Samsung Galaxy S26 Series, Galaxy Buds4 Series and Galaxy Book6 Series Now Available Worldwide

TORONTO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Mar 12, 2026--

Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. today announced the global availability of the Galaxy S26 series, the Galaxy Buds4 series and the Galaxy Book6 series. As Samsung’s third generation of AI phones, the Galaxy S26 Ultra, Galaxy S26+ and Galaxy S26 deliver the most intuitive and proactive Galaxy AI [1] experiences yet, helping users accomplish more with fewer steps. Following Galaxy Unpacked, the newly launched Galaxy S26 series has generated exceptional early demand, with initial pre-order figures surpassing previous records and marking a double-digit increase. The premium Galaxy S26 Ultra has quickly become the standout model, selected by more than 70% of Galaxy S26 series pre-order customers worldwide.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260312154468/en/

Galaxy S26 Ultra: Where Innovation Leads

Galaxy S26 Ultra brings together Samsung’s most advanced innovation in a single device – powerful performance, a cutting-edge camera system, enhanced intuitive Galaxy AI and the world’s first mobile phone with a built-in Privacy Display [2].

Privacy Display, which has drawn widespread praise since its unveiling, is a breakthrough in display technology that fundamentally changes how privacy can be protected on a phone at a pixel level. Designed for everyday situations, hardware and software work together as one to help protect privacy without compromising everyday viewing experiences.

Built for all-day performance, Galaxy S26 Ultra delivers the most powerful performance on a Galaxy S series yet, powered by a customized mobile processor — Snapdragon® 8 Elite Gen 5 Mobile Platform for Galaxy [3] — with significant gains [4] across the CPU, GPU and NPU to support faster, smoother experiences that keep up with the user throughout the day.

Galaxy S26 Ultra also features Samsung’s most intuitive and user-friendly AI experience to date. Features like Now Nudge [5] provide proactive and relevant context-aware suggestions, while Now Brief [6] surfaces timely reminders for important events. A variety of AI agents [7] also help users to complete tasks easier with a single button press or voice prompt.

Galaxy S26 Ultra builds on Samsung’s cutting-edge camera system, seamlessly integrating capturing, editing and sharing into one intuitive workflow. Nightography video [8] keeps footage vibrant even in low light, and Super Steady [9] comes with a new horizontal lock option for greater stability, even during dynamic movement. Editing is just as easy and straight forward. With the upgraded Photo Assist [10], users can refine images and express their creativity by simply describing what they want in their own words, while Creative Studio [11] empowers users to easily turn their ideas into polished visuals — from stickers and invitations to personalized wallpapers.

Galaxy Buds4 series: Enhanced Hi-Fi Sound with Computationally Designed Fit

Users can amplify the capabilities of the Galaxy S26 with the new Galaxy Buds4 series which integrates Samsung’s most advanced audio and wearability innovations together in one seamless experience. The Galaxy Buds4 Pro and Buds4 deliver enhanced Hi-Fi audio and everyday wearability to achieve the best listening experience across the Galaxy Buds series to date. The Buds4 series establishes a new iconic blade design with an engraved pinch control [12] and ultra-sleek ergonomic fit, achieved by analyzing hundreds of millions of global ear data points and running over 10,000 simulations [13] to optimize all-day wearability and comfort. Powerful hardware and software innovations on the Buds4 Pro such as a wider woofer, an enhanced Adaptive Equalizer and Active Noise Cancellation [14] produce rich, full-spectrum sound true to the original recording. With the integration of several AI agents [15] and intuitive hands-free controls, the Buds4 series becomes a natural companion to Galaxy S26, extending everyday experiences beyond the phone.

