Samsung Galaxy S26, S26 Plus, and S26 Ultra are the first phones to ship with One UI 8.5; among these, the Ultra variant has some extra headspace in the taskbar compared to its predecessor.

It can be confirmed that the One UI 8.5 has an increased margin from the taskbar icons to the top bezel than the S25 Ultra with the same software version. This difference is quite apparent when you bring the two device closers, and screenshots make this absolute. Check the comparison below (focus on the black horizontal line to measure the margin difference).

This change may be highly influenced by the larger corner radius. Previously, Samsung had sufficient accurate margin on all sides with fewer rounds on the corners, thus supporting the UI to maintain its existing margins. However, that might not be the only reason behind this headspace expansion.

It is speculated that this headspace change could be due to a new selfie camera, which is wider than the S25 Ultra. Furthermore, the front camera hole is larger than the predecessor’s, which is another reason why One UI 8.5 had to adjust the taskbar items to a lower alignment for the Galaxy S26 Ultra.

Besides this new change, the taskbar works as usual, but it might be an indicator that future Galaxy Ultra phones will maintain this taskbar UI margin.

Author’s Take

This is a tiny but noticeable change, and shows the complication in bringing new devices and hardware upgrades. It doesn’t impact the user experience, and first-time users won’t see any major difference, but it’s hard for me to let it slip.

On the other hand, Samsung has already given up on those Note-like corners, and the new design is likely to stay for the next few years. We’ll see what Samsung comes up with the Galaxy S27 Ultra in 2027.

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Samsung Galaxy S series has one of the longest rumors and leaks streak in the Android ecosystem, and that orange color rumor for the S26 Ultra was the wildest.

Galaxy S Series has a huge demand among Android phone users, which continues to grow with new releases. Each year, the rumors get more attention due to the anticipation for the next-gen smartphone, such as the Galaxy S26 series.

In Q4 of 2025, a rumor circulated over the internet that Samsung may launch an orange color for the Galaxy S26 Ultra. In the following days, 3rd party renders and photoshopped images began to flow online, and this speculation took an aggressive turn.

Credit – AndroidHeadlines

However, everyone noticed that the rumor appeared after the iPhone 17 Pro launch. These new iPhones have become the first to mainstream the new orange color, and it looks beautiful, to be honest. Apple’s only way to bring this new orange color to the iPhone lineup was to give up on using titanium and replace it with a new aluminum alloy. Eventually, the company successfully implemented this change to the iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max.

Over the past few years, a few of Samsung’s big decisions have been widely influenced by Apple. Some of you might argue, but it’s quite evident, for example, Apple cut off the charger from the retail box, Samsung followed. iPhones adopted titanium, Galaxy flagships followed, and iPhone 17 Pro escaped titanium, so did Galaxy S26 Ultra.

The chain of follow-ups provided a solid ground for rumors that Samsung will again follow Apple and launch an orange color. Though Samsung gave up on titanium, the phone maker didn’t launch an orange Galaxy S26 Ultra and kept this rumor on the shelf.

Meanwhile, Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra in six colors: cobalt violet, sky blue, white, black, and two online exclusive – pink gold and silver shadow.

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This week, Samsung released the 7th One UI 8.5 beta with a bunch of bug fixes, but a hands-on of the new software reveals an important change I’ve been waiting for since the very beginning.

The latest beta has smoothed user interactions and reduced frame lag, which has been persistent during the lock screen unlock in some scenarios. Not just the lock screen, but some of the menu options have been facing the same issue. Overall, the software feels lighter than before due to improved responsiveness.

The beta 7 accounts for about 1GB of total downloadable size, which suggests it may include additional hidden changes, obviously not mentioned in the changelog. You may only notice these changes with hands-on experience.

We can say that the version adds another important layer of improvement to the One UI 8.5 beta program. It is not the final release, but the software appears to have reached stability.

Yet reports suggest we may see an 8th beta this month. If so, we may have a good chance of seeing the stable One UI 8.5 rollout in April, as previously speculated.

Through February, Samsung was preparing for the Galaxy S26 series launch event. Now that’s done, its focus and resources have shifted to One UI 8.5 expansion, starting with the S25 series.

