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Chris Hall

A genuine Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra upgrade might have been revealed in hidden code

Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra review.
Quick Summary

Samsung could add faster wireless charging to the Galaxy S26 Ultra, according to a leak in unreleased software.

This suggests a move to 25W charging, most likely to support Qi2.2 standards.

The leaks about Samsung's next-gen flagship phone just won't stop, with the most recent pointing to an upgrade in the charging that the phone will offer. That not only suggests a boost to 60W wired charging, but an upgrade to faster wireless charging too – and it can't come soon enough.

The biggest criticism of Samsung phones alongside many of its rivals, is that the charging speeds are pretty slow. Maxing out at 45W when rivals are offering 100W or more, means that those charging Samsung phones a left waiting a little longer.

There's a reason for that: Samsung was burnt by the Galaxy Note 7 battery debacle almost a decade ago and has generally kept battery capacity and charging speeds more moderate since. That's unusual for a company that's generally pushed the boundaries in other areas of smartphone tech.

Sticking to slower speeds is better for battery health, so the emergence of rumours about faster charging on the new Galaxy S26 Ultra are interesting, because it suggests that Samsung is cautiously taking a step forward.

That 60W charging looks to be accompanied with faster wireless charging, with the details contained with information uncovered in One UI 8.5, according to Android Authority. That highlights something called "Super fast wireless charging", something that current Samsung phones don't benefit from. At the moment, they only offer 15W wireless charging.

Exactly how fast "super fast" will be remains to be seen, but considering that "fast" tops out at 15W, there's a chance that "super fast" will only be 25W. That would neatly align the Galaxy S26 Ultra with Qi2.2 charging (also called Qi2 25W), a format that it could support.

Currently, only the iPhone 17 and Pixel 10 Pro XL offer this 25W charging using Qi2.2 standard devices, with other brands supporting faster wireless charging through proprietary solutions. The advantage of using a standard like Qi2.2 is compatibility with universal accessories (not to mention the magnets), instead of having to buy a particular brand's charger just to fast charge the phone you currently happen to have.

This could be a genuine upgrade and a great opportunity for accessories for the Galaxy S26 Ultra if it is going to support that Qi2.2 standard for faster wireless charging.

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