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Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra: Two-minute review

Nowadays, smartphone changes can usually be measured in millimeters and gram fractions. The era of sweeping hardware redesigns is all but done. Most of the updates we see seem to be in material swaps and growing and shrinking camera array plateaus. That's not a bad thing, certainly not judging by the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra I hold in my hand.

It's eminently familiar but also stunningly powerful and aesthetically sublime – even without last year's titanium. It's not a perfect Android phone (some day, Samsung will adopt MagSafe or something like it), but easily one of the best I've ever used or tested. It's the full package. A relatively slim and light big-screen mobile communicator, and a powerful pocket computer that, with its hidden S Pen, can even excite creative types or compulsive note takers.

Samsung gets away with not changing much by still delivering on all the promises of a great flagship phone.

It has excellent cameras, easily the best of not just the S26 lineup, but all recent Galaxy phones (even the foldables). It has the fastest chip, even, thanks to a bit of customization from Qualcomm, outdoing the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 you might find on other Android phones.

The new S26 Ultra is on the left, the last, slightly squarer S25 Ultra model on the right. (Image credit: Lance Ulanoff / Future)

The S26 Ultra hides a pair of truly remarkable features that are not evident at first glance but will surely be the most talked-about updates for some time to come. One is the Privacy Display, a true bit of display hardware innovation that has no equivalent on any other modern smartphone. Then there's the built-in gimbal. Strike that – it's not really a gimbal, just a wild bit of hardware and software engineering that lets you turn your camera up to 360 degrees while keeping the footage perfectly level.

It's a handset overstuffed with AI possibilities, adding this time Perplexity to Bixby (because why not?) and upping the creative and assistive capabilities of Galaxy AI. Google uses the S26 Ultra to give us a sneak preview of the agentic possibilities soon arriving on Pixels and all other supporting Android phones.

The list of AI abilities is long, overwhelming, and perhaps too much. It's not a weakness, per se, but I still don't know why one phone has so many. But then you also might wonder why the iPhone 17 Pro Max still has so few.

Samsung backs up the power and performance of this smartphone with way better heat and power management and excellent battery life.

And to top it all off, it's still $1,299 (£1,249 / AU$2,149). That's not affordable, but it is the same price as last year, which is more than can be said for the Galaxy S26 and S26 Plus.

There's not enough here to trade in your still wonderful Galaxy S25 Ultra, but it would be a big leap from, say, the S23 Ultra or anything earlier, and will undoubtedly end up atop our Best Android Phones buying guide.

Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra review: Price and availability

Samsung unveiled the Galaxy S26 Ultra, along with the S26 Plus and S26, on February 25, as part of its Unpacked event (it'll hold another one later this year for foldables). It ships on March 11, 2026.

While the Galaxy S26 and S26 Plus saw price hikes, the Galaxy S26 Ultra still costs the same in the US as the Galaxy S25 Ultra did last year: $1,299.99 ( £1,279 / AU$2,199).

It's available in a choice of seven colors wherever you buy: Cobalt Violet, Sky Blue, Black, White, and the online exclusives: Silver, Shadow, Pink Gold.

The phone ships in either 256GB, 512GB, or 1TB storage configurations, and every variant comes with 12GB RAM (16GB of RAM if you buy the 1TB model). If you go for more storage space, you will pay somewhat more than you did last year. In the US, the 1TB model is now $1,799.99, roughly $140 more than last year (you do get the extra RAM, though).

The Galaxy S26 Ultra is still a little more expensive than the base iPhone 17 Pro Max ($1,199 / £1,199 / AU$2,149), and both do start with 256GB of storage and offer comparable features. However, the S26 Ultra does include the integrated S Pen and all of that on-board AI. For now, the S26 Ultra might be the better value.

