Samsung's Galaxy AI journey has been one of the more compelling narratives in the smartphone industry over the past two years. From being among the first to position a phone as an "AI phone" with the S24 Ultra, to refining that vision with the S25 Ultra, the S26 Ultra arrives at a point where the label feels genuinely earned.
If you were expecting a dramatic reinvention, though, the S26 Ultra is far from it. Instead, it arrives with a quiet confidence, the kind built from years of refining a formula that already works. We got the chance to unbox the S26 Ultra, and here's what we think, so far.
Editor
Denise chevron_right
Table of Contents
Design and Body
A Familiar Silhouette, Subtly Refined
At first glance, the Galaxy S26 Ultra looks unmistakably like its predecessor. The flat display, slim profile, and S Pen silo are all where you would expect them to be. The changes, however, are in the details.
The most noticeable shift is the rear camera module. A single oval island that houses all four lenses, with a design language reminiscent of the Galaxy Z Fold series, replaces the S25 Ultra's individual floating camera rings. It is a cleaner, more cohesive look. We also see rounder corners, nudging the Ultra away from its boxy Galaxy Note heritage.
As for its body, Samsung has switched from a titanium chassis to an Armour Aluminium frame, making it lighter and better at dissipating heat. The result is a device that weighs 214 grams and measures just 7.9mm thin, making it the slimmest and lightest Ultra to date.
Have it in hand, and the difference is immediately perceptible. Colour options include Black, White, Sky Blue, Pink Gold, and the hero colour of the year - Cobalt Violet, a sophisticated and striking choice.
Display
The 6.9-inch QHD+ Dynamic AMOLED 2X panel returns with its 1Hz–120Hz adaptive refresh rate and Corning Gorilla Armour 2 protection. The display story this year, though, is less about resolution and more about a genuinely new feature: Privacy Display.
A world-first on mobile and exclusive to the S26 Ultra, Privacy Display limits the screen's viewing angle so that its contents are unreadable to anyone not looking directly at it. It's basically a hardware-level privacy screen, without the grain and colour degradation of physical accessories.
Better still, it can be configured on a per-app basis or set to activate automatically when entering passwords or receiving notifications. On public transport, in a busy café, or at a shared desk, this is the kind of feature that quickly becomes difficult to live without.
Camera and Battery
Photography
The quad-camera setup carries over from the S25 Ultra: a 200MP main sensor, a 50MP ultrawide, a 10MP 3x telephoto, and a 50MP periscope telephoto with 5x optical zoom. The key upgrades, however, lie in the optics.
The main camera now has a wider f/1.4 aperture, which Samsung claims allows 47% more light to reach the sensor, whilst the periscope telephoto opens to f/2.9 for a 37% brightness improvement. In low-light conditions, aperture gains of this scale translate directly into cleaner, sharper images.
Video capabilities have also been strengthened, with 8K recording at 30fps and a new 360-degree horizontal lock to keep footage steady during movement (this one we're excited about!). Initial shots in the hands-on environment looked crisp and punchy. But the real proof, as always, will come from extended real-world use.
Battery
The S26 Ultra retains a 5,000mAh cell, unchanged from its predecessor. Given that rivals are now shipping with considerably larger batteries, this remains the one area where Samsung's restraint is most evident.
That said, early reports suggest the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chip and One UI 8.5's power optimisations push endurance comfortably past a full day, even at QHD+ and 120Hz. Super Fast Charging 3.0 brings the battery from flat to 75% in 30 minutes, which is a genuine improvement. The battery supports wireless fast charging, though built-in magnetic alignment is not; that requires Samsung's separately sold Magnet Cases.
Performance and Galaxy AI
Under the Hood
The Galaxy S26 Ultra runs on the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 for Galaxy, an overclocked variant exclusive to the Ultra model. It delivers a 19% CPU uplift and a 39% NPU performance boost over the S25 Ultra.
A redesigned vapour chamber improves thermal dissipation by 21%, keeping the phone noticeably cool during heavy use. RAM starts at 12GB, stepping up to 16GB on the 1TB variant.
One UI 8.5 and Galaxy AI
Running on Android 16 with One UI 8.5, the software experience feels polished and cohesive - a marked improvement over last year's rocky One UI 7 debut. Samsung has also meaningfully expanded Galaxy AI.
The headline addition is Now Nudge, a proactive assistant that draws context from messages, calendars, and apps to surface relevant actions before you have thought to look for them. Receive a message about a meeting, and the phone may flag a diary conflict and offer to resolve it immediately.
Now Brief continues to deliver personalised reminders and routine suggestions, whilst AI Select now handles cross-app actions more swiftly. Upgrades to the Finder search bar surface contextual information from past messages and notifications, functioning less like a file search and more like an ambient memory. Circle to Search can now identify multiple objects in a single gesture (very handy for quick shopping lookups).
Samsung's seven-year OS update commitment also remains in place, taking the S26 Ultra through to Android 23 and cementing one of the strongest long-term software pledges in the Android space.
Early Verdict
The Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra is a carefully considered refinement rather than a radical departure. It is lighter, cooler, more capable, and notably more private. The Privacy Display is a genuinely novel addition that stands out from anything else on the market right now, and the improvements to the camera system's aperture should deliver meaningful gains in real-world shooting.
Where the device shows restraint - the unchanged battery capacity and the absence of built-in magnetic charging - will be worth revisiting in a full review. For now, our first impressions look positive.
Stay tuned for our in-depth review of the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra.