I reviewed the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra, and it’s so much better than all the drama

What should have been a triumphant period around the announcement of the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra has instead been mired in controversy, as the tightly controlled Samsung marketing machine slowly lost control of the narrative.

The points raised can’t be ignored, but have they ruined the phone, or sufficiently dampened enthusiasm around its biggest release of the year so far? It’s a concern, but after two weeks with the phone, I’ve discovered they’re probably unfounded, as this is an absolute monster of a phone.

8/10

SoC

Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5

Display dimensions

6.9-inch

Storage

256GB / 512GB / 1TB

Battery

5,000mAh

The Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra’s Privacy Display has dominated the positive talking points about the phone, but other controversies related to the screen and camera threaten to overshadow it.

Pros & Cons

• Ergonomic improvements
• Glorious screen
• Smoothest software and performance you’ll find
• Charging speed improvements are useful
• Privacy Display works well, and has real-world benefits

• Camera doesn’t impress
• S Pen lacks wide appeal
• Niche Galaxy AI features
• Feature controversies harm reputation
• No Qi2 magnets built-in

Price, specs, and availability

The Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra is available to buy now through Samsung’s online store, AT&T, T-Mobile, Verizon, and most major carriers around the world.

It’s available in three configurations. The 256GB model is $1,300, the 512GB is $1,500, and the 1TB version is $1,800. While the base model hasn’t changed in price, the higher capacity models are slightly more expensive than the equivalent S25 Ultra models.

There are six colors in all. The Cobalt Violet (seen in our photos), Sky Blue, white, and black versions are available everywhere, while the Silver Shadow and Pink Gold options are Samsung exclusives.

The phone’s primary competitor is the Apple iPhone 17 Pro Max. For those only wanting an Android phone, alternatives include the Google Pixel 10 Pro XL, the OnePlus 15, the Xiaomi 17 Ultra, and the Honor Magic8 Pro.

Much improved design

No comfort issues at all

After the disappointingly sharp and angular Galaxy S25 Ultra, Samsung has fixed the ergonomic issues with the Galaxy S26 Ultra. I’ve used it without a case, and the thinner, lighter, slightly curvier body is much more pleasing to hold, and I haven’t noticed any fatigue creep in either.

However, that’s not to say the overall design is a winner. It’s a subtle evolution of the past three or four Ultra phones, and it’s impossible to call it groundbreaking or particularly eye-catching. I don’t think this is Samsung’s plan with the S series designs, but that won’t stop some from being disappointed with the lack of change.

Samsung does offer the phone in six different colors, though, and the best, Sky Blue, isn’t hidden away as a Samsung Store exclusive either. A wide range of color choices goes a little towards making up for the unchanged design.

It’s back to aluminum for the chassis, after a brief experiment with titanium for the S24 and S25 Ultra, which some will see as a downgrade. In terms of holding and using the S26 Ultra, I don’t think you’ll notice much difference. The aluminum is warm and tactile, and there’s plenty of grip if you don’t use a case.

The screen is covered in Corning Gorilla Armor 2 and Gorilla Glass Victus 2 on the back, plus there’s an IP68 dust and water resistance rating. This is the same as the previous model, and when many brands are now engineering in an IP69 and IP69K rating, Samsung has fallen slightly behind. It’ll still prove very durable, but the lack of an upgrade is a disappointment.

A couple of other things to note about the design. The S Pen fits inside the phone in a specific orientation, but putting it in the wrong way doesn’t mean it won’t come out or get stuck. Also, although there’s a small lip around each camera lens on the back, there is a risk they’ll come into contact with a rough surface when the phone is placed screen-up, where it wobbles around.

Samsung has made the most important change by making the phone more comfortable to hold, and further refining the monolithic nature of the device’s overall shape. However, the return to aluminum and the decision to reuse the same durability features as the S25 Ultra stops it from being a desirable upgrade for many existing Ultra owners.

The Privacy Display is the top reason to buy

But it’s not flawless

The Galaxy S26 Ultra’s Privacy Display protects private information on your phone’s screen from people’s prying eyes by making the screen look like it’s switched off unless you’re directly in front of it. It’s fully customizable, doesn’t always have to be switched on, and is shockingly effective.

