Compare / Galaxy S26 vs iPhone Air 1st gen

Galaxy S26 vs iPhone Air 1st gen

A side-by-side comparison of the Galaxy S26 and the iPhone Air 1st gen, covering display, chipset, memory, camera, battery and build.

Galaxy S26
Samsung
Galaxy S26

Overview

Display
Galaxy S26
6.3inch
AM-OLED · 120 Hz
1080 × 2340 · 411 PPI
iPhone Air 1st gen
6.6inch
AM-OLED · 120 Hz
1260 × 2736 · 460 PPI
Chip
Galaxy S26
Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 SM8850-1-AD for Galaxy (Kaanapali) 3 nm
4.74 GHz octa-core
Qualcomm Adreno 840 (1300 MHz) · Google Android 16 (Baklava)
iPhone Air 1st gen
Apple A19 Pro L APL1V12 T8150 (Thera) 3 nm
4.26 GHz hexa-core
Apple G18P MP5 (1470 MHz) · Apple iOS 26
Memory
Galaxy S26
12GB RAM
256 GB · 512 GB storage
No card slot
iPhone Air 1st gen
12GB RAM
256 GB · 512 GB · 1 TB storage
No card slot
Camera
Galaxy S26
50.3MP Main
12 MP Ultra Wide
10 MP Telephoto
12 MP selfie
7680x4320 pixel video
iPhone Air 1st gen
48MP
18 MP selfie
3840x2160 pixel video
Battery
Galaxy S26
4,300mAh
25 W wired · 15 W wireless
iPhone Air 1st gen
3,149mAh
18 W wired · 20 W wireless
Build
Galaxy S26
167g
149.6 × 71.7 × 7.2 mm
IP68
iPhone Air 1st gen
165g
156.2 × 74.7 × 11.3 mm
IP68
Connectivity
Galaxy S26
5GWi-Fi 7Bluetooth 5.4NFCe-SIM + Nano-SIM (4FF)USB C reversible USB 3.0 / 3.1 Gen 1 / 3.2 Gen 1x1
iPhone Air 1st gen
5GWi-Fi 7Bluetooth 6.0NFCe-SIMUSB C reversible USB 2.0

Specifications

Galaxy S26

Technology
GSM / HSPA / LTE / 5G
2G bands
GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900
3G bands
UMTS 2100 / 1900 / 1700/2100 / 850 / 900 - HSUPA, HSUPA 5.8, HSDPA, HSPA+ 21.1, DC-HSDPA 42.2
4G bands
LTE bands 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 12, 13, 14, 19, 20, 25, 26, 29, 30, 38, 39, 40, 41, 48, 66, 71 - 100/50, 150/50, 300/50, 300/75, 300/100, 400/150, 450/50, 450/100, 600/50, 600/100, 1000/100
5G bands
NR bands 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 8, 12, 20, 25, 38, 41, 66, 71, 77, 78 - 1500, 2600, 3700, 4600 data links
Dual SIM
SIM2 supports same bands as SIM1

iPhone Air 1st gen

Technology
GSM / HSPA / LTE / 5G
2G bands
GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900
3G bands
UMTS 2100 / 1900 / 1700/2100 / 850 / 900 - HSUPA, HSUPA 5.8, HSDPA, HSPA+ 21.1, DC-HSDPA 42.2
4G bands
LTE bands 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 12, 13, 17, 18, 19, 20, 25, 26, 28, 30, 32, 34, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 48, 53, 66 - 100/50, 150/50, 300/50, 300/75, 300/100, 400/150, 450/50, 450/100, 600/50, 600/100, 1000/100, 1200/200, 1600, 2000/300
5G bands
NR bands 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 8, 12, 20, 26, 25, 28, 30, 38, 40, 41, 48, 53, 66, 70, 75, 77, 78, 79 - 1500, 2600, 3700, 4600 data links
Dual SIM
SIM2 supports same bands as SIM1