There’s another major development from the past week: the Galaxy Z Fold 7 and Flip 7 have entered the One UI 8.5 test pool. These are the first devices to test the latest One UI version after the Galaxy S25 series.

Image via

Author’s Take

One UI 8.5 comes as the most decorated software update Samsung has ever released. It has graphics and animation improvements that improve the user experience. However, beta testers’ feedback has enabled Samsung developers to quash bugs and improve the areas that were compromising the user experience.

The 7th One UI 8.5 beta has worked in the same direction and provided a much-needed fix to issues from the 6th installment. We hope to see the program closing very soon, but it wouldn’t be too much to say that Samsung is stretching the beta campaign intentionally.

Still, fixing and preparing the software for a fully stable experience is important, and we could give the phone maker a pass on that.

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AI has become the core of Samsung’s device ecosystem, and it’s wasting no time in shipping stock wallpapers with your mobile; instead, it’s giving new tools to let you create ones that reflect your imagination.

For example, One UI offers a generative AI wallpaper feature with templates and allows users to remix them to generate new wallpapers. On the other hand, the weather wallpaper sets a weather effect based on your location.

However, One UI 8.5 lets you dive deeper into the generative AI with Creative studio. Initially launched as Drawing Assist, the creative studio supports text prompts, which you can’t do with the Generative tool.

The interface is basically the same as the Creative studio, but integrated with wallpaper features. For example, once you generate an image, the screen will redirect you to set it as wallpaper, instead of saving it to the gallery.

How to create wallpapers with Creative Studio

Go to wallpapers and select the Create with AI section. Here, you will see the Creative studio. Tap on Create or select from the existing wallpapers and edit them instead.

Generating wallpapers with the Creative Studio tool in One UI 8.5

Creating a new wallpaper is easy; you need to select an art style in which your wallpaper will be generated. Then write the prompt. You can also sketch, draw, or choose an image from the Gallery.

Generating wallpapers with Creative Studio tool in One UI 8.5

Image generation may take a few seconds; afterward, the screen will display the result. If you aren’t satisfied, generate another with the tap of a button.

Author’s Take

Creative assist is a great way to unleash your inner creation, and integrating it into the settings provides an instant solution for ready-to-use wallpapers.

Galaxy S26 series users with One UI 8.5 are the first to access this tool. However, it may expand to previous generations with the stable release. Still, we aren’t sure on that part since Samsung might want to keep it exclusive.

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Samsung has trimmed the Galaxy S26 Ultra’s S Pen, and it appears narrower than the S25 Ultra released last year. In a side-by-side comparison, we’ve found that the size of this new stylus has changed, once again improving the grip and user experience.

This year, Galaxy S26 Ultra has adopted a larger corner radius, which also influenced the S Pen’s clicker button. It means you will have to put the S Pen in the right direction to align with the phone’s frame. However, that doesn’t disturb the user experience. New users may not notice anything significant, but the Galaxy S25 Ultra owners could see what’s just unfolded with the S26 Ultra.

In our comparison, we’ve put the S26 Ultra’s S-Pen beside its former sibling and noticed it has a lower width. You can see that the middle button width has been slightly reduced alongside the body.

Meanwhile, the height and thickness are identical in both styluses. So, the only thing that has been affected this time is the width. We found that the new version is more comfortable in terms of grip and in-hand experience.

The real reason behind this narrow design is unknown, but it appears to be another move to match the frame design. We can speculate that a slightly reduced width enabled the company to maintain its S Pen’s position inside the chassis. Rather than pushing it to the very corner without interfering with the corner radius. In other words, the narrow S Pen supports the aesthetics of the device.

You should also see that the Galaxy S26 Ultra’s S Pen clicker neck area is also narrower than its predecessor.

Galaxy S26 Ultra (left) vs S25 Ultra (right) S Pen comparison

Swapping Test

I also tried to swap the S Pens; as you may expect, the Galaxy S25 Ultra’s S Pen was wider than the S26 Ultra’s supported housing width. On the other hand, the S26 Ultra’s S Pen slipped easily inside the S25 Ultra, but it couldn’t stay put. Instead, it would come out every time you tilt the device down. One thing to mention is that the S25 Ultra was detecting the S26 Ultra’s stylus once it reached the very end of the housing.

