Deals: first discounts for the Galaxy S26 and the S26 Ultra, the Poco X8 Pro series launches

The Samsung Galaxy S26 series launched globally on Wednesday last week, which means that this was its first full week of sales – and the prices are already dropping.

The Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra 512GB is down to €1,230 – that’s 25% off! It’s the most popular of the S26 trio around the world and with good reason. It’s the most updated phone this generation with some tangible improvements. We’ll skip S26+ here – it’s €1,120 for a 512GB unit, which is the same price as last week. However, the €110 upcharge to the Ultra model is worth every euro.

The vanilla Samsung Galaxy S26 received some much-needed upgrades over its 2025 predecessor too. The discount on the 512GB model is now 28%, which makes this one of the better-priced 6.3” flagships. And there are several 6.3” alternatives to choose from (Pixel 10 Pro, vivo X300), though none of them have good offers this week.

For some reason, Amazon has new Galaxy S24 Ultra units in stock – yes, the 2024 flagship. It’s €865 for a 512GB unit right now. The Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 is getting a bit long in the tooth and you’ll miss out on the battery life and charging speed upgrades too. No Privacy Display either. However, the phone has a Bluetooth-enabled S Pen and a titanium shell, which is more than can be said of the S26 Ultra.

The X8 Pro series is new this week and the Poco X8 Pro Max impressed in our review – it’s a very affordable phone that lives up to the “flagship killer” ethos. The Max punches above its price in most categories with the notable exception of the camera. It’s not a bad camera by any means, it’s just the only visibly mid-range part on the phone. The Dimensity 9500s is fast, the 6.83” Dolby Vision-enabled display is bright and sharp and the 8,500mAh battery was just 13 minutes shy of topping our battery chart. A great showing for a sub-€500 phone.

The Poco X8 Pro is more in line with previous entries, particularly the X7 Pro. It’s priced €100 or so less than the Max. It is powered by the Dimensity 8500 Ultra and a 6,500mAh battery with 100W wired charging – its endurance is not quite chart-topping, but it’s certainly enough to get you through the day. This is a slightly smaller phone with a 6.59” Dolby Vision OLED display.

The Redmi Note 15 Pro is priced below the Poco X8 Pro Max, but the gap isn’t all that big. It has the same display, though the Dimensity 7400 Ultra is on the lower-end of the performance scale. Also, the 6,580mAh battery with 45W charging is good for a mid-ranger, while the Max battery is one of the very best on the market. And this one has a plastic frame instead of aluminum like the Poco.

So, why would you ever care about this over the X8 Pro Max? The Redmi Note 15 Pro has a 200MP 1/1.4” sensor in its main camera. Is that worth it? Probably not – it’s a good camera, but you lose too much in the other categories.

The Motorola Edge 70 price dropped sharply a while back and then it spent several weeks bouncing up and down. Now it finds itself at a new low – €480 for a 512GB phone. This is a slender 6.0mm phone that weighs just 159g.

And yes, the 4,800mAh battery isn’t huge, but with an Active Use score of 13:36h it should be enough for most people. It’s fast to charge too with 68W wired (41 min to full) plus 15W wireless charging. The phone has a 6.7” OLED display, a Snapdragon 7 Gen 4 chipset and a 50+50MP dual camera (wide + ultra-wide).

The vivo V70 is on the pricey side even after applying the €50 voucher. However, it’s the rare kind of mid-ranger that has a telephoto camera – a 50MP 3x/73mm unit. Joining it are a 50MP main (1/1.56”) and an 8MP ultra-wide, plus a 50MP selfie camera (the V-series has a focus on selfies).

The V70 measures 7.4mm thick and weighs 187g, but it packs a 6,500mAh battery. In our tests it outlasted the Moto with an Active Use score of 16:52h and it’s fast to charge with a 90W adapter (0-100% in 52 minutes). Note that Amazon is including a free 90W FlashCharge adapter with the V70.

The Realme GT 8 Pro is a sub-€1,000 flagship that uses the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 and features a 6.79” 1440p+ non-LTPO display. The camera system includes a 50MP main (1/1.56”), 200MP 3x/65mm telephoto (1/1.56” sensor) and a 50MP ultra-wide (116°). It has a massive 7,000mAh battery with fast 120W wired and 50W wireless charging and an endurance that eclipses the S26 Ultra.

The Poco F8 Ultra is €200 less, but it comes with the same Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chipset and a larger 6.9” Dolby Vision display (the resolution is lower, though, 1,200 x 2,608px). The camera has a larger 50MP main sensor (1/1.31”), while the telephoto module combines a smaller 50MP 1/2.76” sensor with a longer 5x/115mm lens.

The 6,500mAh battery is comparable too – it achieved an Active Use score of 18:52h vs. 20:24h for the Realme. A full charge using a 100W adapter takes 39 minutes. For the Realme, it’s 40 minutes with a 120W charger. Both have 50W wireless charging.

The Poco F8 Pro is also worth a look – it’s powered by last year’s Snapdragon 8 Elite and a 6,210mAh battery (17:35h Active Use score) with 100W wired-only charging (39 minutes to full). It has a 50MP main camera (1/1.55”), a 50MP 2.5x/60mm (1/2.88”) telephoto and an 8MP ultra-wide. Pricing is key here, with a 512GB F8 Pro being 33% cheaper than a 512GB F8 Ultra.

Finally, a reminder that the Nothing Phone (4a) Pro is currently on pre-order and will launch on Friday next week. There’s still time to ponder, we just wanted to point out the €50 pre-order discount.

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