• Price: from $1,299 / £1,279 / AU$2,199

Storage

US price

UK price

AU price

256GB

$1,299.99

£1,279

AU$2,199

512GB

$1,499.99

£1,449

AU$2,199

1TB

$1,799.99

£1,699

AU$2,649

For the latest Galaxy S26 Ultra deals in your region, check out this Samsung Galaxy S26 deals page.

• Value score: 4.5/5

Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra review: Specs

Here's a look at the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra's key specs:

Dimensions:

163.6 mm (height) x 78.1 mm (width) x 7.9 mm (depth)

Weight:

214g

Display:

6.9-inch AMOLED 2X display

Resolution:

3120 x 1440 pixels

Refresh rate:

1-120Hz

Chipset:

Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 for Galaxy

RAM:

12GB / 16GB

Storage:

256GB / 512GB / 1TB

OS:

Android 16

Main camera:

200MP; f/1.4; 0.6µm sensor

Ultrawide camera:

50MP; f/1.9; 0.7µm sensor

Telephoto camera 1

10MP; f/2.4; 0.7µm; 5x optical zoom

Telephoto camera 2

50MP; f/2.9; 0.7µm; 10x optical quality zoom

Selfie camera:

12MP; f/2.2; 1.17µm

Battery:

5,000mAh

Charging:

Super Fast Charging 3.0, Super Fast Wireless Charging

Colors:

Cobalt Violet, Sky Blue, Black, White, Silver Shadow, Pink Gold

Price

From $1,299 / £1,279 / AU$2,199

Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra review: design

• A subtle design refresh
• Thinner and looks a bit more like the S25 Edge (and like all the other Galaxy S26 phones)
• No more titanium

Leading from the rear, the Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge has had signifcant influence on the look of the entire Galaxy S26 lineup. Nowhere is this more evident, perhaps, than in the new Galaxy S26 Ultra.

At a glance, the 6.9-inch S26 Ultra looks a lot like the S25 Ultra, but if that new raised camera array looks familiar, it's because it's clearly based on the S25 Edge's two-camera platform. The platform makes sense when you realize the S26 Ultra is slightly thinner and lighter than its predecessor (7.9mm vs 8.2mm and 214g vs 218g).

The S26 Ultra has a slightly softer and more pleasing look, thanks to the four corners adopting a more curved profile. Samsung also swapped out a key material, trading titanium for Armor Aluminum. Honestly, it's not something most people will notice, and I wonder if it helped Samsung save a little money on production costs. The other benefit might be that aluminium, a softer material, makes it easier to apply a wider variety of richer colors. My Cobolt Violet review unit is lovely, but I would've liked to see a few wilder hue swings like deep green or, yes, orange.

Lance Ulanoff / FutureLance Ulanoff / FutureLance Ulanoff / FutureLance Ulanoff / FutureLance Ulanoff / FutureLance Ulanoff / Future

As you would expect, the screen is protected by Corning Gorilla Glass Armor 2 and the back by Gorilla Glass Victus 2. These materials should help protect it from scratches and cracks (if you drop it [Author's note: I did not purposely drop it]).

Beyond those updates and changes, nothing has changed. The power/sleep/Gemini button and long volume button are in essentially the exact same spots. There are a pair of microphone holes along the top edge. On the base are the SIM slot, speaker slot, and USB-C charge port.

Next to that trio is the S Pen. You press it to release the pen, which looks quite similar to the last S Pen but is in fact slightly thinner. I didn't find that it made any noticeable difference in usability.

Lance Ulanoff / FutureLance Ulanoff / FutureLance Ulanoff / Future

The entire phone is still rated IP68, which means it can handle a rain shower (or worse) and dust.

Think about the design this way: If you liked the looks of the S25 Ultra, you'll probably like the S26 Ultra. Sure, the camera bump grew (without demonstrably updating the camera hardware), but it's generally an attractive, big-screen Android smartphone with fresh colors to attract those who found the titanium hues wanting.

