Looked at as one of the biggest phone releases of the year is certainly the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra. It is touching on one of the coolest features we have seen in a while with its Privacy Display and looks to be one of the most powerful smartphones on the market while also Samsung pushing Galaxy AI much more than ever. But after using it for the past few weeks as my daily driver is it worth its lofty price tag?
Style
First glance looking at the S26 Ultra it looks like last year’s S25 Ultra, but it brings some subtle changes. While its prior two iterations S24U and S25U were built with a titanium frame Samsung has decided to go back to Armor Aluminum. There are those that may consider it a downgrade but has made it the lightest Ultra coming in 214g (the prior two were 218g and 233g). They also got it even thinner to a ridiculous 7.9mm (prior two were 8.2mm and 8.6mm). With it being lighter it does feel just as good resting in my palms or in-hand and that aluminum frame allows for more heat dissipation. The difference is quite noticeable. Button layout is still the same with controls on the right side, while USB-C and S-Pen slots are on the bottom.
Hardware
Powering the S26 Ultra is the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 for Galaxy. Since it’s tuned specifically for this device, it will provide better power and efficiency. Alongside that is an Adreno 840 GPU. I’m using a 256GB / 12GB RAM model but there are also 512 and 1TB variants as well. It also still has a 5,000mAh battery but wired charging has been upped to 60W and wireless 25W. I mainly use it wired and see I can get from 15% to full in less than an hour.
As mentioned earlier with the aluminum frame you get better heat dissipation, but Samsung redesigned the Vapor Chamber making the cooling on the S26 Ultra even better than past iterations. Having spent hours mobile gaming on here playing Fortnite and other demanding titles like Zenless Zone Zero and Genshin Impact I notice the phone doesn’t get as warm as before. I’m pushing these titles on high settings with 60fps or higher and not a bit of lag or overheating.
Like last year the S-Pen lost all its Bluetooth functionality but it’s there if you want to write notes, navigate around the menu, or even utilize it in some games. Also, it’s even thinner than ever. It can also go in the slot either way.
Check out Unboxing of the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra on Instagram / TikTok
Privacy Display
Samsung looked to change the game with this feature they created called Privacy Display. You can turn on a function which allows you to either hide your entire screen or notifications from those side glancing. How this works when enabled it turns off certain pixels adjusting light which can only seen from those looking directly at it.
Samsung has implemented several ways for this to be used. There is turn on “Privacy Display” and it will go into the standard mode making slightly difficult to view at angles or you can toggle on “Maximum Privacy” adding an additional layer that will even make the display look bit more washed out but even harder to view. Also, you can set this for particular apps, notification popups, passwords, pins, patterns, etc. It’s rather customizable to fit your needs. It even works with gaming and media like movies, YouTube, etc.
Check out Privacy Display in Action on Instagram / TikTok
It is quite a game changer for those that have usually bought those privacy screen protectors over the years because now you can utilize this when you want to. There have been times when you wanted to show something and forget you had a protector on. Now you can just press a button. Only issue I have with it is that I fail to remember to turn it off sometimes.
Besides that, you are getting a 6.9” Dynamic AMOLED 2X display with 120Hz refresh rate, 498ppi, and 2600 nits peak. Covered in Corning Gorilla Armor 2 and anti-reflective coating. It generally has the same specs as last year’s S25 Ultra.
OneUI / Galaxy AI
Alongside the Privacy Display, Samsung made a big push for Galaxy AI with the S26 series. Mix that in with OneUI 8.5 which favors AI and you can see it being available for use all throughout the device. Editing photos is easier than ever. You can do AI erasing to remove subjects.
“Create” can let me type a prompt like “add the sun” and it will some lighting from the sun to an overall gloomy picture.
“Style” will let you remix your photos into anime, comics, etc.
You can also “Move” things around in your photos for better position.
Features like Split screen, Pop Up Windows, Dual Apps, and so forth are still present and just as easily accessible.
Cameras
The S26 Ultra has a bigger camera bump this year. This is because of the upgrades to its quad camera setup. You are getting 200MP (wide), 50MP (periscope telephoto), 50MP (ultrawide), and 10MP (Telephoto) which is same as the S25 Ultra but the S26 Ultra has wider aperture allowing it to pull in more light making it better for cleaner shots and even increasing visibility for low light pics. I still enjoy using the Zoom on here as well specifically going up to 30x even though you push that all the way to 100x.
On the video side a nice feature added is called Horizon Lock via their Super Steady mode which allows you to move and tilt your phone in any angle and still achieve the same view. It’s quite impressive and can work in some fun scenarios. Maybe you want horizontal view but it’s easier to hold the phone vertically. This can be achieved via this mode.
Everyday Usage
I used the S26 Ultra day and night as my main device putting it through its paces. Battery life lasted me all day and that 60W charging helped me get back up to speed quickly. I played a good amount of Fortnite on it using it with a Backbone controller and it responded fine and gaming was smooth for the longest of sessions even getting a Victory Royale. I primarily used it with my cell provider T-Mobile getting great call quality and fast data speeds. I found it good at reconnecting to services nicely going in and out of train tunnels too here in NYC. Its stereo speakers crank fairly good watching content, playing games and listening to music as well.
Verdict
While the S26 Ultra may look similar to the last couple of models it brings along some features that can separate it from the pack. Mainly that being Privacy Display. Set it how you want it and never worry about those privacy screen protectors again and turn it off when you don’t need it. Hardware is still great and gaming on this device is superb, bringing cool temperatures. Camera still takes great shots and has gotten better with low light. If you want to have some fun utilize that Horizon Lock feature as well. But just like last year this phone is priced hefty starting at $1299.99. But it hit all the marks on everything.
