9 interesting Galaxy S26 details Samsung skipped at Unpacked

The Samsung Galaxy S26 series is finally official.

While it may seem like the new Galaxy S26 lineup doesn’t bring many upgrades over last year’s Galaxy S25 series due to its similar design, there are a number of meaningful changes under the hood, along with a few hardware-level improvements.

I had the chance to test the new Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra and the base Galaxy S26 for a while, and I came across a few features that Samsung did not highlight much on stage during the Unpacked event.

These details might not grab headlines, but they’re worth knowing if you’re considering picking up one of these new devices.

Privacy Display is limited to Galaxy S26 Ultra only

No love for Galaxy S26 or Galaxy S26+

The headline feature of the Galaxy S26 series, at least from Samsung’s perspective, appears to be the new Privacy Display. It makes sense why the company is pushing it so hard.

The feature prevents side-on glances and shoulder surfers from seeing what is on your screen by restricting viewing angles.

When viewed from the side, the display appears dark or black, but when you look at it head-on, it functions exactly as normal.

It works similarly to a physical privacy screen protector, except this solution is built in and avoids the typical downsides of those accessories.

That said, while Samsung is marketing Privacy Display as a “first ever in smartphones,” it’s important to note that the feature is only available on the top-tier Galaxy S26 Ultra.

Despite price increases on the base Galaxy S26 and the mid-tier Galaxy S26 Plus, neither model gets this feature. Privacy Display remains exclusive to the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra.

All Galaxy S26 models feature 10-bit displays

You get deeper colors and smoother gradients

While the Privacy Display feature remains exclusive to the Galaxy S26 Ultra, Samsung has upgraded the display technology across the entire lineup.

All Galaxy S26 models now use 10-bit panels. This means the display can produce up to 1.07 billion colors, compared to roughly 16.7 million on last year’s 8-bit panels.

In simple terms, a higher bit depth allows the screen to display far more color information. This reduces color banding when transitioning between similar shades, resulting in smoother gradients.

You can also expect better HDR performance thanks to the increased color range.

Moreover, the Galaxy S25 Ultra is already capable of shooting in 10-bit color.

That feature continues with the Galaxy S26 Ultra, and now with 10-bit panels across the lineup, you’ll finally be able to properly view the full 10-bit video captured by your phone directly on the display.

Galaxy S26+ and S26 Ultra support real-time video and image upscaling with ProScaler

It sharpens lower resolution videos as you watch them

A feature that has been exclusive to Samsung TVs for a while is finally coming to the company’s smartphones.

For years, Samsung TVs have used AI to upscale images and videos from lower resolutions to higher ones, and that same technology is now making its way to the Galaxy S26 series.

The feature, called ProScaler, uses AI to upscale lower-resolution content in real time, making it look sharper and clearer on the display.

This should be especially useful when watching downloaded low-resolution videos, such as content saved for flights or travel, and other media that is not originally rendered in high resolution.

It is, however, worth noting that the feature is only available on the Galaxy S26+ and the Galaxy S26 Ultra, and not on the base Galaxy S26.

Galaxy S26 Ultra is the first phone with APV codec support

APV brings better quality in a storage efficient format

While the rear camera setup on the Galaxy S26 Ultra may not have changed much, Samsung has made a very important upgrade under the hood by adding support for the new APV codec.

APV, or Advanced Professional Video, is what Samsung describes as a “visually lossless” high-quality video codec built for professional-grade recording and editing.

According to Samsung, it delivers cinematic-quality footage while taking up about 20% less storage space compared to the standard HEVC codec used today.

That means if you record a lot of high-resolution video for personal or professional use, you can now get top-tier quality directly from the Galaxy S26’s cameras.

It’s a subtle upgrade on paper, but for content creators and video enthusiasts, it could make a noticeable difference.

Auto framing helps record faraway subjects clearly

The phone keeps the subject centered even when you move around

As always, Samsung has focused heavily on zoom with the Galaxy S26 series.

While the company may not have introduced any major hardware changes to the cameras, it has added a new software feature called Auto Framing that helps you keep faraway subjects in focus while recording video.

It’s often difficult to keep distant objects properly framed when you are highly zoomed in, such as when recording a band at a concert from far away. Even small movements can throw the subject out of frame.

Auto Framing uses software and AI to lock onto the subject at higher zoom levels, ensuring the video remains stable, and the subject stays centered in the frame.

Horizontal lock keeps your videos perfectly level

Another camera recording feature Samsung is debuting with the Galaxy S26 series is Horizontal Lock.