It’s clever too. It works on a pixel level, dimming the sides and boosting the brightness in the center, and is a combination of hardware and software, so it can’t be replicated on any other Galaxy S26 device, only the Ultra. I’ve gone into detail about how it operates here.

Outside of using a third-party privacy screen protector, the S26 Ultra’s Privacy Display is unique, and I expect almost everyone reading will be able to think of a time and place where it’ll be useful. You can’t always say that about all headline smartphone features.

However, don’t expect to use it all the time. The screen does dim with Privacy Display active, particularly if you use the maximum protection setting. It’s not to the point where you can’t see the screen, but it is noticeable.

With Privacy Display always on, it affects general use when viewing the screen straight-on isn’t optimal, such as using the camera. By far the best solution is to set it to activate in certain apps, or just for notifications. I love that Samsung has added so much customization.

It’s also worth noting that when you don’t use the Maximum privacy protection mode, it is still possible to see on-screen content at an angle, but it’s really dim, and people would have to look very closely to see fine details. Turn on Maximum privacy protection, and everything is obscured at anything other than a direct view.

Over my time with the Galaxy S26 Ultra, I’ve left Privacy Display on for a selection of apps where privacy may be required, and for the most part, I’ve forgotten all about it. This is the ideal situation, because it means the feature hasn’t been intrusive. It also means that when it’s working, I haven’t noticed it causing any visibility problems.

Privacy Display is an excellent feature that separates the S26 Ultra from every other phone available. It’s the top new feature, and a genuine reason to buy.

Is it an Ultra camera?

Versatile, but with some problems

If you’re looking for all-new cameras inside the S26 Ultra, you’re not going to find them. What has changed is aperture, with the 200-megapixel main camera now coming with an f/1.4 aperture, and the 50MP telephoto coming with an f/2.9. This should mean higher brightness and better low-light performance.

The telephoto features are the same as before, with a 3x and 5x optical zoom, and a 10x optical quality zoom. At first glance, there’s not much to see, but when you take time to examine the telephoto images at 5x and 10x, processing and smoothing are apparent, and both suffer from haloing and blurring.

This also shows up in the main camera, where a critical look reveals edge enhancement and jaggies throughout. This is all discovered when you examine images closely, and not everyone will notice, but it’s clear that the software is doing a lot of work behind the scenes in the S26 Ultra’s camera.

I’ve also had problems with focus using the 5x telephoto in particular, where it awkwardly and suddenly switches to a macro mode far earlier than I expect, throwing off the shot’s focus. It’s annoying, and because it doesn’t always happen immediately when you’re framing a photo, it ruins a lot of shots when it happens.

On the plus side, consistency is great, and low-light performance is indeed very good. I especially liked how black its night skies are, while still balancing light areas to show detail and color. Photo editing is also excellent, with Samsung’s Photo Assist mode making object removal fast, easy, and shockingly accurate. The “Styles” AI editing suite is fun too, and the changes it makes can be startling.

My criticism of the camera is based on the phone’s $1,300 price, how Apple solved its camera problems with the iPhone 17 Pro Max, plus what I expect to get from Samsung’s Ultra cameras. Not everyone will crop images or look at them closely, and the colors, contrast, and visual punch of the images will satisfy anyone wanting to just post to social media.

However, I would have liked to see the S26 Ultra’s camera move beyond what I saw with the S24 and S25 Ultra’s cameras, but instead, it’s more of the same.

What’s the battery life like?

Charging improvements

The Galaxy S26 Ultra has a 5,000mAh battery, the same as it has been for several generations of Ultra, and Samsung has not made a switch to silicon-carbon either.

Has this feature stagnation (may as well call it what it is) negatively affected the S26 Ultra? Yes, but also no. I’ve used the phone quite hard over my test period, mostly because it was my main phone at the MWC 2026 trade show. I haven’t seen much more than five hours of screen time from a single charge.

Running the 20-minute Solar Bay Stress Test in the 3DMark benchmarking app takes just 14%, and a 30-minute 1440p YouTube video takes only 3% connected to Wi-Fi.

