At the end of February 2026, the new Samsung flagship Galaxy S26 was introduced on the global market and immediately hit the Russian market. Despite its price being lower than its predecessor, the starting price of 90 thousand rubles still looked like overpaying. After all, in many aspects Samsung continues to lag behind “Chinese” phones that can be ordered directly from China. But the blow came from where no one expected: now the Galaxy S26 has appeared on AliExpress, and there it’s cheaper not only than its Russian counterpart but also than many Chinese competitors.
Grab the Galaxy S26 on AliExpress. Image: Samuel Nam
Galaxy S26 Price in Russia and on AliExpress
The Galaxy S26 in Russia currently sells for 89,990 ₽. That’s a decent price for the 12/256 variant, since the same version of the Galaxy S25 launched at 109,990 ₽. So should you grab it?
You should, but not from Russian retail. No matter how you look at it, the Galaxy S26 on AliExpress is even cheaper. There it sells for 64,355 ₽, which is 30% less. And this is despite the smartphone being a brand-new release.
On AliExpress the price is much lower than in Russia
Additionally, the Galaxy S26 on AliExpress has a subtle but very significant advantage over the Russian version. Unlike the smartphone sold in Russia, it runs on the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 processor rather than the Exynos 2600.
Galaxy S26 with Snapdragon Processor
We’ve already covered in a separate article why the Galaxy S26 with Snapdragon is better than the Exynos variant. There you’ll find all the details. For now, it’s enough to look at the comparison of Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 and Exynos 2600 in AnTuTu.
AliExpress sells the more powerful version with a Snapdragon processor. Source: nanoreview.net
The Samsung on Snapdragon is 37% more powerful than its Russian counterpart. Just imagine: in Russia the smartphone is more expensive yet slower. So why, one might ask, subsidize domestic retail chains?
Why Galaxy S26 Is Better Than Galaxy S25
Before buying the Galaxy S26, it’s important to highlight its advantages over the predecessor, since the Galaxy S25 has dropped in price even more, as we’ve also discussed. So here are the main differences:
- updated camera module design;
- 25% performance boost;
- new One UI 8.5 and more future updates;
- larger screen and battery.
It’s obvious that the Galaxy S26 is better than the Galaxy S25. But is it worth buying? After all, AliExpress has plenty of Chinese flagships that continue to outperform Samsung smartphones in certain aspects.
Is the Galaxy S26 Worth Buying
The Galaxy S26 has a sparse package contents, and even by the standards of compact smartphones of 2026, its battery capacity is insufficient — just 4,300 mAh. But that’s no reason to immediately dismiss Samsung’s flagship. No matter how you look at it, the software is better. Plus the Galaxy S26 price is lower than that of the Xiaomi 17, for example. So why not get a Samsung?
Buying the Galaxy S26 is definitely worth it for brand fans. If you fundamentally aren’t looking for alternatives and are skeptical about smartphones from China, then there simply are no alternatives on Android. Google Pixel is a fundamentally lower tier.