Galaxy Book6 series: Engineered for Performance

Seamlessly integrate Galaxy devices with the Galaxy Book6 series. The Galaxy Book6 pairs intuitive hardware with immersive visuals and audio in a slim and portable design, the Galaxy Book6 series delivers Samsung’s most powerful PC performance yet. Powered by Intel® Core™ Ultra Series 3 processors — Galaxy Book6 delivers efficient, high-speed CPU, GPU and NPU performance, enabling lightning-fast processing, seamless multitasking and more responsive AI.

Starting March 11, the Galaxy S26 series is available [16] through carriers, retailers and Samsung Canada. The Galaxy S26 series features a unified design across all models, with shared colour options including Cobalt Violet, White, Black and Sky Blue alongside the Samsung.com exclusive Pink Gold and Silver Shadow.

The Galaxy Buds4 series is available in two models — Galaxy Buds4 Pro and Buds4 — with distinct colourways including White and Black with a refined matte finish — as well as a Samsung.com exclusive Pink Gold for Buds4 Pro.

The Galaxy Book6 series is available in three models — Galaxy Book6, Galaxy Book6 Pro, Galaxy Book6 Ultra.

For added peace of mind, Samsung Care+ [17] offers comprehensive coverage that helps protect the devices’ value, including fast repairs for accidental damage, extended warranty, and certified expert support available both at home and abroad.

For more information about the Galaxy S26 series and Galaxy Buds4 series, please visit: Samsung Canada and the Samsung Canada Newsroom.

About Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.

Samsung inspires the world and shapes the future with transformative ideas and technologies. The company is redefining the worlds of TVs, digital signage, smartphones, wearables, tablets, home appliances and network systems, as well as memory, system LSI and foundry. Samsung is also advancing medical imaging technologies, HVAC solutions and robotics, while creating innovative automotive and audio products through Harman. With its SmartThings ecosystem, open collaboration with partners, and integration of AI across its portfolio, Samsung delivers a seamless and intelligent connected experience. For the latest news, please visit the Samsung Newsroom at news.samsung.com.

[1]Samsung Account login may be required to use certain AI features. Samsung does not make any promises, assurances or guarantees as to the accuracy, completeness or reliability of the output provided by AI features. Availability of Galaxy AI features may vary depending on the region/country, OS/One UI version, device model and phone carrier.
[2]World’s first built-in privacy display on a smartphone. Must be enabled in settings. Privacy Display feature controls the screen’s viewing range to limit peripheral vision. Some changes in image quality may occur outside the viewing range. When activated, some information may still be visible to others depending on the viewing environment, such as angle or brightness. Caution is advised when exposing sensitive information.
[3]Snapdragon branded products are products of Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. and/or its subsidiaries. Snapdragon is a trademark or registered trademark of Qualcomm Incorporated.
[4]AP performance improvements shown compared to Galaxy S25 Ultra. Actual performance will depend on user environment, conditions and pre-installed software and applications.
[5]Now Nudge feature requires a Samsung Account login. Available functions and features may vary by country, region, and language. Text message prompts currently available with Samsung Messages and certain third-party messaging apps including Google Messages and Google Chat. Based on availability at the time of product launch. May change without notice. Share photos in Now Nudge works by analyzing available image content. Accuracy of results is not guaranteed.
[6]Now Brief feature requires Samsung Account login. Service availability may vary by country, language, device model, apps. Some features may require a network connection. The description of photos provided by moments may not align with the user’s intent. Notifications must be switched on to be used as the recalled data. Recalled data available from supported app notifications, Messages, Gmail and Samsung Wallet and data collected from Gmail is only applicable if the user consents to Personal Data Intelligent’s Gmail read permission. Recalled data for reservation details only available from reservation confirmation messages. Users must accept Samsung’s privacy policy and terms of use prior to using this feature.
[7]Availability may vary by region/country and language.
[8]Results may vary depending on light condition and/or shooting conditions including multiple subjects, being out of focus or moving subjects.
[9]Super Steady is on by default and can be turned off in the camera settings. Results may vary depending on editing method and/or shooting conditions.
[10]Photo Assist may require a network connection and Samsung Account login. Service availability may vary by country, language or device model. Photo Assist may result in a resized photo. A visible watermark is overlaid on the image output upon saving in order to indicate that the image is generated by AI. The accuracy and reliability of the generated output is not guaranteed.
[11]Creative Studio feature requires a network connection and Samsung Account login. Service availability may vary by country, language or device model. The accuracy and reliability of the generated output is not guaranteed. Sticker sets only compatible with Samsung Keyboard and can only be shared via Quick Share feature with other Galaxy devices that have One UI 5.0 or later installed and Quick Share app version 13.8.50.x or later.
[12]Galaxy Buds are available to connect as Bluetooth Audio regardless of OS, but to configure advanced settings, Galaxy Buds must be paired with a smartphone with Android 10.0 or above and a minimum of 1.5GB of memory.​
[13]Based on global ear data research conducted by Samsung Design Innovation Center.
[14]Available on Buds4 Pro.
[15]AI features require a compatible Samsung Galaxy phone.
[16]Availability may vary by country, region, and carrier. Colour availability may vary depending on country or carrier.
[17]Terms and conditions apply. Samsung Care+ coverage, service type and promotion details may vary by country/region and deductible (service fee) may apply. To be eligible for Samsung Care+ promotion benefit, registration may be required. For detailed Samsung Care+ information, please visithttps://www.samsung.com/samsung-care-plus/

