra Galaxy phones.
This comes via reliable tipster Ice Universe, who tweeted that the Galaxy S26 Plus will sport a flat screen with a WQHD display (ie. a 1440p resolution spread across a wide aspect ratio). The tipster also noted that the Plus model will have slim bezels, measuring 2.5mm on the sides and 1mm for the middle frame; going by the rumors so far, these bezels could be slimmer than those on the Galaxy S26 Ultra.
The first version of the Samsung Galaxy S26+ rendering, this time the S26+, the four sides including the middle frame are 2.5mm (S26 Ultra 3.4mm), the bezel part of the screen is about 1.5mm, and the middle frame is about 1.0mm. The rendering is as follows. The key is the top… pic.twitter.com/LhJesJIa74August 29, 2024
Ice Universe also tipped a 195g weight for the Galaxy S26 Plus, saying it’ll be 7.7mm thick. For comparison, the iPhone 14 Pro weighs 206g and measures 7.8mm thick.
Resolution retrofit
Size isn’t everything; I tend to like the heft of an iPhone Pro model over its Android rivals. What has caught my eye is the resolution part of this rumor.
Samsung stopped giving its non-Ultra phones a WQHD resolution after the Galaxy S20. The idea here is an FHD+ resolution is less power-hungry than a higher resolution panel, and the likes of the Galaxy S21, Galaxy S22 and Galaxy S24 in their standard and Plus guises lasted longer on a single charge.
But I’ve found that the screens are still large enough, on the Plus models at least, to justify a higher resolution. In day-to-day use, the jump up to WQHD over FHD+ isn’t hugely noticeable, say when you’re scrolling through X. However, the bump to WQHD when playing games and watching movies, or zooming into photos, is more noticeable. And by default, I’d ensure an Android phone with WQHD or FHD+ options was set to the former, as I enjoyed that extra sharpness even if battery life took a hit.
So I’ll be glad to see the WQHD resolution return as an option for the Galaxy S26 Plus. With improvements in chip design – the Galaxy S26 range is likely to have access to the rumored Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chip – I hope that next-gen Galaxy phones will be more power-efficient and better suited to handle a WQHD display.
Time will tell if this rumor comes to fruition, likely around March 2026 when we expect to see the Galaxy S26 lineup. I’m all for upgrades on the Plus models. Sometimes I feel the Plus can be ignored in the face of the impressive but expensive Ultra phones.