Samsung Galaxy A26 Review: Budget Phone That Looks Like a Flagship

Price When Reviewed

$299.99

Best Prices Today: Samsung Galaxy A26

$269.99

$299.99

The Galaxy A26 is one of Samsung’s 2025 attempts to compete in the budget smartphone space.

Sitting below the popular A36 and A56 models but above the A16 and A16 5G, this entry-level device tries to deliver the basics at a price that won’t break the bank. It arrives with a modern, if basic, design, a large display, and long battery life. And as you’d expect from Samsung, it benefits from a clean Android experience and years of software updates.

But underneath that glossy Samsung polish is a phone that’s simply not up to scratch. The processor is underpowered for even casual multitasking, the cameras struggle outside of perfect lighting, and the display, while large, lacks the punch and clarity seen in rivals at the same price point.

It’s a phone that works well for very light users or those who just want something functional for calls, texts, and the occasional WhatsApp message. But for anything more, the Galaxy A26 starts to show its age and limitations.

Note: Our Galaxy A26 review sample was supplied by Three UK, but it had no say in how we reviewed the device.

Design & Build

• Lightweight plastic build with modern styling
• Rear panel has a soft matt finish
• Still includes headphone jack and Micro-SD

At first glance, the Galaxy A26 doesn’t look like a sub-£300 phone. It borrows Samsung’s clean design language from its more expensive A-series siblings, with three vertically stacked rear cameras, a subtle Samsung logo, and a glossy finish on the back.

My handset was in the mint colour, which I actually quite liked, despite it being very loud. The device also comes in black or white.

Connor Jewiss / Foundry

The frame and back are both plastic, but they’re well constructed and avoid feeling cheap. While I’m personally not a fan of plastic rear panels, this one from Samsung feels better than other phones I’m used.

The Galaxy A26 is 8.6mm thick and weighs 195g, making it comfortable to hold and light enough for all-day use. The side-mounted fingerprint scanner is integrated into the power button and works consistently, while the volume rocker sits just above it on the right-hand side.

They’re both slightly extended on a notch, which is helpful for getting a good grip on the handset. A USB-C port and a 3.5mm headphone jack sit on the bottom, along with a single speaker.

Connor Jewiss / Foundry

Build quality is solid for the price. There’s no IP rating, wireless charging, or glass panel – but you wouldn’t expect those features at this budget level. More importantly, after using the phone, it feels like using one that can survive everyday drops and scrapes.

This is a well-built phone, even if it doesn’t push boundaries – and for less than £300, that’s fine

This is a well-built phone from Samsung, even if it doesn’t push boundaries – and for less under £300, that’s fine. It’ll more than get the job done for its target audience.

Screen & Speakers

• 6.5-inch LCD display with a 720×1600 resolution and 60Hz refresh rate
• Large display is good for watching videos and scrolling
• Only 720p resolution means visible pixelation

The Galaxy A26 features a 6.5-inch TFT LCD panel with a 720×1600 resolution and a traditional 60Hz refresh rate.

That’s not a particularly impressive spec sheet for a smartphone in 2025, especially when many budget rivals now offer 90Hz or even 120Hz panels and Full HD resolution. But if you’re just looking for the basics, it gets the job done, at least on paper.

Connor Jewiss / Foundry

Unfortunately, it doesn’t look particularly good either. Colours on the A26’s screen appear muted, and viewing angles are fairly narrow. Whites have a greyish tone, and blacks quickly become washed out in dim lighting or exceptionally bright lights.

The display is usable for YouTube, web browsing, and messages, but everything feels a little soft and dated. Pixelation is visible when reading text or watching content close-up, which really lets the phone down.

It gets just bright enough for indoor use, but struggles under direct sunlight. The screen also lacks any form of HDR support, so streaming content won’t benefit from dynamic colour improvements either.

There’s a waterdrop notch at the top, which feels fairly modern, but a thick bezel gives away its budget nature. If you’re used to watching videos or reading on more premium phones, this display will feel like a step back.

Specs & Performance

• MediaTek Helio G85 chipset with 4GB RAM, 256GBstorage
• No 5G connectivity
• Slows down quickly with multitasking or gaming

Under the hood, the Galaxy A26 is powered by the MediaTek Helio G85 – an octa-core chip that debuted in 2020 and is starting to show its age now. It’s paired with 4GB of RAM and 256GB of storage in this handset, although you can expand storage using a Micro-SD card. It’s nice to see in a 2025 phone, but it might be necessary if you need more than 256GB.

Connor Jewiss / Foundry

Performance is fine for simple tasks such as texting, scrolling social media, or watching YouTube on low resolution. But as soon as you want to open multiple apps, load image-heavy websites, or switch between a few tasks, the smartphone begins to lag, and noticeably so. App load times become much slower, scrolling can stutter, and even opening the camera sometimes takes a second too long.

Gaming performance on the Galaxy A26 is very limited. Casual titles such as Subway Surfers run okay, but anything more demanding, like Call of Duty: Mobile or PUBG Mobile, struggles with frame drops and long load times, even on the lowest settings.

Geekbench 6 scores reflect this performance: a single-core score of just 375 and a multi-core result of 1310. That’s well behind even mid-range phones from a few years ago.

Samsung Galaxy A26 benchmarks

Cameras

• 50Mp main camera and 2Mp macro sensor
• Main camera takes decent shots in daylight
• Low-light and indoor photos are blurry or grainy

The Galaxy A26 features a triple rear camera system – but only one of them really matters.