Galaxy S26

Announced
2026 Feb 24
Status
Available. Released 2026 Mar 11

iPhone Air 1st gen

Announced
2025 Sep 9
Status
Available. Released 2025 Sep 19

Galaxy S26

Dimensions
149.6 × 71.7 × 7.2 mm
Weight
167 g
Build
Gorilla Glass Victus 2
SIM
e-SIM + Nano-SIM (4FF)
Protection
IP68 dust/water resistant (150 cm, 30 min)
Extras
Haptic touch feedback

iPhone Air 1st gen

Dimensions
156.2 × 74.7 × 11.3 mm
Weight
165 g
Build
Ceramic Shield 2
SIM
e-SIM
Protection
IP68 dust/water resistant (600 cm, 30 min)
Extras
Haptic touch feedback, Tactile touch feedback

Galaxy S26

Type
AM-OLED display, Dynamic AM-OLED, 16.8M colors, 120 Hz
Size
6.3 inches
Resolution
1080x2340 pixels (~411 PPI density), ~90.0% screen-to-body ratio
Protection
Gorilla Glass Victus 2
Touch
Capacitive multi-touch screen
Notch/Hole
1-hole

iPhone Air 1st gen

Type
AM-OLED display, Super Retina XDR, 1073.7M colors, 120 Hz
Size
6.6 inches
Resolution
1260x2736 pixels (~460 PPI density), ~90.1% screen-to-body ratio
Protection
Ceramic Shield 2
Touch
Capacitive multi-touch screen
Notch/Hole
1-hole

Galaxy S26

OS
Google Android 16 (Baklava)
Chipset
Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 SM8850-1-AD for Galaxy (Kaanapali) 3 nm
CPU
4.74 GHz octa-core
GPU
Qualcomm Adreno 840 (1300 MHz)

iPhone Air 1st gen

OS
Apple iOS 26
Chipset
Apple A19 Pro L APL1V12 T8150 (Thera) 3 nm
CPU
4.26 GHz hexa-core
GPU
Apple G18P MP5 (1470 MHz)

Galaxy S26

Card slot
No
Internal
512GB 12GB RAM, 256GB 12GB RAM
Interface
UFS 4.0

iPhone Air 1st gen

Card slot
No
Internal
1TB 12GB RAM, 1TB 12GB RAM, 512GB 12GB RAM, 256GB 12GB RAM

Galaxy S26

Triple

50.3 MP, f/1.80, 23mm, 3.0 x optical zoom, BSI CMOS, 1.00µm, PD AF, EIS, EIS (video), OIS, OIS (video), Pixel unification, HDR photo, HDR video, Red-eye reduction, Slow motion video, Burst mode, Refocus, Touch focus, Macro mode, Panorama Photo, Face detection, Face tagging, Smile detection, Face retouch, Face retouch (video), Intelligent scene detection

12.0 MP, f/2.20, 14mm, (ultrawide), BSI CMOS, 1.40µm, EIS (video), HDR photo, HDR video, Slow motion video, Burst mode, Touch focus, Macro mode, Panorama Photo, Face detection, Face tagging, Smile detection, Face retouch, Face retouch (video), Intelligent scene detection

10.0 MP, f/2.40, 67mm, (telephoto), BSI CMOS

Other features
single LED flash
Video
7680x4320 pixel

iPhone Air 1st gen

Single

48.0 MP, f/1.60, 26mm, 1.0 x optical zoom, BSI CMOS, 1.00µm, PD AF, EIS (video), OIS, OIS (video), Pixel unification, HDR photo, HDR video, Red-eye reduction, Slow motion video, Burst mode, Touch focus, Macro mode, Panorama Photo, Face detection, Face tagging, Smile detection, Face retouch, Face retouch (video), Intelligent scene detection

Other features
single LED flash
Video
3840x2160 pixel

Galaxy S26

Single

12.0 MP, f/2.20, BSI CMOS, PD AF, HDR photo, HDR video, Slow motion video, Burst mode, Touch focus, Panorama Photo, Face detection, Face tagging, Smile detection, Face retouch, Face retouch (video), Intelligent scene detection