• Design score: 5/5

Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra review: Display

• Size, resolution, and brightness unchanged
• Still an excellent display
• Privacy Display borders on breakthrough innovation

Samsung left its 6.9-inch Dynamic AMOLED display mostly unchanged. it stil offers up to 3,120x1440 QHD+ resolution (though it defaults to 2,340x1080 FHD+ to save on battery life). It has the same brightness and ability to smoothly transition from 1Hz for a sleep screen to the buttery-smooth motion of 120hz. There's still a selfie camera cutout near the top of the display and a very thin channel between the frame and the screen for one of the loud and clear stereo speakers.

None of this is news.

(Image credit: Lance Ulanoff / Future)

The marquee feature and one that is, in fact, unique among smartphones is the Privacy Display.

As the name implies, this feature adjusts the screen so that people standing on either side of you, behind you, or even in front of you cannot read what is on your display. There are a few remarkable things about this feature. First, it's a hardware innovation, accomplished by controlling two different kinds of pixels: narrow and wide. These pixels are set in an every other pixel pattern: wide, narrow, wide, narrow.

In standard mode, both pixels are on, providing a 180-degree view of your S26 Ultra screen.

@lanceulanoff

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In Privacy Display Mode, the wide pixels turn off, and then anyone off-axis only sees a grayed-out or nearly black screen unless their face is perpendicular to the S26 Ultra display.

Here's the other remarkable thing: Because this is at a pixel level, the Privacy Display can be set to only hide a portion of a screen: think notification popups, password, and PIN entry.

You can access Privacy Display through settings or the Quick panel. On there, it lets you turn it on for the whole screen or set conditions: "PIN, Pattern, password, Notification popups."

I turned on Privacy Display and could immediately see it at work. First, I noticed that my own screen view looked slightly desaturated (maybe from the loss of wide pixels), second, the default Privacy Display mode isn't that effective. I could still make out the dimmed content, even when viewing the screen from an angle.

To really see the magic, you have to turn on "Maximum privacy protection." Once I did that, my screen looked almost black from an off-angle, and the same was true when I set it for conditions, like only blacking out my notification popups.

The third and perhaps best Privacy display feature is that you can enable it on a per-app basis. Imagine you don't want anyone see what your TikTok or Instagram algorithm looks like. Just turn on Privacy Display for those apps, and whenever you use them, they'll only be visible to you. I set it up for my TikTok and Instagram, and it worked perfectly.

This is the kind of feature I expect competitors like Apple, OnePlus, Motorola, and others to copy in short order. Privacy Display will change the equation when deciding which S26 is right for you (none of the other have this) and could tip the scales in Samsung's favor when considering a platform switch.

• Display score: 5/5

Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra review: S Pen

• Slightly smaller
• Still a great always-ready creative, notation, and AI tool

(Image credit: Lance Ulanoff / Future)

Direct comparisons of the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra with, say, Apple's iPhone 17 Pro Max don't entirely make sense. Afterall, only one of them has shipped with an integrated S Pen since the Galaxy S22 Ultra.

As an amateur artist, I love having the S Pen always on hand, perfectly hidden inside a powerful Android 16 smartphone.

The latest S Pen looks a lot like the last one, but it is slightly thinner, and the back end is now curved to match the curve of its S26 Ultra housing.

(Image credit: Lance Ulanoff / Future)

In use, this S Pen is just as useful as its predecessors. It's a great implement for note-taking, marking up images, creating rough sketches for AI image generation, and making art. It recognizes pressure and orientation. There's even a button on the side that, in the Sketchbook app, gives you instant access to an eraser.

The S26 Ultra is also aware of the S Pen, and if it's been outside the phone and not used for a while, the phone will ask you if you have your S Pen.

Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra review: cameras

• Same camera array as the S25 Ultra
• Apertures grew on the lenses you'll use most
• Selfie camera got a big field of view upgrade
• Generally excellent image capture capabilities
• Noticeably less grain on night shots
• Super Steady to the max

(Image credit: Lance Ulanoff / Future)

Before we dive into the photographic performance of the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra, let's pause a moment to look at the virtually unchanged camera array and selfie camera:

• Main camera: 200MP f1.4
• 5x telephoto: 50MP (also provides the 10x zoom through a sensor crop) f2.9
• 3x optical: 10MP f2.4
• Ultra-wide: 50MP f1.9
• Front-facing camera: 12MP f2.2

What's not evident there, though, are two significant changes on the 200MP Main camera and 10MP 5X optical zoom. Both cameras feature wider apertures (represented by lower f-stop numbers), which allows them to capture more light and makes them more effective in low-light situations.

In practice, this is an excellent set of lenses, and based on megapixels, they all beat the iPhone 17 Pro Max's 48MP lenses. However, even on the 200MP camera, you'll default to shooting at a binned 12MP (multiple pixels of information are applied to each final pixel). The iPhone 17 Pro Max defaults to shooting at 24MP.

I shot photos using all the cameras, often capturing the exact same image with the Galaxy S25 Ultra and the iPhone 17 Pro Max.

All of these phones offer excellent cameras, and I found the image quality generally excellent. If anything, the S26 Ultra appears to have pulled even with the iPhone 17 Pro Max in most photo scenarios.

The S26 Ultra camera array on the left, the S25 Ultra cameras are on the right. (Image credit: Lance Ulanoff / Future)

Samsung told me that their image processing now allows the phone to understand the native noise signature of each lens and adjust accordingly. What this means is my photo results are clearer and cleaner. Between that and the larger apertures, the low-light photography, especially nighttime photography ("Nightography"), shows a significant improvement. I noticed far less graininess in my star photography.

At one point, I shot a hyperlapse video that captures moving nighttime clouds and what might have been a pair of high-altitude jets. It's a lovely, low-grain seven-second video.

(Image credit: Lance Ulanoff / Future)

Color, truth, clarity, detail, and skin tones are the best I have ever seen for a Galaxy series phone, and they rival what I can get on the iPhone 17 Pro Max.

(Image credit: Lance Ulanoff / Future)

We have the same 3X and 5X optical zoom options, as well as a 10MP zoom accomplished by doing a sensor crop on the 50MP telephoto. I like a good 5X zoom and appreciate the 10X option, even if it's not a true telephoto lens. What I steer clear of are the 30X and 100x space zoom options. They, too, can provide some eye-popping results, but I'm highly skeptical of the amount of AI applied to deliver these results. If you want photos that reflect reality, these AI-supported image creation modes are not for you.

The 12MP selfie camera. (Image credit: Lance Ulanoff / Future)

While Samsung didn't upgrade the front-facing selfie camera's megapixels or even add the ability to do landscape photos while holding the phone in portrait mode (called Center Stage), they did significantly increase the field of view to 85 degrees. When I took a selfie of myself, I was startled to see just how much of the surrounding scene the S26 Ultra can pull. I bet I'll fit a lot more people in my next Galaxy selfie.

(Image credit: Lance Ulanoff / Future)

On the video front, the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra boasts some pro-level video capabilities, including the APV codec, and 8K at 30 fps video capture. Yes, you can shoot that high-resolution video and edit it on the phone (including applying things like the AI-powered Audio Eraser). However, I still can't edit 8K 30fps video on my go-to Android video editor, PowerDirector. But the feature that will easily impact most regular people is the Super Steady update that adds horizontal lock.

This is not just smoothing out tilts and turns. Using the S26 Ultra's gyroscope and accelerometer (and clearly some software and probably sensor cropping tricks), it is capable of holding the horizontal plane even as you turn the phone a full 360 degrees. I’m not kidding. I tried it. It works incredibly well and far exceeds the iPhone’s Action Mode.