This isn’t terrible performance, but it’s not outstanding, or much better than previous models. Although battery life hasn’t improved, Samsung has worked on charging. The Super Fast Charging 3.0 technology now accepts 60W. Provided you use the right charger (not included), 75% charge will arrive in 30 minutes, and a full charge in about 40 minutes.

I used an Anker Prime charger, which doesn’t have the required specification for this performance, and it still fully charged the battery in 55 minutes. Wireless charging has a performance increase to 25W, but Samsung has not put magnets for Qi2 compatibility, an oversight that will frustrate a lot of potential buyers. However, you can use a magnetic case to enable Qi2.

Software and performance

Among the best you can get

Samsung’s One UI 8.5 over Android 16 is installed on the S26 Ultra, and it’s a further refined version of the excellent One UI 8. It continues to be one of the best manufacturer Android interfaces. Samsung will support the phone with updates for seven years.

There are performance improvements, which, combined with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 for Galaxy processor and larger cooling chamber, result in truly smooth and effortless operation. You really notice how fast the phone is when using new AI features, including Photo Assist to edit images and generate wallpaper, plus in the camera app too.

Visually, it’s all very similar to before, but one helpful new feature is to completely edit the Quick Settings screen, right down to resizing each button. Samsung still includes many of its own apps, such as Calendar, Notes, Browser, and its own Wallet for Samsung Pay, too. These can be uninstalled, and Samsung doesn’t force any of them on you.

Notifications have been reliable, although still a little slower to arrive than iOS. However, everything feels so fast, as a tap of the reply options in the notification shade immediately takes you to the right app with absolutely no delay. There’s a delightful swiftness to One UI 8.5 on the S26 Ultra that feels effortless, and enables you to get things done quickly, all without getting bogged down with animation or loading pauses.

What else do you need to know?

So many good features

There’s so much to the Galaxy S26 Ultra that it’s difficult to go through all the features, so here are a few of the most notable ones.

• Audio Eraser. One of Samsung’s new AI features is an advancement of its Audio Eraser for videos you shoot, where the background noise is minimized. Now, this same technology is used to remove background noise from pre-recorded video watched on platforms including Netflix and YouTube. It’s accessed under Quick Settings when compatible videos are playing, where the strength of the effect can also be adjusted. It’s an unusual feature, and anyone who struggles to hear commentary over crowd noise will appreciate it.

• Horizon Lock. Even if you don’t shoot action video very often, make sure you try this video feature because it’s uncanny. Found under the Super Steady menu in the camera app, it locks the horizon in one place and doesn’t alter it, no matter if the phone physically turns through 360-degrees. You’d never know the phone had moved at all in the resulting videos. It’s really clever.

• S Pen. I’m pleased the S Pen still exists, but there’s nothing new here. Since Samsung removed the Bluetooth connection, the S Pen does less, and doesn’t have the same appeal for those who aren’t interested in the art of physically writing notes on the screen.

• Fantastic reception. I’ve tested the S26 Ultra on the EE network in the UK and roaming in Spain. Both 4G and 5G reception has been consistently superb, and even with a single bar showing, it has no problem loading complex webpages in Chrome, or even playing YouTube videos at a sensible resolution. Calls also sound great from both ends.

• No overheating. Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 is known for getting quite hot, but Samsung’s tuned “For Galaxy” version, paired with the redesigned vapor chamber, keeps it under control nicely. In the Geekbench 6 benchmarking app, the phone returned a 3515 multi-core and 10298 single-core score. These are consistent with the performance of the OnePlus 15 and Xiaomi 17 Ultra.

What’s not so good?

Now Brief still doesn’t appeal

Now Brief was the big AI feature introduced on the Galaxy S25 series, and returns on the S26 series. It’s apparently more personalized and comes with a new feature called Now Nudge, which understands context and makes suggestions based on activity. For example, it’ll check your calendar when a message conversation discusses dates.