Video
3840x2160 pixel

iPhone Air 1st gen

Dual

18.0 MP, f/1.90, BSI CMOS, PD AF, EIS, EIS (video), HDR photo, HDR video, Slow motion video, Burst mode, Panorama Photo, Face detection, Smile detection, Face retouch, Face retouch (video), Intelligent scene detection

Mono CMOS sensor (depth/mono)

Video
3840x2160 pixel

Galaxy S26

Loudspeaker
stereo
3.5mm jack
No
Audio features
Voice speakerSpeakerphoneANCHD VoiceVoLTEViLTE

iPhone Air 1st gen

Loudspeaker
mono
3.5mm jack
No
Audio features
Voice speakerSpeakerphoneANCHD VoiceVoLTEViLTE

Galaxy S26

WLAN
802.11a, 802.11b, 802.11g, 802.11n, 802.11r, 802.11ac, 802.11ax, 802.11be
Bluetooth
Bluetooth 5.4
Positioning
Simultaneous GPSA-GPSDual-frequency GPSGeotaggingQuickGPSQZSSSatellite SOS
Satellite details
GLONASS (L1OF, L2OF); Galileo (E1, E5a); BeiDou (B1c, B1I, B2a BeiDou receiver)
NFC
Yes
USB
USB C reversible USB 3.0 / 3.1 Gen 1 / 3.2 Gen 1x1
USB features
USB chargingUSB fast chargingUSB HostUSB OTG 1.3USB OTG 2.0USB PDUSB PD 2.0USB PD 3.0
Wireless features
DLNAMiracastWi-Fi DirectWi-Fi TetheringWiDiWi-Fi Calling

iPhone Air 1st gen

WLAN
802.11a, 802.11b, 802.11g, 802.11n, 802.11ac, 802.11ax, 802.11be
Bluetooth
Bluetooth 6.0
Positioning
Simultaneous GPSA-GPSDual-frequency GPSGeotaggingQuickGPSQZSSNavICSatellite MessageSatellite SOS
Satellite details
GLONASS (L1OF); Galileo (E1); BeiDou (B1I BeiDou receiver)
NFC
Yes
USB
USB C reversible USB 2.0
USB features
USB chargingUSB fast chargingUSB HostUSB OTG 1.3USB PDUSB PD 2.0
Wireless features
UMA, Wi-Fi Calling

Galaxy S26

Sensors
AccelerometerGyroCompassBarometerIn-screen FP sensorHallL sensorP sensorStep counterNFC
Software
Voice CommandBusiness card recognitionNavigation softwareAugmented Reality (AR)Virtual Reality (VR) supportIntelligent personal assistantVoice RecognitionFace Recognition

iPhone Air 1st gen

Sensors
AccelerometerGyroCompassBarometerL sensorP sensorStep counterIR face sensorNFC
Software
Voice CommandNavigation softwareAugmented Reality (AR)Intelligent personal assistantVoice RecognitionFace Recognition

Galaxy S26

Type
4300 mAh battery 16.77 Wh Li-ion
Charging
25.0 W charging wired, 15.0 W wireless (PMA, Qi, Qi2)
Nominal Battery Voltage
3.90 Volts

iPhone Air 1st gen

Type
3149 mAh battery 12.25 Wh Li-ion
Charging
18.0 W charging wired, 20.0 W wireless (Qi, MagSafe)
Nominal Battery Voltage
3.89 Volts

Galaxy S26

Models
SM-S942W Galaxy S26 5G TD-LTE CA 256GB
Price
CA$1,249.99
Market
North America
Countries
Canada
SAR (head)
1.190 W/kg
SAR (body)
1.200 W/kg

iPhone Air 1st gen

Models
iPhone Air 1st gen 5G A3517 Global Dual SIM TD-LTE 256GB
Price
999
Market
AfricaAsiaAustraliaCentral AmericaEastern EuropeEuropeMiddle EastNorth AmericaOceaniaSouth AmericaSoutheast AsiaWestern EuropeWorldwide
Countries
Afghanistan, Algeria, Argentina +83 more
SAR (head)
1.190 W/kg
SAR (body)
1.190 W/kg
2nd highest SAR (head)
1.490 W/kg
2nd highest SAR (body)
1.490 W/kg