Samsung Galaxy A26

At Rs. 76,299 for the 8GB/256GB model, the Samsung Galaxy A26 is a careful buy rather than a bargain. Its real upgrades are durability and support: a glass back with Gorilla Glass Victus+ on both sides, an IP67 rating, 5G and up to six major Android upgrades.

The compromises are a waterdrop notch with thick bezels, a single speaker, slow 25W charging with no charger in the box and cameras that are good but not exciting. Opinions on its speed differ sharply, from best in its class in Pakistan to slow for the price.

The Xiaomi Redmi Note 14 Pro costs Rs. 70,999 and offers 45W charging, a 5500 mAh battery and a 200 MP main camera, but it is 4G only.

Verdict: a good choice for buyers who want a tough, 5G Samsung that will be supported for years. Buyers who want fast charging, stereo sound or the most camera for the money have better options.

The 6.7-inch Super AMOLED screen has a 1080 x 2340 resolution and a 120Hz refresh rate, protected by Gorilla Glass Victus+. Colours are rich and accurate, and the panel is bright enough indoors and outdoors, with peak brightness reported at around 1200 nits. Widevine L1 support allows full HD streaming, and photos look especially good on this screen.

The weak points:

• A waterdrop notch, thick bezels and a big chin make it look older than it is.
• There is no in-display fingerprint reader and no Always On Display.
• 4K 60fps YouTube videos play for a while and then drop their resolution.
• The vibration motor feels weak and fuzzy.

The Galaxy A26 sold in Pakistan uses the Exynos 1380 (5 nm) with a Mali-G68 MP5 GPU, 8GB RAM and UFS 2.2 storage. Reports on how it performs differ more than usual.

• Strong view: it beats many phones at this price in Pakistan, including Helio G100 phones with 12GB RAM, and PUBG runs at Smooth graphics with Extreme frame rate or HDR graphics with Ultra frame rate.
• Weak view: apps can take a second or two to open, the interface does not feel instant, Genshin Impact crashed once and thermals get poor in heavy games.
• Middle view: PUBG holds about 45 to 60 fps, which is decent for the class.

For social media, calls and casual games it is fine; heavy gamers should test one before buying.

The rear setup has a 50 MP main camera with OIS, an 8 MP ultrawide and a 2 MP macro, with a 13 MP selfie camera.

• Daylight: in direct sun, colours and skin tones look good with solid detail. Under cloudy skies, shots can look muddy, and exposure slips in tricky light. The AI Remaster tool noticeably improves weak shots.
• Low light: usable, but not ready to post as is; night mode mostly just brightens the image.
• Portraits: edge detection is accurate even with two people, but portraits work only at 1x.
• Ultrawide: soft, with poor dynamic range in shadows.
• Selfies: natural and crisp, with good skin tones even indoors; the slightly warm colour tuning suits South Asian skin.
• Video: up to 4K 30fps on the main camera and 1080p 30fps on the front. Reports differ on 4K stabilisation, and the front camera's EIS can make movement feel sluggish.

The Galaxy A26 has a 5000 mAh battery, the same as last year's model. Screen-on time of about 7 to 8 hours is reported at 60 to 70% brightness, which is fair but behind rivals that now use 6000 mAh or larger batteries.

Charging is the main weakness. It supports only 25W wired charging, among the slowest at this price, and a full charge takes around 2 hours. The box has only a USB-C cable, so you need to buy a 25W adapter separately.

The Galaxy A26 runs Android 15 with One UI 7, and Samsung promises up to six major Android upgrades, the longest support at this price. The software is polished and fun to use.

Useful AI tools include Gemini, Circle to Search, Object Eraser, edit suggestions and smart selection that can turn part of a clip into a GIF or record just one area of the screen. A couple of newer AI tools found on the Galaxy A36 are missing. The AI features are above average for the price rather than ground-breaking.