When Samsung unveiled the Galaxy S26 Ultra, it labelled the phone as an AI phone, but actually, the star of the show was the privacy display, a feature that garnered spotlight all over the internet. The concept of a privacy screen is simple; it hides the phone’s on-screen content from others.
Imagine a scenario where you are using the S26 Ultra in public, and two unknown people (or more) are sitting beside you. Once enabled, only you will have a clear picture of the screen, and others won’t. And if they’re off the angles, then they won’t see anything. That will make others guess whether you are using a dead phone.
That said, this privacy display effect is based on viewing angles, but it worked pretty well in our hands-on test.
The main purpose of the privacy display is to hide sensitive content that you don’t want others to see, but you somehow want to limit the viewership to yourself. Privacy display also comes with customizations, and you can set some conditions, such as enabling password entry, set it for a specific app, or just make the notifications area disappear.
Redesigned
Once you stop playing with the privacy display, the next thing that catches your attention is the design. The S26 Ultra does come with some notable design improvements.
- Galaxy S26 Ultra measures at 78.1mm wide, 163.6mm tall, and 7.9mm thin, while weighing 214 grams.
- Galaxy S25 Ultra measures at 77.6mm wide, 162.8mm tall, and 8.2mm thick, while weighing 218 grams.
Both phones bring the same screen size, but the new version is wider, larger, and thinner, and don’t forget it’s also slightly lighter. These aren’t just numbers; the phone feels lighter and slimmer than the S25 Ultra.
One of the biggest changes in the design segment is the return of the Armor Aluminum frame, replacing the titanium. Despite changing the frame material, the phone maintains its build quality and offers vibrant color schemes.
Contributing to the form factor is the new camera island, which is bigger and better, but rocks more on a flat surface without a protective case.
Specifications
- Display – 6.9-inch QHD+ Dynamic AMOLED 2X panel, 120Hz adaptive refresh rate with vision booster
- Chipset – Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 for Galaxy
- Memory – 12+256GB, 12+512GB, 16GB+1TB
- Camera – 200MP Main (f/1.4) + 50MP Ultra-Wide (f/1.9) + 50MP Telephoto (5X Optical Zoom, F/2.9) + 10MP Telephoto (3X Optical Zoom, F/2.2), Front – 12MP (f/2.2)
- Battery – 5,000mAh
- Software – One UI 8.5 (Android 16)
- Connectivity – 5G, LTE, WI-Fi 7, Wi-Fi Direct, Bluetooth 6.0
- Rating – IP68, water resistance – 1.5 meters for up to 30 minutes
AI Software
Galaxy S26 Ultra packs the One UI 8.5, based on Android 16, out of the box. The software has speed and efficiency to run apps more smoothly. Since Samsung is diving deep into AI and trying to simplify user experience with new partnerships, this flagship offers more AI features than before.
Now brief has turned more smart in Samsung’s eyes, but it remains dumb in consumers’. While you may not want to use Now Brief, the upgraded Bixby has finally gained competitiveness against Gemini. It can now pull answers from the web and write content on its own, thanks to Perplexity’s APIs.
This new AI agent sits inside the phone as the third AI assistant, which can be assigned to the side button to launch anytime. Despite improvements to Bixby and Perplexity’s inclusion, Gemini remains in the top spot for its natural language comprehension and instruction following.
Features like Now Nudge promise to keep track of your phone’s interactions and offer help when needed. One UI 8.5 also has a new AI drawing tool that helps to generate images and wallpapers with AI in different art forms. These are just some key additions, and the software has a dedicated Galaxy AI section listed all of its top AI capabilities.
Besides the AI feature group, the Galaxy device has a standard 7 OS and 7 years of security patches. Simply put, S26 Ultra will be getting OS upgrades up to Android 23 and security support till February 2033.
Snappy Performance
Qualcomm and Samsung have once again collaborated to launch a Galaxy-tweaked chipset, this time it is the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5.
The new speed and efficiency of the S26 Ultra come from this chip, it’s enabling smoother interactions and faster gameplay without frame drop. It would be too much to say, but the new Snapdragon chip handles everything as smoothly as it should.
On the other hand, a redesigned Vapor chamber keeps the phone calm while playing online multiplayer games on a long run. The difference isn’t significant compared to the S25 Ultra, but still, it’s noticeable.
Same Battery, Faster Charging
The Galaxy S26 Ultra comes with a 5000mAh battery pack, identical to the capacity of last year’s S25 Ultra. It can give a full day of power backup while using all of your essential apps. Even gamers would get a better battery performance, but in 2026, this power backup feels tiny.
To offset the disappointment with the same old capacity, Samsung has launched max 60W charging support, which reduces the charging time, taking it from 0 to 75% in about 30 minutes and 100% in about 45 minutes. Yet, users will have to buy the adapter separately.
Camera Upgrades
This premium Samsung phone brings you a quad camera system, and the main 200MP camera is getting new upgrades thanks to a larger aperture size. The images capture more bright and dark pixels than the S25 Ultra, along with improved color composition.
The default camera mode is 12MP, but there is a 24MP mode ready to be unlocked through the Camera Assistant app, which substantially improves the photo quality. Furthermore, the nightography is getting upgrades with brighter scenes.
One of the major outcomes of the new camera system is the horizontal lock super steady mode, which has taken over the internet since the launch day. The key reason for this popularity is its gimbal-like steady camera, which enables rotation in any direction without disturbing the output.
The S26 Ultra also marks the beginning of All Lenses on Prism (ALoP) telephoto camera with a folded zoom structure. The system places lenses on top of the prism and reduces module size with improved light intakes for brighter zoomed images. It not only saves module space but also provides the same zoom quality as the Periscope used in the S25 Ultra.
Unfortunately, zoom over 30x-50x is still not good on either of these phones. The ultra-wide-angle camera has been improved in brightness control, and again, it’s no major upgrade.
S Pen Tweaks
S26 Ultra continues a priceless accessory – the S Pen, but with a new style. Its design is tweaked to match the curves and corners of the phone’s frame, and it’s slightly lighter than its predecessor. Though Samsung has not returned the Bluetooth features, you can still take notes, draw, and move things around on the screen.
Final Verdict
The Galaxy S26 Ultra is the top Android phone that could get into the market, and it is loaded with features that suit both newbies and power users in one pack. Its new privacy display is innovative; you won’t find it on any other phone in the market.
The new chip is optimized for a better software experience, bringing high-touch response on every tap. Whether you’re surfing the internet or playing games, the S26 Ultra will give you optimum performance at every level.
It’s also the only Android phone that is practically shipping AI features that are tailored for users, and you can use them without waiting for an OTA update rollout.
Providing 60W charging support is a good step, but rubbing the same 5-year-old battery size is not a genuine offering against the current trend. Eventually, if you want a premium Android phone that lives up to its price tag, the Galaxy S26 Ultra is the way to go. However, if you already possess a S25 Ultra or S24 Ultra, give this new launch a pass and wait for the next iteration.
Pros
- Large, high-quality screen
- Privacy display innovation
- Best in class cameras
- Powerful performance
- 60W charging support
- Stylish design
- In-built stylus
Cons
- High price
- Privacy display has angle limitations
- Max telephoto isn’t clear
- 60W Charger sold separately
- Titanium removed
The post Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra Review: It’s a private phone appeared first on Sammy Fans.
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