It all sounds good, but in reality, it’s the opposite of the Privacy Display, by which I mean is I forgot it’s there, not because it’s working, but because it’s mostly useless. Despite giving Now Brief access to all possible apps, it mostly just shows the weather, news, and YouTube suggestions. Without a Galaxy wearable, there’s no health-related information.

Samsung downplayed Now Brief’s supposed brilliance at managing busy lives this time around, but I’m sure in those circumstances it can be useful. It’s supposed to be more personal, and if showing me YouTube videos I may like, and phrases like Good Evening on the widget count as personal, it is, but this aside, it’s still the same old feature with niche appeal we soon got tired of on the Galaxy S25 Ultra.

All the controversies

Not as bad as you think?

Since its announcement, the Galaxy S26 Ultra hasn’t had an easy ride. There are (so far) three specific issues that have plagued the narrative around the phone, and I want to talk through each one.

First, and the one that has got the most attention, is the 8-bit color screen. This is a problem of Samsung’s own doing because it communicated to some press that the screen was a 10-bit display. This turned out to be inaccurate; it is actually an 8-bit display with some special technology that emulates 10-bit color performance.

I used an online tool to see if I could spot banding in a color gradient, and couldn’t see any issues. 4K HDR videos on YouTube look stellar, and the screen looks glorious in almost all circumstances. Whatever Samsung is doing has eliminated the banding I see on the Google Pixel 10 Pro XL’s display, but there may be a downside to this.

This issue leads to the second controversy, the screen flicker, either caused by the technology that makes the 10-bit color emulation possible, or the Privacy Display’s pixel manipulation. Due to this, some people may experience nausea looking at the S26 Ultra’s screen. I haven’t experienced it, so I can’t comment on the effects. It also doesn’t seem that everyone who is affected by PWM Dimming technology will be equally affected here.

Finally, Samsung has changed the periscope telephoto for a 50-megapixel camera used for 5x zoom shots to an All Lenses on Prism (ALoP) type. The biggest change you’ll likely notice is the increase in focus distance, which can limit the type of photos you take with the 5x zoom. I’ve covered the camera’s performance above, so you can judge for yourself if this change is part of the camera’s issues.

Are these problems that should stop you from buying the phone? Probably not, but some may be rightly put off by Samsung’s poor messaging. It can be seen as a loss of trust, and likely, those users may see these cost-driven alterations as diminishing the Ultra’s true flagship status. I personally wouldn’t let them put me off the phone, but I understand why others may think otherwise.

Should you buy the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra?

There’s still no other high-end Android phone quite like Samsung’s Ultra models. It continues to squeeze in just about every possible feature, the latest processor technology, AI smarts, and niche features like DeX and the S Pen. Adding a feature with real-world benefits like the Privacy Display only underlines the S26 Ultra’s true flagship status, and few will find it doesn’t do what they want.

However, just because everything is there doesn’t mean everything is awesome, no matter what Lego wants you to believe. In its quest to tick every possible option box, like a demented Porsche buyer with a bottomless wallet, Samsung has left itself nowhere to go, and some features do suffer from a dip in quality.

The camera isn’t quite as strong as it should be, and the Privacy Display introduces some of its own issues, which may be frustrating. It’s annoying that there’s no native Qi2 support, the S Pen isn’t as useful as it once was, battery life is average, and, for the most part, Galaxy AI is forgettable. If you own an S23, S24, or S25 Ultra, I’m not sure if there’s much to convince you to splash out on a full-price upgrade.

Yet, none of this stops the S26 Ultra from being deeply desirable. You may not need to upgrade, but I’m willing to bet you want to, and that’s the unique (and deserved) draw of a new Ultra. If you’ve never owned a Samsung Ultra phone before, the S26 Ultra is a fantastic place to start. There’s so much going on, and a lot to discover, so provided you aren’t expecting perfection throughout, you’re going to be very happy with your expensive new phone.

8/10

SoC

Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5

Display dimensions

6.9-inch

Storage

256GB / 512GB / 1TB

Battery

5,000mAh

The Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra has just about every phone feature you could want, along with a few you didn’t know you needed. In its quest to tick every box, Samsung has let the quality slide in some areas, but it’s still one of the most desirable (and expensive) flagship Android phones you can get.