Conclusion

It’s not the first time we’re seeing such changes in the S Pen, as last year, we explored the S25 Ultra’s S Pen for new changes. However, the worst catastrophe for users arrived when the S Pen lost its Bluetooth capability. Though Samsung gave a reason not to offer this feature anymore, we had our share of grief on this matter. We’ll wait for an S Pen’s teardown to see the internal components.

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With the Galaxy S26 Ultra, Samsung has swapped the titanium frame for aluminum, creating doubts over its strength and overall durability, but a tester shows that these doubts may be unnecessary.

YouTuber Jerryrigeverything has put the newly released Galaxy S26 Ultra on a durability test, including scratching and bending the flagship. The result was that the phone came out without any damage.

Starting with the S24 Ultra, Samsung jumped to a titanium frame design, which has high durability and strength. The frame continues with the S25 Ultra. Titanium’s high durability comes from its material density, which may have prevented the new device from getting a slim outlook.

On the other hand, the new aluminum armor supports improved molding and better color schemes.

Source – Jerryrigeverything/YouTube

With that said, the aluminum armor frame is doing a great job of enduring the applied pressure without sustaining any damage. Despite these advantages and good strength, aluminum is far behind in overall durability compared to titanium. A recent drop test shows that the new phone has good drop resistance, but titanium still rules the chart.

Since consumers are not throwing their Galaxy S26 Ultra to verify its durability and frame strength, the test is a clear indicator that the new Samsung flagship is quite strong. Therefore, don’t hesitate to place your order for this new Galaxy device.

Starting Wednesday, all three phones are available worldwide, and if you have missed the pre-orders, the company has new launch offers, such as double storage and high trade-in values.

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The Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra features several design improvements, including a crucial change to the S Pen, and you may have to learn how to insert the stylus back into the device.

S Pen has been a part of the Note series since the very beginning, which later succeeded the S-series’ Ultra model. This built-in accessory offers a smart experience for millions of users despite losing its Bluetooth capabilities.

However, the biggest change arrived with the S26 Ultra. You see, the Note series remained boxy til the very end, enabling a flat click-to-release button. In that case, the user can insert the Pen facing upwards or downwards without verifying its head position.

This saga continued with the S22 Ultra, S23 Ultra, S24 Ultra, and S25 Ultra, since these phones come with a proper flat bottom frame to continue the flat clicker. That changed with the Galaxy S26 Ultra, increasing the corner radius and taking the round curves all the way to the S Pen.

So, Samsung has to amend its clicker’s design with an arc to align with the new frame design. Since you no longer have that flat clicker, you will have to match its position in the right direction.

Does the wrong position matter? On the positive note, it doesn’t, the S Pen will still insert in either direction, but that will look odd. That’s one of the noticeable drawbacks of the S26 Ultra’s design, which wasn’t the case with the S25 Ultra.

However, everything moves forward, and we don’t know what the next chapter of the S Pen will bring. Once you start using the Galaxy S26 Ultra’s S Pen, it will come into your habit, or you can choose to keep the S Pen inside the phone, just like a typical Ultra user.

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Samsung has released some of the important notes about the Galaxy S26 Ultra’s Privacy Display feature, which you should know before you buy this phone based on its intriguing promos and advertisements.

The privacy display feature allows you to hide the on-screen content from other people while using the phone in public or crowded places. This feature aims to improve the user’s privacy with this new display technology. If disabled, the display works like a regular phone.

Samsung suggests that enabling this feature doesn’t guarantee complete invisibility for on-screen content, which will be decided by viewing angle and the distance of other people. It means that if other people are in proximity to the phone, they’ll see some content despite the feature being enabled. However, brightness and natural light environment will play a key role in how much they can see.

The company said, “Caution is advised when exposing sensitive information.” It indirectly means that you should stay cautious while reading or watching sensitive content with this feature enabled.

Galaxy S26 Ultra’s privacy display is an innovative feature, and Samsung has won a lot of praise from the industry. However, it has certain parameters, which you must meet in order to safeguard your privacy in public places.

For instance, you should keep the device straight and close to your face while using this feature, with adequate brightness, and at an optimum distance, so that the content remains visible only to you and not others. This approach will maximize the privacy display’s effect on others’ visibility and reduce the possibility of creating a loophole.

