Samsung Unveils Galaxy S26 Series at San Francisco Unpacked Event

"K-Pop Demon Hunters director is here."

Moments before the "Galaxy Unpacked 2026" event began at the Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco on January 25 (local time), crowds gathered in the central aisle to catch a glimpse of Maggie Kang, director of the Netflix animation "K-Pop Demon Hunters." Kang drew camera flashes from attendees, heightening anticipation for the event. Songs from the K-Pop Demon Hunters soundtrack, including "Golden," played throughout the venue.

Samsung Electronics announced it collaborated with global film director Maggie Kang to produce the Unpacked stage presentation. Kang has established herself as a next-generation creator, producing works inspired by Korean culture for the global content market. She served as creative advisor for the event, participating in overall storytelling from the planning stage through presentation messaging, invitation design, and stage production elements.

Kang contributed not only to stage production elements designed to help audiences connect with newly unveiled technologies, but also to messaging about how technology enhances users' daily lives. The preparation process included offline workshops to discuss story direction and production elements.

Samsung previously collaborated with Kang at "Galaxy Unpacked 2025" in New York last year, featuring popular K-Pop Demon Hunters characters Magpie "Seossi" and Tiger "Duffy." Kang said, "Samsung serves as a special bridge connecting tradition and the future." She added, "Unpacked felt like cultural inspiration beyond a simple product launch—encompassing scale, energy, and people's attitudes toward technological innovation."

Samsung Electronics unveiled its third-generation artificial intelligence smartphone "Galaxy S26" series, ushering in the era of agentic AI phones. The company aims to widen its lead over competitors including Apple by returning its proprietary application processor to flagship models after two years and integrating Perplexity's voice assistant.

Samsung introduced three models at the event: Galaxy S26, S26 Plus, and S26 Ultra. The Galaxy S26 and S26 Plus feature the company's in-house "Exynos 2600" processor. This marks the first time Exynos has powered Samsung flagship smartphones since 2023. The series debuts AI agent Perplexity. Users can choose their preferred agent among Bixby, Google Gemini, and Perplexity for voice commands.

Attendees gasped during demonstrations of AI voice commands and the S26 Ultra's "Display Privacy" feature, which prevents side viewing of the screen.

Cheers erupted when BTS member Suga made a surprise appearance in the video announcing the "Galaxy Buds 4" wireless earphones. Suga said in the video, "Galaxy Buds 4 delivers the subtle tonal range intended in the studio without distortion." He added, "Enhanced active noise canceling provides studio-like immersion anywhere."

The Unpacked event was filmed using the Galaxy S26 Ultra, one of the models unveiled that day. Attendees marveled at the sharp image quality when the screen showed a camera operator capturing the venue with the Ultra model.