Samsung Galaxy S26 Series, Galaxy Buds4 Series and Galaxy Book6 Series Now Available Worldwide

Samsung Galaxy S26 Series, Galaxy Buds4 Series and Galaxy Book6 Series Now Available Worldwide

Samsung Galaxy S26 Series, Galaxy Buds4 Series and Galaxy Book6 Series Now Available Worldwide

NEW YORK (AP) — No quick dispatching of disease investigators. No news conference to inform the public. No timely health alerts to doctors.

In the midst of a strange outbreak of hantavirus on a cruise ship that involves Americans and is making headlines around the world, the U.S. government's top public health agency, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, has been missing in action, according to a number of experts.

“We seem to have things under very good control," President Donald Trump told reporters Friday evening.

But experts say the situation has not spiraled because, unlike COVID-19 or measles or the flu, hantavirus does not spread easily. It has been experts in other countries, not the United States, who have been dealing primarily with the outbreak in the past week.

“The CDC is not even a player," said Lawrence Gostin, an international public health expert at Georgetown University. “I've never seen that before.”

The CDC's diminished role in this outbreak is an indicator the agency is no longer the force in international health or the protector of domestic health that it once was, some experts said.

The hantavirus outbreak is “a sentinel event” that speaks to “how well the country is prepared for a disease threat. And right now, I’m very sorry to say that we are not prepared,” said Dr. Jeanne Marrazzo, chief executive officer of the Infectious Diseases Society of America.

Early last month, a 70-year-old Dutch man developed a feverish illness on a cruise ship traveling from Argentina to Antarctica and some islands in the South Atlantic. He died less than a week later. More people became sick, including the man's wife and a German woman, who both died.

Hantavirus was first identified as a cause of sickness of one of the cases on May 2. The World Health Organization swung into action and by Monday was calling it an outbreak. About two dozen Americans were on the ship, including about seven who disembarked last month and 17 who remained on board.

For decades, the CDC partnered with the WHO in such situations. The CDC acted as a mainstay of any international investigation, providing staff and expertise to help unravel any outbreak mystery, develop ways to control it and communicate to the public what they should know and how they should worry.

Such actions were a large reason why the CDC developed a reputation as the world's premier public health agency.

But this time, the WHO has been center stage. It made the risk assessment that has told people the outbreak is not a pandemic threat.

“I don’t think this is a giant threat to the United States,” said Jennifer Nuzzo, director of Brown University’s Pandemic Center. But how this situation has played out “just shows how empty and vapid the CDC is right now,” she said.

