No surprise: Samsung just gave the Samsung Galaxy S26 a perfect design score

Source: Android Authority

C. Scott Brown / Android Authority

TL;DR

• A Samsung executive said they’d give the Galaxy S26 a “perfect score” for product design.
• Another executive highlighted consistent design elements across all three models, such as the curved corners and camera island.
• Samsung defended the decision to switch from titanium to aluminum on the S26 Ultra.

Samsung released the Galaxy S26 series last month, introducing several design changes compared to its predecessors. The company later shared more details about the design process.

Samsung held a press conference in Korea to discuss the design and development of the Galaxy S26 series (h/t: Chosun Biz). One executive praised the phones highly:

“I would like to give the product design a perfect score,” Samsung executive Lee Ji‑Young was quoted as saying about the Galaxy S26. It’s unclear whether she referred to the base model or the entire series.

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It’s no surprise that the designers would rate their phones highly. Another Samsung representative elaborated on the design choices.

Samsung explains Galaxy S26 design approach

Executive Lee Il‑hwan explained that the phones now share a unified design language. The Galaxy S26 Ultra features the same rounded corners as the S26 and S26 Plus, whereas the S25 Ultra had less rounded corners than its stablemates. Samsung used a 7R curvature for what Lee described as the “optimal corner curvature.”

The Galaxy S26 devices are also thinner than previous models and incorporate a camera island design, where the lenses sit atop a pill‑shaped step. This approach reduces the visual height difference between the camera module and the rest of the phone, creating a smoother transition between the camera bump and the rear cover.

Samsung also switched from a titanium frame to aluminum for the Galaxy S26 Ultra, a move that follows Apple’s recent material change for the iPhone 17 series. According to Lee Ji‑Young (h/t: Business Korea):

“The most important factor we considered was the integration of the back and sides. We selected the material while considering whether its durability was sufficient for a premium product.”