Galaxy S26 Will Finally Support Faster Wireless Charging Speeds

By Chris Smith
Unboxing the Galaxy S25 Ultra. umitc/Shutterstock

Samsung will upgrade the wireless charging speeds for the Galaxy S26 series for the first time in six years, Korean site ETNews reports. However, the charging speed improvements won't be massive and the new flagships won't match the speeds available from certain Chinese brands. Instead, Samsung will offer minimal speed increases that bring the new phones close to iPhone levels. The Galaxy S26 and Galaxy S26 Plus will support 20W wireless charging, while the Galaxy S26 Ultra will go slightly higher to 25W. The Galaxy S25 series supports 15W wireless charging.

ETNews explains that the charging speed bump is still notable, especially for the Galaxy S26 Ultra. Charging time can be reduced by 40% compared to 15W. In practical terms, if a phone would need 100 minutes to reach a full charge via 15W wireless charging, the same handset would take 60 minutes with a 25W charger. The example ETNews offers doesn't necessarily apply to the Galaxy S26 Ultra, as the report doesn't mention actual charging times for the unreleased handsets. Also, the report doesn't offer battery capacities for the three Galaxy S26 models.

What about wired charging speeds?

The Galaxy S25 series on display. umitc/Shutterstock

The report notes that Samsung has been slow to adopt faster wireless charging speeds than competitors, speculating that Samsung has prioritized safety after the infamous Galaxy Note 7 battery-related recall. However, Samsung's biggest rival, Apple, has increased wireless charging speeds in recent years. The iPhone 17 models (except for the iPhone Air) support 25W wireless and 40W wired charging.

The Galaxy S25 Plus and Galaxy S25 Ultra support 45W wired charging, a speed Samsung has maintained for three years, but the base model is capped at 25W wired charging. ETNews doesn't specify wired charging speeds, but longtime Samsung leaker UniverseIce reacted to the report saying the Galaxy S26 Ultra will support 60W wired charging, a notable bump over this year's 45W maximum speed. The same leaker mentioned the rumored wired charging speed upgrade a few days ago, claiming the Galaxy S26 Ultra will deliver significant improvements over its predecessors when it comes to maintaining a higher charging speed for longer.

Apple's iPhone 17 models that support 40W wired charging do not actually hit that theoretical maximum. However, the upgrade is significant compared to the iPhone 16's theoretical 20W wired charging rating that Apple offers. Unlike Samsung, Apple offers the same charging speeds across its lineup, with the iPhone Air being the exception this year. It's unclear at this time whether the standard Galaxy S26 and the Galaxy S26 Plus will support faster wired charging speeds than their predecessors.

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