The main 50Mp sensor does most of the heavy lifting, while the 2Mp depth and 2Mp macro lenses add little value in practice. It’s something we’ve seen on plenty of smartphones at this price point, but it’s disappointing nonetheless.

Connor Jewiss / Foundry

In good lighting, the main camera can take pretty solid images for a budget phone. Colours are accurate, detail is acceptable, and autofocus is reasonably quick. But when you start to zoom in or view the image on a larger display, you can notice the lack of detail.

In anything less than ideal lighting, though, quality drops fast. Low-light photos are noisy, blurry, and often unusable. Night Mode is present, but does little to salvage dark scenes. Indoors, photos often lack detail and appear washed out.

Portrait mode can deliver pleasing results when the conditions are right, with decent subject separation. I was actually quite impressed by the edge detection, which is better than more expensive handsets – that’s down to Samsung’s quality software processing.

The 2Mp macro lens is more of a spec-sheet filler than a useful tool, like many other budget smartphones. Focus is fiddly, detail is poor, and image quality isn’t worth the effort. In all honestly, I never found myself wanting to use the camera intentionally – beyond testing it out.

The front-facing 8Mp camera is average for selfies and video calls, but highlights blow out easily and low-light performance is weak.

Video recording tops out at 1080p/30fps, with no stabilisation, and footage tends to be shaky unless you stand very still.

Battery Life & Charging

• 5000mAh battery
• 15W wired charging via USB-C port
• No wireless or reverse charging

Battery life is a rare strength for the Galaxy A26. With a 5000mAh battery and a relatively power-efficient chipset, this phone comfortably lasts a full day or longer on a single charge.

In fact, after using this phone for a few weeks, it managed to hold its charge for over a week while in Airplane Mode. Light users will easily hit 48 hours of usage before needing to juice up.

Charging, on the other hand, is slow. Painfully slow. The A26 supports only 15W wired charging, and it takes well over two hours to fully recharge from flat. That’s slightly slower than most Qi wireless charging these days.

Making things worse, there’s no charging brick included in the UK box – just a USB-C cable. While we expect this from flagship phones these days, many budget phones do include them.

Connor Jewiss / Foundry

There’s no wireless charging (understandably for a budget phone), and obviously no reverse wired charging either. Still, the long battery life makes it one of the more reliable budget phones for those who want to avoid daily charging.

Software & Features

• Android 14 with One UI Core 6
• Clean software, but some features missing
• Six years of OS and security updates

The Galaxy A26 ships with Android 14, overlaid with Samsung’s One UI Core 6.

It’s a simplified version of the full One UI skin used on higher-end Galaxy models. It retains Samsung’s familiar look, with rounded icons, good accessibility options, and a relatively clean aesthetic.

Connor Jewiss / Foundry

One UI Core does come with limitations. Samsung DeX is missing, as are features like Secure Folder, Bixby Routines, and Good Lock customisation.

For the target user of this phone (someone who just wants the essentials), that likely won’t matter. But, honestly, I’m disappointed that Samsung chose to develop a new version of its software with the sole intention of excluding some features.

Connor Jewiss / Foundry

Its saving grace comes in the form of limited to no bloatware. You do get the Samsung basics like Galaxy Store, Notes, and SmartThings, alongside Google’s default apps, but no third-party apps like Booking.com as you’d find on budget phones from other brands. The UI runs smoothly on the hardware (within reason), and transitions are clean if a little slow at times.

However, one area where Samsung excels is software updates. Its commitment to six years of OS and security is by far the best at this price point, and a key reason to buy the Galaxy A26 over non-Samsung phones.

It’s not clear when the phone will get Android 15-based One UI 7, though, while the rollout of future versions could also be delayed.

Samsung promises two major Android updates and four years of security patches, which is a strong commitment for a s phone. That means the A26 should last until Android 16 and continue receiving security updates until 2028.

Price & Availability

The Samsung Galaxy A26 is available now in the UK with a recommended retail price of £299/$299.99.

You can buy one outright from the likes of Samsung or Amazon in the UK and Samsung or Amazon in the US.

It’s just about cheap enough for Tech Advisor to consider it a budget phone, but the impressive Nothing Phone (3a) is only slightly more expensive. More affordable alternatives include the CMF Phone 2 Pro, Xiaomi Redmi Note 13 5G and Samsung’s own Galaxy A16 5G.

Should you buy the Samsung Galaxy A26?

The Samsung Galaxy A26 delivers a solid, dependable Android experience at a low price – but you have to accept its limitations. Its sluggish performance, basic display, and average camera setup mean it’s best suited to very light users.

There’s still a lot to like: clean (if limited) Samsung software, long battery life, a surprisingly nice design, and years of update support. But with rivals like the Moto G85 offering more powerful specs or better screens at similar prices, the A26 struggles to stand out.

It’s a safe choice for those who value simplicity over speed – but not one that earns a strong recommendation.

Specs

Display: 6.5-inch TFT LCD, 720×1600 resolution, 60Hz
Chipset: MediaTek Helio G85
RAM: 4GB
Storage: 64GB (expandable via microSD up to 1TB)
Rear Cameras: 50Mp main (f/1.8), 2Mp depth (f/2.4), 2Mp macro (f/2.4)
Front Camera: 8Mp (f/2.0)
Video: 1080p at 30fps (front and rear)
Battery: 5000mAh
Charging: 15W wired (USB-C)
OS: Android 14, One UI Core 6
Dimensions: 165.8 × 77.7 × 8.6mm
Weight: 195g
Connectivity: 4G LTE, Bluetooth 5.1, Wi-Fi 5