When you are shooting something like your kids playing a sport or capturing a fast-moving subject, the footage can often turn out shaky and tilted, which is not ideal for sharing on social media or messaging apps.

The Horizontal Lock feature locks the frame into one orientation. So even if you tilt the phone or move it at awkward angles, the video stays level.

It is almost like having a built-in gimbal without needing any extra hardware. You really have to see it in action to fully understand how impressive it looks.

Photo Assist now supports conversational editing prompts

You can describe changes instead of manually using tools

Apart from Google, Samsung is arguably the brand that does AI photo editing the best.

The native AI editing tools on Galaxy phones have felt more refined than what Google and Apple have been offering for a few years now, and Samsung is taking things a step further with the Galaxy S26 series.

Samsung has introduced a new conversational photo editing feature. Just like how you ask a chatbot to generate an image, you can now ask Photo Assist in the Gallery app to make changes to your existing photos.

For example, if you want to remove a particular object from an image, you can simply type the prompt, and Galaxy AI will handle the rest.

Google already offers a similar feature in the Google Photos app in the US, but Samsung is now bringing that conversational editing experience directly into its own Galaxy AI suite.

Screenshots are far more powerful on the Galaxy S26 series

New tools make organizing screenshots much easier

One of the best features of the Gallery app on Samsung Galaxy phones, especially when it comes to screenshots, is the ability to take you back to the original source. This feature has been available for web pages for a while.

For example, if you take a screenshot of a website on your Galaxy phone and open it in the Gallery app, you will see a “Go to source” button. Tapping it takes you directly back to the same URL where the screenshot was originally captured.

With the Galaxy S26 series, Samsung is expanding this feature to support more apps and sources. For instance, if you take a screenshot inside an email app, you will now see the same “Go to source” button when viewing that screenshot. Tapping it will take you straight back to the exact email inside the app.

Samsung is also making screenshots more powerful on the Galaxy S26 series. The new Screenshot Analyzer can automatically categorize your screenshots into different groups, such as boarding passes, tickets, web pages, chatting apps, QR codes, social media posts, and more.

Call Screening finally comes to Samsung phones with Galaxy S26

It filters unknown callers before you pick up

One of the exclusive Google Pixel features that many of us have been waiting for Samsung to add is Call Screen, and it is finally arriving with the Galaxy S26 series.

This feature recognizes unknown callers and can handle and filter incoming calls on your behalf. The AI asks the caller why they are calling and what the call is about. It then shows a live transcription on the screen, and if the call is deemed important, it rings through to the user.

Google Pixel phones have offered a similar feature for quite some time, and it is finally making its way to Galaxy S26 smartphones.

Audio Eraser now works in real time while watching

Clean up background sounds while watching content

One of the standout features Samsung showcased on its Smart TVs at CES 2026 was the new AI Sound Controller Pro. This feature lets you control individual elements of the audio playing on your device.

For example, if you’re watching a soccer match and want to fully experience the crowd atmosphere, you can reduce or eliminate the commentators’ voices.

On the other hand, if you want to focus only on what the commentators are saying and mute the stadium noise, you can do that as well.

Essentially, the system allows you to separate and control different audio layers in real time.

In a briefing, Samsung told us it is bringing this feature to the Galaxy S26 series as well. You’ll be able to control different audio layers on your smartphone while watching videos.

We’ve not gone hands-on with the feature yet, but we’ll cover it in more detail in the coming days.

The Galaxy S26 Ultra is a bigger upgrade than it looks

On the whole, the Galaxy S26 Ultra feels like a much bigger upgrade than it appears on paper compared to last year’s Galaxy S25 Ultra.

We will be going hands-on with the device and diving deep into all the new features and changes over the next few days, testing everything in detail.

Right now, the Galaxy S26 Ultra is available for pre-order, starting at the same price as last year at $1,299/₹1,39,999/€1,449.

Similar to previous years, Samsung is running a solid promotion where you can pre-order now and get a free double storage upgrade until the pre-order period ends.

SoC

Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5

RAM

12GB / 16GB

Storage

256GB / 512GB / 1TB

Battery

5,000mAh

Operating System

Android 16 / OneUI 8.5

Front camera

12MP

Samsung’s Galaxy S26 Ultra brings top-tier performance with the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 processor and a cutting-edge privacy display that limits off-angle viewing. While battery has remained the same at 5,000 mAh this year, the Galaxy S26 Ultra bundles faster 60W wired charging.