There’s a new King of the Hill in the smartphone world. At least, if you’re an Android user.
After a two-week pre-order period, Samsung officially launched the Galaxy S26 Ultra, its next-gen flagship phone. The Galaxy S26 Ultra is unique among recent mobile launches for having a genuinely new hardware feature, a rarity in the age of annual release cycles and iterative updates. (We did see some cool stuff at Mobile World Congress 2026, however.)
The Galaxy S26 Ultra introduces the world’s first Privacy Display, which operates at the pixel level. This feature blacks out the whole screen, specific apps, or notifications from those around you, and it’s legitimately very cool. Once again, the Korean tech giant is introducing features that Apple has no answer to. See also: the Galaxy Z Trifold.
A notification blacked out by Privacy Display.
Credit: Joe Maldonado / Mashable
The phone is already listed as a No. 1 best seller at Amazon. If you’ve been eyeing an upgrade, or if you’re considering defecting from iOS to Android, here’s a quick download on the new AI smartphone.
Free Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra at AT&T With Trade-in and Unlimited Plan
at AT&T Wireless
The Galaxy S26 Ultra: By the numbers
The Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra is priced at $1,299.99, about $100 more than Apple’s iPhone 17 Pro Max. The phone features an impressive list of specs and camera array. Based on our testing, the custom Snapdragon processor inside will easily set a new high score on the Geekbench 6 mobile processor leaderboard.
Mashable Light Speed
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Display: 6.9-inch AMOLED display
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Refresh rate: Adaptive refresh rate up to 120Hz
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Processor: Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 for Galaxy processor
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Resolution: 3120×1440
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Storage: 256GB, 512GB, 1TB storage options
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Battery: 5000 mAh (31 hours of video playback)
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Durability: IP68 rated, Corning Gorilla Armor 2, Corning Gorilla Glass Victus 2
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Cameras: 200MP main wide lens camera, 50MP ultra-wide lens, 50MP telephoto lens with 10x optical zoom, 10MP lens with 3x optical zoom, front-facing 12MP selfie camera
Is the Galaxy S26 Ultra worth it?
The Korean tech giant has a steep asking price for its fancy new handset. We named this smartphone a Mashable Choice product, and you can check out our full Galaxy S26 Ultra review and camera test.
Frankly, it may be too much phone, both literally and figuratively, for most people. But if you want the best possible Android phone, this is it.
Where to find deals on the Galaxy S26 Ultra
You can buy the new Samsung flagship anywhere phones are sold. If you have a phone to trade in, you can find trade-in offers at AT&T and T-Mobile. Both of these companies are offering the device for free with eligible plans and trade-ins.
In addition, if you buy the phone at Samsung, you get a $150 Samsung credit you can use to save money on the new Galaxy Buds4 Pro, the Galaxy Watch Ultra, and a ton of other Samsung gadgets.
Meanwhile, Amazon is offering a $200 gift card with purchase.
$1,299.99
at Amazon
$1,499.99
Save $200
$1,299.99
at Amazon
$1,699.99
Save $400
