What you need to know
- Rumors from a Chinese tipster claim that a few overseas brands might use Samsung’s Privacy Display as inspiration for future phones.
- The post states these OEMs could implement a version of Privacy Display on their flagship phones for an alleged September launch.
- Samsung teased its Privacy Display for the Galaxy S26 Ultra late last month, showcasing how prying eyes can’t see what you’re doing from the side.
- Galaxy Unpacked takes place on February 25, 2026 at 1 pm ET/10 am PT.
We’re just two days away from Samsung’s Galaxy Unpacked, and rumors from an overseas tipster claim other OEMs might borrow a key privacy feature.
The rumor, posted by Digital Chat Station on Weibo (Chinese), alleges that additional OEMs might chase a privacy feature similar to what Samsung has for the Galaxy S26 Ultra (via 9to5Google). DCS states that the company’s “Privacy Display” is being “tested by domestic manufacturers” (machine-translated). It seems like these brands are eyeing their own flagships for a version of Privacy Display that the Galaxy S26 Ultra will feature.
The post adds that the feature would be implemented on a hardware level, similar to what Samsung is doing. Moreover, there’s a chance that we could see these devices with a version of Privacy Display hit the market later this year, in September, and beyond.
DCS didn’t state which OEMs we could see this from, but there’s some speculation. Since DCS primarily covers brands in and around China, rumors suggest Xiaomi and, potentially, Honor could be the frontrunners, per 9to5.
Samsung teased it
Toward the end of January, Samsung officially started teasing its Galaxy S26 series. Specifically, its teaser was about the Galaxy S26 Ultra, which has long been expected to receive “Privacy Display.” Its teaser was light, but straight to the point, showing off a pair of eyes attempting to look at the device’s screen, but couldn’t. The Privacy Display works by appearing dark from the sides, meaning any prying eyes in public, on the train, or even at home won’t be able to see what you’re doing.
Some additional rumors about this claim that Samsung could give users the power to control how private their screen is. If you’re more concerned about your messages, you can have your display block those out from the side. However, if you prefer total privacy, you can have your screen appear dark when viewed from an angle. We don’t have much longer to wait, as Galaxy Unpacked takes place on February 25, 2026 at 1 pm ET/10 am PT.
You can also follow along with our live blog—we’re going through the event, too.
Android Central’s Take
You see this kind of thing all the time in the tech industry. Companies “taking” things from other places. Some make it better, others might just keep it roughly the same. We’ve seen Realme copy Apple‘s Dynamic Island for its phones before. OnePlus did the same thing with OxygenOS 14. So, something like this isn’t crazy. I’m always more curious to see how it comes to be. Will these OEMs change it? Will they add something that Samsung didn’t think of? The iteration matters here, as it could push Samsung to take it even further, bettering themselves and giving consumers a better product in the end.
