News

Samsung Prepares For Feb 25th Galaxy Unpacked Event

Here’s what we know about the Korean tech giant’s upcoming San Francisco event, where the Galaxy S26 series will be unveiled.

Published

7 months ago

February 10, 2026

Joanna Melki

samsung prepares for february 25 galaxy unpacked event

Samsung will reveal the Samsung Galaxy S26 on February 25 at its Unpacked event in San Francisco, starting 10 a.m. PT. The date puts the launch a week ahead of Mobile World Congress, giving Samsung an early shot at leading the 2026 Android cycle.

The company has not detailed the agenda, but the S26 lineup is expected to anchor the show.

The event follows an already brisk start to the year. Samsung’s $2,899 Galaxy Z Trifold — its first twin-hinge foldable — sold out shortly after going on sale in the US. Now the focus shifts back to the core S series, where margins are thicker and scrutiny is higher, especially after Apple refreshed its lineup with the iPhone 17.

The S26 range is expected to stick to the familiar three-model structure: standard, Plus and Ultra. Earlier chatter about dropping the base model in favor of a pricier “Pro” has faded. Current leaks point to a modest update instead.

The standard S26 may edge up to a 6.3-inch display and a slimmer chassis. A raised camera bump could return. Camera changes remain unclear; some reports point to a 50-megapixel ultrawide, others suggest Samsung will hold the line at 12 megapixels. Expect 12GB of RAM, up to 512GB of storage and a 4,300mAh battery.

Chip strategy will likely split by region again. US and China units are tipped to run Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5. Other markets may get Samsung’s Exynos 2600.

The Plus model should retain its 6.7-inch screen and a 7.35mm profile. An Edge variant is less certain. Last year’s version arrived months later and reportedly underperformed. If Samsung keeps it alive, leaks suggest a 5.5mm body and a 4,200mAh battery.

Also Read: Samsung Confirms Galaxy S26 Privacy Display Mode

At the top end, the Ultra is expected to carry 16GB of RAM, up to 1TB of storage and a 5,000mAh battery, with charging speeds climbing to 60W wired and 25W wireless. Some reports indicate Samsung may switch back to an aluminum frame after using titanium in previous Ultra models.

AI will again headline the pitch. Samsung has already teased a privacy shield feature that obscures content when viewed from an angle, reportedly powered by selective on-device rendering. The company’s partnership with Nota AI could also accelerate text-to-image generation directly on the handset, cutting reliance on cloud processing.

New Galaxy Buds 4 and Buds 4 Pro are also expected, with minor design tweaks.

Galaxy Unpacked will set Samsung’s tone for the year. With premium buyers demanding more for higher prices, incremental updates may not be enough.

News

Egypt’s Mobile Wallets Are Booming, But Cash Still Has Power

Egypt’s telecom regulator says $57.6 billion moved through more than 57 million wallets in six months. And one operator handled 77% of the value.

Published

4 days ago

September 12, 2026

Nour Nasir

egypt's mobile wallets are booming but cash still has power

Egypt’s mobile wallets handled EGP 2.96 trillion ($57.6 billion) in transactions in the first half of 2026, according to the National Telecom Regulatory Authority – a 56% rise on the EGP 1.90 trillion ($36.9 billion) recorded a year earlier. Transactions grew faster still, up 62% to 2.22 billion, while registered wallets climbed 23% to 57.01 million.

On one reading, that is exactly what Egypt’s regulators have been pushing for: a payments system that runs through telecom-linked wallets rather than banknotes. But the same data shows how far cash still reaches into it. Cash withdrawals made up just 12% of the transactions taking money out of wallets, yet 75% of the value withdrawn or spent.

Money arrives mostly from bank accounts: transfers through InstaPay accounted for 78% of deposit transactions and 58% of the value deposited, while incoming remittances from abroad made up 3% of deposit transactions but 10% of their value. Once inside, it largely moves between wallets – wallet-to-wallet transfers accounted for 54% of all transactions and 67% of total value, with mobile and internet top-ups a distant second at 25% of volume. In effect, the wallet is serving as a transfer layer: the place money passes through between the bank account and the banknote.

That layer also runs predominantly through one operator. Vodafone Cash held 53% of registered wallets and 57% of active ones, but handled 69% of transactions and 77% of their value. Its nearest rival, e& money, held 23% of registered wallets but 14% of transaction value; Orange Cash 20% and 8%; WE Pay 4% of wallets. How many of the 57.01 million are active is not stated.

Also Read: Visa’s Return To Syria Starts With A Test And A Bank In Lebanon

Adoption is rather uneven in other respects. Men held 38 million wallets, or 67% of the total, against 19 million held by women. Users aged 26 to 45 accounted for half of all wallets, and Cairo alone had 10.6 million, or 19% of the national total, with Giza next at 6.5 million.

The NTRA says it is continuing to work with telecom operators on the regulatory framework for wallet services, part of a wider effort to expand electronic payments and financial inclusion. Its own figures show that effort succeeding on the way in. On the way out, three-quarters of the value still leaves as cash.