The Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra is one amazing new smartphone. And as flagship devices are supposed to do, it introduces brand new technology, brand new features and brand-new capabilities.
This new model doesn’t look all that different from the S25 Ultra, but the majority of improvements can be found under the hood.
Tech Guide has been using the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra for two weeks now and most of the new features and technology are only included on this flagship model.
But the S26 and S26+ also have their fair share of shared improvements as well.
The brand-new feature is the Privacy Display – a remarkable new technology that can keep what you’re viewing on your screen to yourself.
All the shoulder surfers sitting next to you or near you on a plane, on public transport, in a queue, in a food court or anywhere near you will only see a black screen.
Samsung has also lifted its AI game once more with the S26 range easily making them the best AI smartphones you can get your hands on right now.
And the camera system has also been improved to make your shots and videos even better
DESIGN
On the design side, the S26 Ultra has slightly more rounded corners than the S25 Ultra and the three main lenses are now on a small island on the rear panel.
But the S26 Ultra is slightly thinner – 7.9mm compared the S25 Ultra’s 8.2mm.
Apart from the Privacy Display technology, the S26 Ultra’s 6.9-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X 120Hz screen is the same as that of the S25 Ultra.
There is still the S Pen but this time it is noticeably smaller and has a curved cap so it can only be slid back inside the corner of the phone one way to complete the smooth finish of the device.
PRIVACY DISPLAY
Without a doubt, Privacy Display is the standout feature of the S26 Ultra – but it is not a feature on the S26 or the S26+.
Samsung figures the S26 Ultra will make up around 70 per cent of the S26 sales in 2026 so it decided to stack the team and make it an exclusive feature of the most expensive device in the line-up.
It works at the pixel level and basically funnels the light from pixels upward at a shallower angle so anyone sitting beside, in front or behind you will see black.
Yes, you can buy a $40 screen protector that can do this but you’re literally stuck with it and it often makes the screen hard to read even for user sitting front and centre.
What makes the Privacy Display even better is the fact it can be selectively used for certain apps you don’t want other people to see like banking and messaging apps among many others.
And it can even activate to block from prying eyes the parts of the screen where you enter passcodes and black out notifications. Not the whole screen – but just the small area where the notification or keypad is located.
But the only downside for those valuing the resolution of their screen is that you lose some quality when Privacy Display is activated.
It is hardly noticeable but there are definitely less pixels on display so it will reduce the quality of video and images you are watching or looking at in this mode.
Despite that, Privacy Display is a winner and a feature that will no doubt be reverse engineered by other smartphone makers.
AI
The Samsung S26 series once again leads the way when it comes to AI with Galaxy AI, Google Gemini, Perplexity and Bixby onboard.
AI comes in many forms aboard the S26 Ultra including the usual tools that help with your creativity and productivity.
There’s also Call Screening, Live Translate, Audio Eraser, Browsing Assist and many more features.
But there are other abilities introduced with a feature called Now Nudge which can see the context of what you’re doing and then surface shortcuts or information to complete that task or reply to that message or email.
We saw the examples shown to us at the S26 launch where the device responded to dates and photo request and created shortcuts to the calendar and images.
We couldn’t get this to work for us even when receiving messages that were suggesting dates for meetings.
We’re sure this will improve over time as the device adapts to us.
But we were able to add events from our email – this feature this has been possible on most devices for years.
CAMERA
The Samsung S26 Ultra cameras are the same as the last year’s S25 Ultra – 200MP wide, 10MP telephoto, 50MP telephoto and 50MP ultrawide.
But what has changed is the aperture on the main 200MP camera – which went from f/1.7 to f/1.4 and the 50MP telephoto which went from f/3.4 to f/2.9.
These wider apertures allow more light into the sensor to keep images clear and vibrant.
And you can see the difference – we took a shot at night of the city skyline outside our hotel room window in San Francisco with the S26 Ultra and the S25 Ultra.
The S26 Ultra’s image had more detail and a blacker sky while the S25 Ultra images looked greyer.
And this also works with video too with the camera and AI working together to remove noise that would normally appear in darker areas of the video.
HORIZONTAL LOCK
There have been a few optical image stabilisation technologies we’ve seen, but the new Horizontal Lock is at the top of the class.
This feature is available across the entire S26 range and works in portrait or landscape mode while shooting video.
User can shoot a rock steady video even when the device is turned around and even upside down.
When playing back the video it looks like the device was held so still you would think it was on a tripod.
Imagine how useful this will be when shooting video of your kids or pets, from the mosh pit at a concert, in the stands at a sporting event and anywhere else – your videos will look smoother and better than ever.
AI PHOTO ASSIST
Editing images using AI is nothing new and has been around for a couple of years with Samsung devices but with the S26 series it has gone to another level.
AI Photo Assist makes it easy to dive into your images and move or erase objects from an image.
You also add objects to the picture as well. We took a selfie in San Francisco with Alcatraz in the background.
We jumped into the edit screen and clicked the AI symbol and typed in “add a great white shark jumping out of the water.
A few seconds we saw exactly that in the background of our image.
This feature certainly opens up your imagination and you can have a lot of fun creatively editing your images.
You can now also go through the process step by step rather than having to go back to the image to start a new edit.
BATTERY
The Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra has a 5000 mAh battery – just like the S25 Ultra – and lasts for a day and a half even when being used as our daily driver.
But one improvement is the charging speed – it can now handle 60W wired charging to achieve a 75 per cent charge in 30 minutes along with 25W wireless charging (Qi2).
But the device doesn’t have the magnets built in for Qi2 charging on its own – you need a magnetic case.
PRICE
The Samsung S26 range is more expensive than last year’s S25 line-up with the pricing for S26 and S26+ range $150 higher and the S26 Ultra is $50 more expensive this year.
The Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra is not cheap – it starts at $2,199 (256GB), $2,499 (512GB) and $2,949 (1TB).
SHOULD YOU UPGRADE
If you own a Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra, we don’t think you should race out to upgrade to the S26 Ultra unless you really want the Privacy Display.
The cameras are the same apart from the aperture changes and the AI will be upgraded if you upgrade to the new UI 8.5.
If you have an older Samsung device or other Android device – or want to switch from an iPhone – then the S26 Ultra would be a satisfying upgrade.
PRICING
S26
256GB: $1,549
512GB: $1,849
S26+
256GB: $1,849
512GB: $2,149
S26 Ultra
256GB: $2,199
512GB: $2,499
1TB: $2,949
VERDICT
The Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra is a flagship device in every sense of the world. It is a compelling combination of design, hardware, software, AI and technology that’s built for customers to use every day and make life easier, to stay connected, creative, productive and informed and to capture memories in the highest quality. The S26 Ultra is one of the best smartphones you can buy.
- RATING
The Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra is a flagship device in every sense of the world. It is a compelling combination of design, hardware, software, AI and technology that’s built for customers to use every day and make life easier, to stay connected, creative, productive and informed and to capture memories in the highest quality. The S26 Ultra is one of the best smartphones you can buy.
