Galaxy S26 pre-order poll shows it’s one model or nothing for most of you

It’s the eve of Samsung’s next Galaxy Unpacked event, which means we’re expecting the Galaxy S26, S26 Plus, and S26 Ultra to finally go official tomorrow after months of steady leaks. By now, there aren’t many surprises left. Among other things, the Ultra’s new Privacy Display has been widely teased, we’re expecting a Snapdragon/Exynos split depending on region, and there are refreshed colors across the lineup. It’s shaping up to be a very typical Galaxy launch, which will probably also mean the usual wave of Samsung pre-order deals. With those pre-orders likely opening as soon as the event wraps up, we wanted to know if you’re planning to get your order in.

That’s what our latest poll asked. It was run in my colleague Joe Maring’s recent article, which argued that buying a Galaxy S25 right before the S26 arrives doesn’t make much sense. That’s solid advice, but this poll wasn’t about whether you agree with that take. Instead, we simply wanted to find out how many of you are ready to pre-order Samsung’s newest flagship as soon as it becomes available. The results below weren’t quite what we expected.

As the chart above shows, voters largely split into two clear camps, but it wasn’t a decision between two of the models. The Galaxy S26 Ultra alone accounted for 41% of the vote, while 40% said they don’t plan to pre-order any of the devices at all. By comparison, the standard Galaxy S26 drew 12% of responses and the S26 Plus just 6%, making them distant also-rans in this poll.

As someone who owns two of the Plus models from Galaxy S generations gone by, I was a bit surprised by these results. There have been moments in the past when the Plus was the most popular of the three as the middle road, but perhaps this voting outcome was more about the intentions of early adopters than those of buyers in general.

We’re not expecting much that’s groundbreaking about the Galaxy S26 series, so those most interested in value might not be too keen to get in at the pre-order stage. Perhaps those buyers will want to wait for the first discount in a major sale, or hope to see a big price drop on the Galaxy S25 series after launch. They may even be planning to just stick with their current daily driver for another year. The buyers most keen to be on the pre-order list are likely to have the budget and the desire to get the latest handset as soon as possible. With that disposition, why wouldn’t you go for the most powerful model?

That’s just one of the reasons we could attribute to this poll’s outcome. For example, we’re expecting the S26 Ultra to have a different chipset from the other two devices in many regions. It will also clearly be the most expensive of the trio, so pre-order deals may carry more weight when it comes to the Ultra. Whatever your reason for voting, the result is quite stark — let’s hope Samsung has appropriately stocked up on the top sibling in the series.