Over the past 15 years, Samsung steadily increased the amount of RAM in its Galaxy S flagship phones, but the maximum capacity for the Galaxy S Ultra model has been the same for the past four years. There is one minor exception to that, but more on that later.

According to a new report, Samsung will finally make a change next year. The upcoming Galaxy S26 Ultra may boast the memory upgrade you have been waiting for and feature 16GB of RAM — or at least a 16GB RAM option worldwide, in addition to a 12GB variant.

In case you are confused, yes, the Galaxy S25 Ultra is technically available with 16GB of RAM, but that's only true for very few markets, so it doesn't count. At least this report by Macquarie Research (via Jukanlosreve) doesn't count it.

That's fair enough. The 16GB Galaxy S25 Ultra is not available globally. You'd be lucky to find it on sale in your market. For most, the flagship tops out at 12GB of RAM.

Now, according to a graph by Macquarie Research, the Galaxy S26 Ultra will boast a more widespread 16GB RAM option. By the looks of it, the Galaxy S26 Ultra should have 16GB of RAM worldwide or in most markets.

Samsung hasn't offered the Galaxy S premium phone with 16GB of RAM since 2021. Although the company used to pack its Ultra phones with 16GB of RAM four years ago, it cut back on this feature in 2022.

The Galaxy S20 Ultra and Galaxy S21 Ultra were the first and last to have 16GB of RAM options worldwide, while the four Ultra models that succeeded them maxed out at 12GB (with just that one 16GB exception for the S25 Ultra in very few markets).

2022 also marked the first time in a decade that Samsung went backward with the RAM capacity of its Galaxy S flagships. But after four years of stagnation, the Galaxy S26 Ultra might finally push the company back on track. The next-gen Ultra phone for 2026 could finally bring the RAM upgrade you've been waiting for all these years.

Meanwhile, Samsung's biggest rival, Apple, is also expected to offer an upgraded 12GB of RAM option for its upcoming iPhones this year but won't make the jump to 16GB anytime soon.

Samsung wanting a 16GB of RAM flagship phone makes even more sense in this context, seeing how the company has always been one step ahead of Apple in terms of RAM capacity. If Apple adopts 12GB this year, Samsung will want to maintain its advantage and jump to 16GB of RAM early next year. And, this time, there's probably no turning back.