The Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra is, by most measures, the best Android phone you can buy in Kenya right now. It is also one of the most expensive. With prices starting around KES 147,000 for the base 256GB model and climbing past KES 190,000 for the 1TB variant, it is firmly out of impulse-buy territory for most Kenyans.
LOOP is positioning its buy now, pay later product, LOOP FLEX, as the bridge between wanting the phone and actually owning it. Through the LOOP Discover marketplace on the LOOP app, customers can purchase the Galaxy S26 Ultra on flexible monthly instalments rather than paying the full amount upfront.
The deal also comes with a sweetener: a free Samsung Galaxy Watch 8 or Samsung Galaxy Buds 4 bundled with the purchase, available through participating retail partners including Ropem, Generations Electronics, and Jaicom.
How LOOP FLEX works
LOOP FLEX is a buy now, pay later (BNPL) credit facility that launched in Kenya in late 2025 through a partnership between LOOP and global insurtech bolttech. It allows customers to finance device purchases and repay in monthly instalments over a flexible period of up to 12 months.
To qualify for the Galaxy S26 Ultra deal, your LOOP FLEX credit limit needs to be at least 60 per cent of the phone’s value. That means if the device costs KES 150,000, you would need a FLEX limit of at least KES 90,000 to proceed. You also need to be fully registered on LOOP, have no overdue loans, and accept the terms and conditions.
The process itself is straightforward. Open the LOOP app, navigate to the LOOP Discover section, select the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra deal, choose LOOP FLEX as your payment method at checkout, and complete the purchase.
One thing worth noting: LOOP has not publicly disclosed the specific interest rates or total repayment costs for this particular deal. According to earlier reporting by TechMoran, LOOP FLEX carries a facility fee of 4 per cent of the disbursed amount plus applicable excise duty, with risk-based pricing that varies per customer. Prospective buyers should confirm the full cost of ownership directly through the LOOP app before committing.
What you are actually buying
The Galaxy S26 Ultra is Samsung’s top-tier flagship for 2026. It runs on a customised Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 processor with 12GB of RAM (16GB on the 1TB variant) and features a 6.9-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X display with a 120Hz refresh rate and up to 2,600 nits of peak brightness.
The headline hardware addition this year is the Privacy Display. It is the first smartphone to include a built-in privacy screen that narrows the viewing angle when activated, making the display difficult to read from the side. This is useful for anyone who regularly handles sensitive information in public spaces, whether on a matatu, in a coffee shop, or at a co-working space. It can be toggled on for the full screen or set to activate only for specific apps and notifications.
The camera system is led by a 200MP main sensor with a wider f/1.4 aperture compared to its predecessor, paired with a 50MP periscope telephoto (5x optical zoom), a 10MP telephoto (3x optical zoom), and a 50MP ultrawide lens. Galaxy AI enhancements handle real-time photo processing, improving lighting and detail without manual editing.
Samsung has also promised seven years of Android and security updates, which means the device should remain current and secure well into 2033. For a phone at this price point, that long-term commitment is a meaningful part of the value proposition.
Battery capacity sits at 5,000mAh with support for 60W wired fast charging (reaching 75 per cent in about 30 minutes) and 25W wireless charging.
The bigger picture
LOOP has been steadily building out its Discover marketplace as a lifestyle commerce layer, trying to evolve beyond a simple payments app into something closer to a super-app. Device financing through LOOP FLEX is a central part of that strategy.
The approach makes commercial sense. Kenya’s smartphone market has moved decisively upmarket over the past few years, with flagship devices becoming aspirational purchases for a growing segment of consumers. But the gap between aspiration and affordability remains wide. BNPL products like LOOP FLEX aim to close that gap, and bundling protection against theft, accidental damage, and mechanical breakdown through the bolttech partnership adds an extra layer of security that standalone retailers typically do not offer.
That said, BNPL is still credit. The total cost of the device will be higher than the sticker price once interest and fees are factored in. The convenience of spreading payments needs to be weighed against the reality that you are taking on a financial obligation. Kenya’s BNPL sector now falls under Central Bank of Kenya regulation following the signing of the Business Laws (Amendment) Bill in December 2024, which adds a measure of consumer protection to the space.
For anyone who has been eyeing the Galaxy S26 Ultra but could not justify the upfront cost, LOOP FLEX offers a structured path to ownership. Just make sure you read the terms carefully before you tap “confirm.”
