Samsung’s 60W Galaxy S26 Ultra finally charges fast, but only because it has a slow battery size

One of the main improvements hidden in the new Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra It’s fast 60W wired USB-C charging. This is the most powerful USB-C charging implementation Samsung has ever implemented in a smartphone, finally bringing the phone closer to the capabilities it offers. best Android rivals have offered for the better part of a decade. Unfortunately, the S26 Plus is limited to 45W, while the regular Galaxy S26 remains at a modest 25W. But Samsung has to start somewhere.

Before we take a closer look at what exactly Samsung’s revamped charging spec means for the Galaxy S26 Ultra, a little note on how it works and what it takes to achieve it.

Samsung has long used the USB Power Delivery PPS Specification for fast charging, and the move to 60W is essentially a more powerful version of this existing spec. To get the most out of it, you’ll need a USB PD 3.1 charger with PPS capabilities and 20V/3A from a single port. While PPS is becoming more widespread in modern chargers, the 20V requirement is not as common.

If you’re not sure if your current charger meets the requirements, your best bet is probably to purchase Samsung’s official 60W power adapter ($54.99 at Samsung). There are third-party options available, but it’s not always clear if they support Samsung’s required 20V mode of operation. Samsung supplies a 3A cable with the Ultra, which should be sufficient. A 5A cable won’t make the phone charge faster, but it’s still not a bad upgrade to ensure ample thermal headroom and will also be useful for charging laptops with 100W requirements.

The most obvious benefit of having more power is that the Galaxy S26 Ultra charges faster than its 45W predecessor. We recorded that the phone took just 42 minutes to fill up, compared to 54 minutes for the Galaxy S25 Ultra and 62 minutes for the S24 Ultra. A 20-minute improvement in two years is pretty good. It’s worth noting, however, that charging appears to stop at a higher power level than previous models, suggesting Samsung is treating the 100% charge level a little differently this year.

Regardless, the S26 Ultra’s 60W power boost also makes the phone faster for faster recharges. The phone reaches 37% and 85% after 10 and 30 minutes of connection, respectively, compared to 32% and 78% in the same time for its predecessor. That’s not a huge improvement, as the Galaxy S26 Ultra only supports 60W for about 2 minutes before turning the power back down to a level similar to previous models.

The real reason the Galaxy S26 Ultra charges faster than last year’s model isn’t actually the 60W headline-grabber; This is because it maintains a power level of around 48W for a considerable amount of time – about 16 minutes or about 60% of the charge cycle. By comparison, the Galaxy S25 dropped to around 38W after just eight minutes plugged in. However, there is a downside here. The new model reaches a maximum charging temperature of 39.6°C (°F), compared to 35.3°C (°F) last year. That’s not worryingly hot, but it does draw attention to the long-term battery health compared to previous models that were more conservative.

But I shouldn’t complain too much here; faster charging always generates more heat and is still an option we would prefer to have. You can always use an older, slower charger at lower temperatures.

On paper, Samsung’s move to 60W charging looks much more competitive with the fastest-charging phones on the market, and the headline metrics back it up, too. It will recharge up to 100% as fast as the OnePlus 15 and keeps up with the 90W Xiaomi 17 Ultra when it comes to hitting key 25% and 50% milestones when you’re in a hurry.

As shown in the graph below, Samsung’s maximum power is not as high as our two rival phones. The OnePlus 15 can maintain a maximum power of around 60W for longer, while the latest Xiaomi flagship maintains around 70W for a few minutes longer. Still, Samsung’s ability to maintain reasonably high power, like its rivals, helps keep it competitive with these models that boast slightly higher raw power levels.

However, there is a caveat to this seemingly very competitive exhibition. The Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra has a smaller battery than these Chinese flagships that have quickly embraced the capacity benefits of Silicon-carbon battery technology. The Galaxy S26 Ultra has a decent 5,000 mAh cell, but it’s dwarfed by the Xiaomi’s 6,000 mAh and the OnePlus 15’s 7,300 mAh batteries, both of which should offer longer battery life of several days.

It’s all about winning some and losing some with the Galaxy S26 Ultra. Without a doubt, the adoption of 60W charging is a win for Samsung fans, greatly improving the phone’s charging times and making it a more reliable companion when there’s only time for a quick recharge. Minor temperature offsets are perfectly acceptable. However, while Samsung has moved forward with charging power, its rival has gone even further with even greater battery capacities while maintaining highly competitive charging times. Viewed this way, Samsung’s 60W charging upgrade isn’t all that impressive.

But perhaps the biggest drawback is that only the Ultra benefits from Samsung’s charging update. I’m sure Galaxy S26 customers would really appreciate a boost to the phone’s lackluster charging capabilities even more than Ultra fans.