@techradar

♬ Dream - Alex Lustig

• Cameras score: 5/5

Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra review: camera samplesLance Ulanoff / FutureLance Ulanoff / FutureLance Ulanoff / FutureLance Ulanoff / FutureLance Ulanoff / FutureLance Ulanoff / FutureLance Ulanoff / FutureLance Ulanoff / FutureLance Ulanoff / FutureLance Ulanoff / FutureLance Ulanoff / FutureLance Ulanoff / FutureLance Ulanoff / FutureLance Ulanoff / FutureLance Ulanoff / FutureLance Ulanoff / FutureLance Ulanoff / FutureLance Ulanoff / FutureLance Ulanoff / FutureLance Ulanoff / FutureSamsung Galaxy S26 Ultra review: software and AI

• Brimming with AI
• Bixby has a better LLM for local queries and Perplexity for general knowledge
• Google updates Gemini for the Ultra
• Galaxy AI has more image manipulation and creation capabilities

Few phones illustrate our over-saturated era of generative AI more than the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra. It has Bixby, Perplexity, Samsung Galaxy AI, and, of course, Google Gemini. Each has a role – some multiple roles – and there can be some overlap.

Samsung's long-term goal is for people to see this as an AI phone but not think very much about which AI got you where. Basically, the phone will get smarter over time, especially as its Agentic capabilities grow – and start to proactively do your bidding.

We're not there yet. In fact, the Agentic stuff, which lives with Gemini, is only with Uber for now (other third-party apps will follow). You're supposed to be able to ask Gemini to book you an Uber ride, and it will run off in the background, gather all the relevant bits, and have it set up in Uber so all you have to do is approve the ride.

I installed Uber on the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra and then asked Gemini to book me a ride to the airport. Gemini told me it could help, but it first asked for key information like my pickup address, pickup time, and the kind of ride I prefer.

While Gemini said it booked the ride. Nothing was booked. It also later told me it could not help with canceling the non-existent ride. (Image credit: Future)

Gemini told me it had booked the ride, but when I checked Uber, nothing was booked. I told Gemini to cancel the ride (in case I was confused), but Gemini couldn't do anything about the non-existent ride.

In general, though, my experience with Gemini (the default is Fast model mode) was good. I had many conversations with it and used it to identify things in my shelves, and with the live view, have it explain how to fix a leaky bathroom faucet. It's far from foolproof and has yet to learn how to pronounce my last name.

Gemini on the S26 Ultra is also a showcase for what's coming to other Android smartphones that can support the generative platform. For example, the phone supports Circle to Search's new Find the Look capabilities. These let you circle someone's whole outfit in an image, and Gemini will find all the clothing.

(Image credit: Lance Ulanoff / Future)

I looked up an image of John Lennon from the 1970s, pressed down on the virtual home button, and launched Circle to Search. After circling Lennon, I asked Gemini to find the look (it identified his vintage white jacket), and then I asked Nano Banana to generate an image of me in the same look. I never got that to work, but Nano Banana did create a new image of John Lennon in the same look, with the rest of the Beatles standing nearby. I was a little surprised Gemini was willing to create imagery of a known figure. I also did the same operation with a photo of the actor Walter Goggins.

Samsung's own Galaxy AI is already a powerful and pervasive generative AI platform on the Galaxy S phone line; however, it now has some features.

I used it, for example, to make a simple cartoon sketch of my face and then transform it into a more polished comic, which I then used to generate stickers that I can now send to friends over Messages.

(Image credit: Future)

Galaxy AI's photo editing capabilities are very strong. I grabbed an apple, put it on a table, and took a photo. Then I asked Galaxy AI to take a slice out of the apple and put the slice next to the Apple. After a few seconds, it complied, and the results look real. When I had it take another AI shot at the photo, I noticed that the slice and the cutout on the apple didn't match up quite as neatly as they did on the first generated shot.

(Image credit: Future)

Next, I sketched a dinosaur eating the apple and asked Galaxy AI to convert it into art. The result was a tiny crocodile crawling behind the apple. Bascially my rough sketch was little more than inspiration.

