With the Galaxy S25 series now six months old and the Galaxy Z Fold 7 and Flip 7 officially unveiled, the rumor mill has already turned its attention to Samsung’s next big flagship: the Galaxy S26 Ultra. Early leaks suggest the phone will be slimmer and lighter than the Galaxy S25 Ultra. And today’s rumor indicates that, despite its slender frame, Samsung will equip its next Ultra flagship with an even bigger screen.
This year’s Galaxy S25 Ultra already features a bigger screen than its predecessor: a 6.86-inch panel vs. the S24 Ultra’s 6.82-inch display. A minor difference, and one that Samsung achieved by reducing the bezels instead of increasing the overall device footprint.
A new leak suggests Samsung will employ the same formula on next year’s Galaxy S26 Ultra. @UniverseIce claims Samsung’s next flagship phone will feature a 6.89-inch display — 0.03 inches larger than that of the S25 Ultra.
The leaker assumes that if Samsung keeps the device size unchanged, it will have to narrow down the phone’s bezels from the current 1.2mm to around 1.15mm to accommodate the bigger panel.
Samsung markets the Galaxy S25 Ultra’s 6.86-inch panel as 6.9 inches. It will likely do the same for the S26 Ultra’s bigger display, despite the slight bump in size.
Rumors floating on the internet point to Apple also reducing the bezels on its upcoming iPhone 16 Pro lineup to less than 1.2mm. Both companies will seemingly use new display technology to achieve this, which will also help make the panels slimmer and brighter without increasing power consumption.
The Galaxy S25 Ultra already feels unwieldy due to its sheer size, so a larger display on the Galaxy S26 Ultra could make one-handed use even more difficult. Hopefully, the rounded corners and the phone’s lighter and slimmer frame will help negate the side effects to a large extent.
Galaxy S26 Ultra may not fix the S25 Ultra’s shortcomings
Six months after launch, the Galaxy S25 Ultra remains one of our favorite phones to launch this year. Yet, the device falters in several key areas, as it does not make big enough upgrades in the camera and battery life departments.
Early leaks indicate Samsung will not address these issues on the Galaxy S26 Ultra next year as well. Instead, it is focusing on making its high-end devices lighter and slimmer.
