If you were to refer to the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra as another flagship generation based on new specifications compared to the previous generation, it would be deceptively simple. There are definitely generational steps forward in terms of hardware and specifications, and nothing less can be expected. However, Samsung’s focus is on capabilities and efficiency that define the experience. Case in point, privacy performance. Another case in point, horizontal lock for video recording, to keep the video level even if your angles aren’t. and one more? APV video codec, or Advanced Professional Video. This may seem like a generational given to some, but switch to any other Android flagship and you’ll realize that’s not the case.
As has often been the case with recent Galaxy flagship iterations, including Galaxy S25 UltraSamsung is increasing the base spec combination from 12GB memory and 256GB storage to 12GB memory and 512GB storage for the entry specification price point. ₹₹1,39,999 – which they say is for a limited time; Good value for early adopters who have their credit cards cleaned up and ready. The top tier with 12GB memory and 1TB storage is priced at ₹At present it is 1,89,999. Once the initial base spec bump offer is completed, a 256GB storage variant is expected to be revealed, while a 512GB storage option will fall in between.
Chances are, a pure spec upgrade might not get you that excited anymore, and that’s why I’ll talk about a feature that gives us a reason why. Privacy Display. It is a hardware innovation in which software plays its role. This is the first phone in the world in which something is built in at the hardware level. The magic really resides in the pixel architecture – when this mode is enabled, the pixels turn into something that could be classified as a narrow mode of illumination, straight ahead and with little escape on the sides making it difficult to see content from lateral angles. The purpose of OLED display technology is to spread light to each pixel in a wider manner than otherwise possible for better viewing angles.
At first glance, the privacy technology may not be good enough for some people, but that’s just an example of this age of smartphones, where innovation has been largely driven by imagination and not much else to do with it. The accessory market is full of screen protectors that claim similar privacy from side viewing, but unlike them (which also deliver variable results), Samsung’s deployment isn’t a forced solution. It can be turned on and off as the user wishes, and can even be configured for specific apps. One might assume that banking apps and two-factor authentication apps are the immediate beneficiaries.
In our experience, it works brilliantly in the default setting as well as the more powerful “Maximum Privacy Protection” setting. Anyone sitting next to you will have very little idea about what’s on the screen, and it’s exactly the same as hitting a wall on the latter. That said, when it’s enabled, there’s a certain tint that overlays the screen even when looking straight on, which isn’t great if your quest is for color accuracy or realism when viewing media. Logically, you can’t leave it on all the time. Unless of course Samsung can optimize it with a software update in the coming months.
I fully expect this technology to be available in more Samsung products soon, especially larger screen tablets. It will be interesting to see if the privacy display also comes to foldable phones from the company, which continues to set the benchmark in that category.
There have been some improvements in the battery and performance spectrum, as well as some new features added to the camera. But the design differences compared to the Galaxy S25 Ultra are minimal, although the new phone is quite a bit thinner and lighter (both metrics, not entirely noticeable most of the time). The added slimness also accounts for the switch from titanium to aluminum. You won’t have any complaints about performance, as the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen5 for Galaxy chip (the “for Galaxy” part is important, Samsung-specific optimizations continue at the chip level) is now equipped with an elaborate new vapor chamber cooling system.
It seems to be working, as the Galaxy S26 Ultra only experienced some cooling during the initial setup phase, when there were a lot of apps and updates running. This is definitely proving to be a positive for battery endurance too, with almost 8 hours of screen time and still 30% charge left for the rest of the day. For most use cases, this is a very comfortable use aspect. Keep in mind, Samsung is still exploring silicon-carbon for smartphone batteries, which is expected in the future.
This is the perfect time to point out what I’d call Samsung’s obsession with Microsoft apps being pre-installed on the Galaxy S26 Ultra – Outlook, CoPilot, OneDrive, and a few more that I can’t actually be bothered to remember. Basically, upon setup, made a point to uninstall all Microsoft apps, as they’re essentially taking their toll on my experience with the phone. Yet, a few hours later, all the apps were back – forcibly downloaded in the background without the user’s consent or approval. Still uninstalled them again, but it’s hard to tell if this is Galaxy Store behavior, or these unnecessary updates being pushed through the Google Play Store. It makes sense that Microsoft might have an undisputed agreement with Samsung, but it needs improvement.
The cameras on the Galaxy S26 Ultra represent what we often call two sides of the same coin. In terms of hardware, the top-notch camera sports a 200-megapixel main camera, a 50-megapixel telephoto camera with 5x optical zoom, a 50-megapixel ultra-wide camera, and a 10-megapixel telephoto with 3x optical zoom. The main and telephoto cameras typically have wider apertures for better light input, as this requires greater physical depth, with the camera island and module having somewhat greater apparent height. In an era where camera makers and phone brands often partner, Samsung is relying on in-house expertise with a dose of AI for its image processing algorithms. A different approach, which is gaining traction among consumers.
This builds on the Galaxy S25 Ultra, which, with refinement over time, became a very capable flagship-level camera (early hiccups can’t be forgotten, but the course-correction is even more admirable). In that regard, don’t expect any leaps in photography or video recording. Optimizations and improvements include more realistic colors in daytime shots and less chance of lens flare in low-light scenarios. There are still moments when the focus isn’t fast enough to lock automatically, and in some photos, zooming in reveals imperfections because the image processing simply can’t replicate the details the camera should have otherwise seen (this is especially true at the 12-megapixel and 200-megapixel settings). Again, I expect it to include several updates in the coming months to address the shortcomings.
For video recording, the horizontal lock will be quite useful. It uses the gyro and accelerometer on the device to maintain video recording level even when the phone is rotated 360 degrees. This is proving to be very relevant for videos on the go, and you can worry less about framing and keeping the phone level. The second big element is the APV, or Advanced Professional Video codec developed in-house by Samsung. If it is enabled, video recording on the Galaxy S26 Ultra will be much larger than normal HDR video, as each frame is encoded as a high-resolution image. For consumers, this may be an exaggeration, but for professional workflows, the result will be a much simpler and data intensive file to load into editing software.
Attention should be paid to the performance aspect. Initial communications from Samsung suggested the panel was a 10-bit display, but has since been confirmed to be an 8-bit display. As it stands, colors are simulated at 10-bit, which in other words means the display natively handles 16.7 million colors instead of 1 billion, but try to work around it. That’s not the problem, because for most users, they’ll manage. However, the miscommunication was unexpected and unnecessary.
Step back, and you’ll realize that Samsung has structured the Galaxy S26 Ultra to incrementally improve in some aspects, and take significant steps forward in others where the differences will matter most. The privacy display is one that defines a new level of functionality that other phone makers will now try to integrate by the time their next flagship launches. Horizontal lock and the APV codec are important for video recording, while photography is a matter of greater refinement. The performance, battery endurance and all-round polish are definitely flagship-grade.
Samsung’s philosophy seems clear – lead with relevant progress, not pretentious drama. The Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra offers much more than that.
