Samsung Galaxy S26 pre-orders are live, I've hunted down all the best deals available now

Samsung Galaxy S26 pre-orders are now alive and well, but not all trade-in offers and discounted accessory bundles are built equally. With Amazon and Samsung jostling for the best unlocked prices and T-Mobile and Verizon running their handset costs all the way down to zero, there's plenty of competition already. I've been running the numbers to find you the best Samsung Galaxy S26 pre-order deals in the US and UK right now.

To get straight down to business, those looking for an unlocked device should be heading to Samsung or Amazon in the US. The former is offering larger trade-in promotions, but if you don't have a device to hand over Amazon has a far more flexible $100 gift card up for grabs. Looking to add a new line? Verizon and T-Mobile will both give you a free handset for signing up, but T-Mobile has the cheaper activation cost.

If you're in the UK, EE has the best plan deal available now, with big trade-in discounts and savings on its monthly SIM plans as well. Meanwhile, Samsung is doubling your storage for free with its own additional savings as well.

With that beefy Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 processor at the helm, the Ultra model could well take on some of the best gaming phones on the market right now, but smaller upgrades see cheaper models offering their own benefits as well. You'll find all the best Samsung Galaxy S26 pre-order deals in the US and UK just below.

Samsung Galaxy S26 pre-order deals in the US

Unlocked

Samsung | Get up to $900 off with trade-in / $150 Samsung credit
Got an old phone to get rid of as you upgrade? Samsung will give you up to $900 off the price of your Samsung Galaxy S26 pre-order ahead of launch. Don't want to give up your old device? You can also opt for a $150 Samsung credit instead.

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Unlocked

Amazon | Free storage upgrade + $100 Amazon gift card
If you want to buy your new phone outright but don't want to be tied to Samsung's own credit, Amazon is also offering a compelling S26 pre-order deal right now. You're getting a boost up to 512GB of storage for free and a $100 Amazon gift card at the same time.

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Plan

T-Mobile | Free handset with a new line, $40 off Galaxy Buds4 Pro
T-Mobile is offering a free Samsung Galaxy S26 pre-order when you add a new line on an Experience Beyond plan (for the Ultra) or Experience More / Go5G Plus plans (for the S26+). You can also grab yourself $40 off the Galaxy Buds4 Pro at the same time. T-Mobile's activation fee is $35.

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Plan

Verizon | Free handset with Unlimited Ultimate or Unlimited Plus plans
Verizon is also throwing in a free Samsung Galaxy S26 pre-order with certain phone plans, though its activation fee is a little higher than T-Mobile's at $40.

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Unlocked

Best Buy | Get up to $1,100 off with trade-in, free storage boost
Best Buy is also offering some hefty trade-in reductions if you're levelling up by a single generation. A regular Galaxy S24 tied to a carrier and in good condition will net you $400 off the final price, though.

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Samsung Galaxy S26 pre-order deals in the UK

Unlocked

Samsung | Free storage upgrade, £100 off with PayPal, up to £607 off with trade-in
There's a whole menu of pre-order benefits available over at Samsung. The site is giving everyone a free boost to 512GB of storage as standard, but you can also score additional savings by paying with PayPal or trading in your own phone. The brand also has 10% off Galaxy Buds and Watches as well as 30% off cases.

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Plan

EE | Up to £696 off with trade-in + up to £20 off per month with 125GB Essentials plan + £336 off Galaxy Watch8
EE's rolling out a whole roster of Samsung Galaxy S26 pre-order deals, from a chunk of change off your initial purchase with a trade-in all the way through to savings on smartwatches to boot. That £696 trade-in amount is also the largest of the UK's retailers right now.

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What's new with the Samsung Galaxy S26?

The Samsung Galaxy S26 is the brand's latest range of flagship smartphones, spanning the base S26, the S26+ and the S26 Ultra. The new generation is focusing on its 'Galaxy AI experiences', but in everyday life it's more of an iterative update on what came before.

The S26 juices up its charging abilities with Super Fast Charging 3.0 and doubles its starting storage at 256GB, while also sporting a boosted processor under the hood. Samsung reckons you'll get 23% improved graphics performance and 7% faster processing out of its new entry level handset, with the brand's ProScaler display tech giving that screen a boost in impact as well.

Most notably for those looking for a gaming device, Samsung has beefed up its vapor chamber cooling, reportedly improving heat dissipation by 29%.

The Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra boosts screen size up to 6.9-inches, but carries additional weight in the process, with the full power of a Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chipset (the same processor that broke my benchmark records inside the RedMagic 11 Pro recently). It also adds a QHD+ AMOLED display, where the S26 only runs at a FHD+ resolution.

I'm also hunting down all the best gaming tablets, but if you're after more portable play options check out the best gaming handhelds and best mobile controllers.