Although it’s currently only available to buy in Malaysia, we’re keen to see how the top-end Honor 600 Pro compares to the Samsung Galaxy S26.
Ahead of our review, we’ve compared the specs of the two Android phones and highlighted all the noteworthy differences between them below. Keep reading to learn more about what separates the Honor 600 Pro from the Samsung Galaxy S26.
Not sold on either handset? Our best Android phones and best mid-range phones should have you covered.
Price and Availability
At the time of writing, the Honor 600 Pro is only available to buy in Malaysia although it will see a more global launch in the coming weeks.
The Galaxy S26 is part of Samsung’s 2026 flagship S-series. With a starting RRP of £899/$899, the S26 is the most affordable of the line-up.
Snapdragon 8 Elite vs Exynos 2600
Samsung caused something of a stir when the S26 series first launched, as it was revealed that while US customers see Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 for Galaxy across the entire line-up, elsewhere the Galaxy S26 and S26 Plus are fitted with Exynos 2600.
Even so, Samsung promises there shouldn’t be any differences in performance between Exynos 2600 and Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5. In fact, we found that the phone benchmarked strongly against the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5-equipped Ultra variant.
Otherwise, and as expected, the S26 runs brilliantly for everything from scrolling and taking photos to even intense gaming sessions too. So, although it may not boast a Qualcomm chip, it’s still a solid performer.
Instead, Honor 600 Pro runs on Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Elite – the brand’s 2025 flagship. With this in mind, while it will likely struggle to reach the heights of Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 and Exynos 2600, it is still a great chip that powered many of the best Android phones last year.
Honor 600 Pro has a larger battery
Samsung isn’t known for equipping its phones with mighty batteries, and the Galaxy S26 is no exception. In fact, with a 4300mAh cell, it’s actually on the smaller side. Having said that, we still found the S26 to be a solid all-day phone, especially for those who average around three to four hours of screen time a day.
In comparison, the Honor 600 Pro sports a mammoth 7000mAh cell. We’ll have to wait until we review the Honor 600 Pro to see how its battery life really measures up, however we’d hope that such a large cell will result in at least a full day, or even a two-day charge.
Honor 600 Pro is IP68, IP69 and IP69K rated
Durability should be a key consideration when you’re buying a new phone, and it’s fair to say that Honor doesn’t want you to take any chances with the 600 Pro. In fact, with IP68, IP69 and IP69K ratings, not only is the handset dust-tight but it can survive water submersion and even exposure to high pressure and high temperature water jets too.
That undoubtedly sounds impressive on paper, but we’d argue that perhaps IP69 and IP69K ratings aren’t that necessary. After all, how often will your phone realistically be exposed to water jets?
Samsung takes a more realistic approach, as the Galaxy S26 is equipped with a simple IP68 rating instead. That means it’s dust-tight and can survive water submersion too.
Honor 600 Pro has a 200MP main lens
Both phones are fitted with three rear lenses, including a main, ultrawide and a telephoto, however they differ with their exact resolutions and offerings.
The Galaxy S26’s camera hardware may seem a bit familiar, as Samsung hasn’t made any major changes in the last few series. This is a shame as, although overall the camera hardware is solid, it’s starting to show its age – especially as it needs to compete with the likes of the best camera phones.
While the main 50MP lens is the strongest of the three, and can cope across most lighting conditions, the ultrawide is easily the weakest of the bunch. It’s fine in bright conditions, but image quality drops quickly in difficult lighting situations, with images looking grainy and rough. Finally, the 3x telephoto works well in specific scenarios, but it can struggle to completely lock focus with an object.
The Honor 600 Pro is instead fitted with an impressive sounding 200MP main camera that’s supported by a 50MP 3.5x zoom and a 12MP ultrawide. As we’re yet to review the Honor 600 Pro, we’ll have to wait and see how the hardware really performs. However, Honor promises that the camera set-up should offer true-to-life colour reproduction, impressive stability and better shots taken at night too.
Honor AI vs Galaxy AI
Is it even a smartphone in 2026 if there isn’t a sprinkling of AI features? Both the Honor 600 Pro and Galaxy S26 are equipped with plenty of AI tools, including access to Google Gemini too.
You’ll likely have heard of Galaxy AI, as the toolkit is arguably one of the most fleshed out available, with genuinely useful features including an array of photo editing capabilities, Live Translate and more.
In comparison, the Honor 600 Pro has its own dedicated AI button that opens up what’s arguably Honor’s headline feature: AI Image to Video 2.0. This tool allows you to turn up to three images into a short video, with just a few prompts.
Otherwise, like Galaxy AI, there are photo editing features to remove unwanted objects from images, plus the Honor 600 Pro includes AI scam and deepfake detection too.
Early Verdict
It’s difficult to compare the Honor 600 Pro and Samsung Galaxy S26 fairly, as we don’t know how much the former will cost in the UK. Having said that, if you want a phone with a larger battery, a fairly recent Qualcomm chip and an intriguing camera set-up, then the Honor 600 Pro could be the one for you.
On the other hand, if you want to play around with a more established set of AI features, want a reliable camera set-up and are in Samsung’s ecosystem, then the Galaxy S26 remains a tough one to beat.
We’ll be sure to update this versus once we review the Honor 600 Pro.
