Why no magnets in Galaxy S26? Samsung R&D chief explains | The Verge

Skip to main contentThe homepageThe homepageNavigation DrawerLogin / Sign UpcloseSubscribeComments DrawerCommentsLoading commentsGetting the conversation ready...NewsGadgetsTechWhy no magnets in Galaxy S26? Samsung R&D chief explainsIt’s the case problem.It’s the case problem.by Sean HollisterFeb 26, 2026, 9:57 PM UTCPhoto: Allison Johnson / The VergePart OfSamsung Unpacked 2026: everything announced at the February eventsee all updates Sean Hollister is a senior editor and founding member of The Verge who covers gadgets, games, and toys. He spent 15 years editing the likes of CNET, Gizmodo, and Engadget.Magnet rings have changed my life. I grip and mount and satisfyingly snap awesome accessories on and off my phone all day. Even Samsung sells neat ones, like these folding magnetic mirrors. But unlike Apple and Google, Samsung refuses to put the magnets inside the phone.Why? I asked Samsung’s Won-Joon Choi, the executive in charge of both R&D and operations for Samsung’s mobile business. He says the added thickness of magnets is a bad tradeoff to make, because you’re just going to buy a case anyhow.“About 80 or 90 percent of people are using a case, and cases with magnets are very popular these days,” he tells me.Samsung would rather use that extra height to give the phone a larger battery or make it thinner, he says.That doesn’t mean Samsung isn’t looking into magnets. “We’re still doing a lot of research to make sure we don’t have any sacrifice inside the phone; when we actually achieve that, we’ll integrate,” he says.Personally, I disagree with Choi’s premise. I want extra battery and magnets, and I’m willing to sacrifice thinness to get it. Phones are thin enough already, except for the ones that fold.And if Samsung took charge of the magnets like Apple, and replicated Apple’s standard pattern and strength, maybe the magnet case I use with my Galaxy S25 would properly and firmly hold onto magnetic battery packs without them rotating in place. Since there’s no magnets inside my phone, I’m at the mercy of casemakers.But I get it. Why make the tradeoff if someone will pay for a case anyhow? Seems like we need to ask Apple and Google why they chose differently.Follow topics and authors from this story to see more like this in your personalized homepage feed and to receive email updates.Sean HollisterGadgetsMobileNewsSamsungTechMore in: Samsung Unpacked 2026: everything announced at the February eventAI deepfakes are a train wreck and Samsung’s selling ticketsSean HollisterFeb 27Samsung exec confirms you can blame RAM — and other materials — for the Galaxy S26’s higher price tagSean HollisterFeb 26How the new Galaxy S26 phones compareSheena VasaniFeb 25Most PopularMost PopularPhones are going to get weird next weekNetflix walks away from its deal to buy Warner Bros. after Paramount came back with a better offerWhy no magnets in Galaxy S26? Samsung R&D chief explainsBurger King will use AI to check if employees say ‘please’ and ‘thank you’The Trump phone sure looks a lot like this HTC handsetAdvertiser Content FromThis is the title for the native adMore in NewsNASA is pushing back its plans for a Moon landingWarner Bros. Discovery agrees to $110 billion Paramount mergerTrump orders federal agencies to drop Anthropic’s AICISA is getting a new acting director after less than a yearFedEx will refund customers for Trump’s tariffs — if there ever are any refundsAI vs. the Pentagon: killer robots, mass surveillance, and red linesNASA is pushing back its plans for a Moon landingStevie BonifieldFeb 27Warner Bros. Discovery agrees to $110 billion Paramount mergerEmma RothFeb 27Trump orders federal agencies to drop Anthropic’s AIHayden Field and Richard LawlerFeb 27CISA is getting a new acting director after less than a yearStevie BonifieldFeb 27FedEx will refund customers for Trump’s tariffs — if there ever are any refundsEmma RothFeb 27AI vs. the Pentagon: killer robots, mass surveillance, and red linesStevie Bonifield2:19 AM UTCAdvertiser Content FromThis is the title for the native adTop StoriesFeb 27Smuggling podcasts into a Burmese prison8:00 AM UTCTenways nearly perfects the shareable city e-bikeFeb 27Warner Bros. Discovery agrees to $110 billion Paramount merger58 minutes agoXiaomi’s Leica Leitzphone mostly earns the nameTwo hours agoA legendary weather app makes a comebackFeb 27We don’t have to have unsupervised killer robots