The current situation comes after 16 tumultuous months during which the Trump administration withdrew from the WHO, has restricted CDC scientists from talking to international counterparts at times and embarked on a plan to build its own international public health network through one-on-one agreements with individual countries.

The administration has laid off thousands of CDC scientists and public health professionals, including members of the agency's ship sanitation program.

As this was playing out, Trump's health secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., said he was working to “restore the CDC’s focus on infectious disease, invest in innovation, and rebuild trust through integrity and transparency.”

The CDC has not been completely silent on hantavirus.

The agency on Wednesday issued a short statement that said the risk to the American public is “extremely low,” and described the U.S. government as “the world’s leader in global health security.”

Said Nuzzo: “Not only was that not helpful, it actually does damage because a core principle of public health communications is humility.”

The CDC's acting director, Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, posted a message on social media that the agency was lending its expertise in coordinating with other federal agencies and international authorities. Arizona officials this week said they learned from the CDC that one of the Americans who left the ship — a person with no symptoms and not considered contagious — had already returned to the state. WHO officials said the CDC has been sharing technical information.

The CDC also is “monitoring the health status and preparing medical support for all of the American passengers on the cruise,” Bhattacharya wrote.

But federal health officials have mostly been tight-lipped, declining interview requests. Some details emerged not through public statements but through disclosures from anonymous sources, including news Friday that the CDC was sending a team to Spain's Canary Islands to meet the Americans onboard.

On Friday evening, health officials issued an updated statement, confirming the deployment of a team to the Canary Islands. They also said a second team will go to Offutt Air Force Base in Nebraska as part of a plan to evacuate American passengers from the ship to a quarantine center.

In interviews this week, some experts made a comparison with a 2020 incident involving the Diamond Princess, a cruise ship docked in Japan that became the setting of one of the first large COVID-19 outbreaks outside of China.

The CDC sent personnel to the port, helped evacuate American passengers, ran quarantines, shared genetic data on the virus, coordinated with the WHO and Japan, held public briefings and rapidly published reports “that became the world’s reference data on cruise ship COVID transmission,” said Dr. Tom Frieden, a former CDC director.

Some aspects of the international response to the Diamond Princess were criticized, and it did not halt the outbreak or stop COVID-19’s spread across the world. But some experts say it was not for the CDC's lack of trying.

“The CDC was right on top of it, very visible, very active in trying to manage and contain it,” Gostin said, while the agency's work now is delayed and subdued.

Instead of working with nearly all of the world's nations through the WHO, the Trump administration has pursued bilateral health agreements with individual nations for information sharing, public health support, and what it describes as “the introduction of innovative American technologies.” Roughly 30 agreements are currently in place.

That's not sufficient, Gostin said. “You can't possibly cover a global health crisis by doing one-on-one deals with countries here and there,” he said.

Associated Press writers Ali Swenson in New York, Darlene Superville in Washington and Susan Montoya Bryan in Albuquerque, New Mexico, contributed to this report.

The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

Passengers on the the hantavirus-stricken cruise ship, MV Hondius, watch epidemiologists board the boat in Praia, during their voyage to Spain's port of Tenerife, May 6, 2026. (AP Photo)

Workers set up temporary shelters in the area where passengers from the MV Hondius cruise ship are expected to arrive at the port of Granadilla in Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain, Saturday, May 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

Crew members of the hantavirus-stricken cruise ship, MV Hondius, wait their turns for a first interview with epidemiologists, during the voyage to Spain's port of Tenerife, May 6, 2026. (AP Photo)

Health workers in protective gear evacuate patients from the MV Hondius cruise ship into an ambulance at a port in Praia, Cape Verde, Wednesday, May 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Misper Apawu)

A Spanish Civil Guard officer inspects the area where passengers from the MV Hondius cruise ship are expected to arrive at the port of Granadilla in Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain, Saturday, May 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)