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At Unpacked, Samsung announced Perplexity’s AI assistant integration to the Galaxy S26 series, and recently, the company has removed its Hey Plex instant AI access. Samsung partnered with Perplexity to offer different AI services to improve user experience. For example, the Galaxy S26 series comes with Gemini, Bixby, and Perplexity. Users can select which one of these will be their go-to partner. They can also switch the agent at any time from the settings.

Similar to Gemini, Perplexity offers a voice wake-up feature, so when the Galaxy S26 user says “Hey Plex”, the app will launch a screen overlay of Perplexity’s voice agent to take the user command even when the screen is off.

What’s important about this partnership is that Perplexity has gained system-level access. So its AI can read from and write to system apps. With this capability, users can ask questions and get answers from the internet with source citations. Perplexity can also save information into Samsung Notes and edit it later.

Hey Plex feature inside the Perplexity app before the recent Galaxy S26 series update

Two days ago, I received my Galaxy S26 Ultra, and while checking its features, I come down to the Hey Plex. The feature was part of the Perplexity app, which comes preloaded on the device.

To check this capability, you need to go to the app’s settings and check “Hey Plex detection” under the Assistant section. Next, Perplexity asks you to set up the voice for Hey Plex activation. It asks you to repeat the on-screen sentences to record your voice, and it’s done.

I went through the process and activated the Hey Plex voice wake-up, and it was working as promised. However, the February 2026 security update has removed the Hey Plex detection option from the Galaxy S26 Ultra.

Simply put, the Hey Plex wake-up phrase is no longer working on Galaxy S26 Ultra. This may be the same scenario across the lineup. However, you can still use Perplexity’s dedicated voice assistant on the side button.

We’ll have to wait and see when this feature turns up in a future update release.

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Samsung has released the Galaxy S26 Ultra with design optimizations, and we’ve conducted its side-by-side comparison with the Galaxy S25 Ultra to highlight everything new in this latest flagship.

The need for such an exploration is evident from the divided user opinions. On one side, people are saying that it’s a refined version, while others are weighing in with “nah, it’s the same as S25 Ultra”. So, we decided to break into the conversation and tell you what you should know.

Galaxy S26 Ultra vs S25 Ultra – front

Last year, Samsung broke away from the Note series and adopted curved corners. Though reviewers saw this as a mere frame radius inclusion but it’s more like the end of an era. An era that made Note and Ultra look different from other premium phones in the market.

S26 Ultra (left) and S25 Ultra (right)

Building on the new design schemes, the S26 Ultra has increased the corner radius. After this change, the S26 Ultra’s symmetry aligns more with the base and Plus models. Basically, they are on the same page now.

S26 Ultra (left) and S25 Ultra (right)

Both phones bring a 6.9-inch QHD Dynamic AMOLED display, but the S26 Ultra appears a bit wider. You can only spot this difference in a side-by-side comparison. Samsung’s official specs sheet backs this observation. The S26 Ultra is 78.1mm wide and 163.6mm tall. On the other hand, the S25 Ultra is 77.6mm wide and 162.8mm tall. The new flagship is also taller and thinner than its predecessor despite offering the same display size.

S26 Ultra (left) and S25 Ultra (right)

Galaxy S26 Ultra vs S25 Ultra – frame

The frame is now aluminium, degrading from the titanium used in S25 Ultra. Some might argue that the build quality has declined, but it appears to be good overall.

The volume and power keys are on the right, and the USB-C port, SIM tray, microphone, and S-pen are at the bottom. That said, all of the side features are the same as the previous version, except for the S-Pen, and its clicker button had to adopt the new curves.

S26 Ultra (top) and S25 Ultra (bottom)

Galaxy S26 Ultra vs S25 Ultra – Rear

The back of both phones has a matte finish protected with Corning Gorilla Glass, yet the S26 Ultra has a more vibrant color. Unlike the S25 Ultra, the new model comes with a camera island.

The camera layout is the same as last year, but it no longer looks cheap with the addition of integrated camera crowns, which closely resemble the Galaxy Z Fold 7 but look better on the S26 Ultra.

