Samsung Could Ditch The Galaxy S26 Plus And Go All-In On Edge Next Year

The ‘Ultra’ model is typically the most popular device in Samsung’s flagship family lineup, followed by the entry-level regular model. The middle-child ‘Plus’ does not usually sell as well, moving only a few million units every year. Next year, Samsung may retire the Galaxy S26 Plus altogether and replace it with a super-slim Edge variant.

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Samsung launched the Galaxy S25 Edge earlier today, as a fourth member of its Galaxy S25 family. It sits between the Galaxy S25 Ultra and Plus, featuring a 6.7-inch 120Hz AMOLED panel, a 200MP primary camera, and a $1,100 price tag.

A report from The Elec claims that Samsung has started the development of the Galaxy S26, dubbed NPA. For now, the company plans to launch its 2026 flagship phone lineup with regular, Edge, and Ultra models, ditching the Plus variant altogether.

However, this will depend on how the Galaxy S25 Edge performs, and the company may change its decision if its super-slim phone fails to attract customers.

The report says Samsung supposedly has a target to ship 37.7 million Galaxy S25 units this year, with the Ultra model accounting for 17.4 million and the standard version making up 13.6 million. It only expects to move around 6.7 million units of the Plus variant. This matches perfectly with the trend during the preorder and initial launch week, with the Galaxy S25 Ultra alone accounting for 50% of the total sales in South Korea.

Given the low demand for the Galaxy S25 Plus and its predecessors, it makes sense that Samsung wants to ditch it in favor of the Edge model, especially if the latter does well.

Too early to decide on Galaxy S26+’s fate

For now, though, it is too early to tell if the Galaxy S25 Edge will surpass the sales of its Plus sibling. If that does not happen, Samsung may stick to the same lineup as the last few years and launch a Galaxy S26 Plus. There’s also a possibility of the company launching both the Plus and Edge models, as it is working on four OLED panels for the Galaxy S26 lineup.

Interestingly, a similar rumor popped up in July 2024 claiming Samsung may not launch the Galaxy S25+. That did not happen, but with Apple purportedly ditching the Plus model from its lineup in favor of an ultra-thin Air variant, the company may follow suit next year.