I trashed the Galaxy S26 in my review, but it’s still annoyingly easy to like

When I first got my hands on the Galaxy S26, my expectations were tempered from Samsung’s latest compact flagship. And these were well-founded for many reasons as I editorially trashed it in my review. The camera hardware feels stale, the charging speed is underwhelming, and for a phone that not starts for around $899, “safe” isn’t exactly a compliment.

But still I was genuinely surprised that after spending more time with the Galaxy S26, it still hangs around in my pocket as my secondary phone. And in this time, I even grew quite found of it. Despite the various issues, the annoying part is that it is still very easy to like.

It reminded me how good a truly compact flagship can feel