S26 Ultra (left) and S25 Ultra (right)

That’s where Samsung received online criticism for gluing the camera rings around the S25 Ultra’s cameras. I guess the company has learned from the mistakes and brought a more integrated look to this year’s flagship.

With camera design enhancement, you can no longer put the phone on a flat surface, which is a kind of harsh reality, as it will wobble all the time. In that case, you’d better put on a cover on this device.

Conclusion

This comparison reveals that the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra is wider, taller, thinner, and looks better than the S25 Ultra. These optimizations stand tall on top of the software and hardware improvements, such as the privacy display, improved performance, cameras, and software. This is a perfect Android flagship for first-time buyers; still, we don’t recommend it as an upgrade for the S25 Ultra users.

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It’s been three months since Samsung released the first One UI 8.5 beta, but the software is in a delay mode, which kind of reminds me of the One UI 7. 2024 was the year of major changes in Samsung’s software ecosystem, with its One UI program taking a new direction. At the forefront, the One UI 7 (Android 15) took the center stage, marking the first public beta rollout in early December.

The software has brought major changes throughout the interface that awed the users across the Galaxy S24 series. Still, the new One UI version is tagged with the Galaxy S25 series.

Even after the official release, Samsung delayed the software expansion to all of the S24 series and previous flagships. The S25 series was unveiled in January 2025, but the stable software stretched to April.

This development arrived at a time when One UI 8 had already appeared on internal test servers. Yet, many users remained attached to their newly received update due to massive improvements. Still, that doesn’t stop us from criticising Samsung’s strange development cycles, filled with delays.

One UI 8.5

In early December, Samsung followed the One UI 7 and released the first One UI 8.5 beta. You should know that this new software marks the return of a feature pack update other than a major Android release.

Despite being based on Android 16, one of One UI 8.5’s betas saw a month-long delay before the Galaxy S26 launch, which shipped with a stable version out of the box.

Closest launch window

As of today, the company hasn’t said anything specific about the stable One UI 8.5 rollout for older devices. Yet, the development cycle suggests that we’re pretty much moving toward the end of March to see a final rollout.

On the other hand, the Galaxy S26 series’ worldwide launch will happen on March 11, which is a good occasion to gift this new software for the S25 series. However, if the company is still running with its old strategy, then we’ll not be seeing this happening anytime soon, at least not this month.

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Last month, Samsung released the Galaxy S26 series along with the One UI 8.5. Since Samsung has been testing this new software for almost a quarter, this occasion was the right time to release an OTA update for the Galaxy S25 series and other flagships. Instead, Samsung gave us something else, an FAQ, featuring a hilarious and strange answer about the One UI 8.5 devices’ compatibility.

One UI 8.5 refines One UI 8.0, including major changes in the user interface, animations, app transitions, fluidity, and more. The overall upgrades make it way better than the previous generation. That’s where the line is drawn. You see, this is the best One UI update so far, and Samsung is already stretching its development for the previous flagship phones, which should have ended.

One UI 8.5 device compatibility FAQ

Amid this anticipation, Samsung has published a number of FAQs about One UI 8.5 on its official website, and one of them was completely unhinged. Each year, old Galaxy smartphone users seek information about their phone’s compatibility with the latest major software release.

This sheer interest leads them to the internet and search for eligible devices. Samsung also shares this compatible devices list through its Members app, but it happens only after the official rollout kicks off.

This year, the phone maker has tried something new by sharing the eligible devices for the One UI 8.5, confirming that the Galaxy S26, S26+, and S26 Ultra will be the first to receive this update in public.

The majority of people have been reading news about the Galaxy S26 series shipping with One UI 8.5 out of the box. Samsung also made it formal through the Unpacked keynote and through its official press release.

It appears that executives at Samsung have forgotten that people are seeking such compatibility information for their existing devices and not the newly launched phones, which they may not want to buy.

The phone maker did mention that the rollout will expand to more Galaxy devices, but without naming any of the former flagships, not even the Galaxy S25 series.

Still, it’s noteworthy that Samsung has a misconception that One UI 8.5 will help it sell more devices. The phone is selling on its face value, design, camera, and performance. Meanwhile, it maintains mystery around the rollout plan.

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