In another instance, I asked Galaxy AI to add flowers to my orchid. It added flowers, but they were all carnations. I told Galaxy to make sure to add orchid flowers. It did, but put them next to the carnations.

(Image credit: Future)

Bixby is better at conversational queries, but it can still take some work to get Samsung's homegrown digital assistant to do what you want. I asked it to change the aspect ratio on my photos to 16:9, but had to repeat myself a few times to make it understand. Saying "sixteen colon nine" did the trick.

(Image credit: Future)

For questions that do not relate to the phone, Bixby now has Perplexity AI. If you ask, as I did, about the capital of Montana, Bixby won't hesitate but will tap directly into Perplexity in the cloud to get the answer. You'll notice that the result has a little Perplexity logo on it.

The truth is, I don't understand what Perplexity is doing here. Afterall, I can ask Gemini that same question and get the same (or even more tailored) result. Why did Bixby need general knowledge? Perhaps I'm underestimating how many people use Bixby.

(Image credit: Lance Ulanoff / Future)

The Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra has a collection of "Now" features, including "Now Brief," which shows up as a home screen (and lock screen, if you choose) widget, Now Bar for adaptive reminders, and the new "Now Nudge," which can give you contextual reminders and information where and when you need it.

Now Brief is a fine widget with information about the weather, my schedule, and news, but I didn't find much use in the rest of the Now tools. I think I need to spend more time with the phone and let it learn a whole lot more about me before these tools become truly useful.

(Image credit: Future)

Last year, Samsung unveiled its powerful Audio Erase, which can remove distracting background audio from your videos. You can reduce voices, crowd sounds, and background noises, with customizable sliders for each control. It's effective, but if you turn the noise reduction all the way down, voices can end up sounding a bit robotic.

More intriguing is Audio Eraser's new third-party app capabilities, which you access via the Quick Panel. I tried it with TikTok and YouTube and could tell it sharpened and raised the dialogue a bit over background noises, but otherwise did not find it all that useful.

(Image credit: Future)

I like many of these AI tools, but I do think the system is a bit overloaded with options. I look forward to a time when there's a more consistent AI approach with zero redundancy. If one on-board AI can handle a task, there should not be another waiting in the wings to do the exact same thing.

• Software AI score: 4.5/5

Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra review: Performance

• A fast Qualcomm Snapdragon Gen 8 Elite 5 for Galaxy chip
• Snappy performance in every task

Every year, Samsung gets the fastest available Snapdragon for its flagship smartphone, and every year it convinces Qualcomm to customize the chip, squeezing out a few extra Ghz of speed just for its phones.

In truth, the Qualcomm Snapdragon Gen 8 Elite 5 for Galaxy is about more than just speed. It's customized to work better for the Galaxy S26 series across a range of tasks. Samsung claimed that it brings faster CPU, GPU, and NPU performance. This translates into better Geekbench benchmarks than the similarly named Snapdragon chips in last year's Galaxy S25 Ultra. Single-core and multi-core scores eclipse those on Apple's A19 Pro. GPU screens are harder to compare, though the iPhone 17 Pro Max silicon appears to be significantly ahead of those on the S26 Ultra.

Lance Ulanoff / FutureLance Ulanoff / FutureLance Ulanoff / Future

Benchmark numbers tell you little about real-world performance. In everyday use, that last Ultra was fast, and this new S26 Ultra is fast. There's enough headroom that I doubt anyone will notice the difference. The NPU powers some pretty impressive local AI (like my cut Apple, and AI art generated from my primitive sketches).

I played PUBG and Asphalt 9 Legends on the phone and was impressed with how the games looked and the smooth and fast performance (Side note: I paired the S26 Ultra to the new Galaxy Buds4 Pro and loved the fit and surround-sound audio quality). Better yet, the S26 Ultra never got warm. I'll credit the new vapor chamber with the cooler performance.

The Galaxy S26 Ultra's CPU is backed by 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage. I can get 16GB of RAM if I pay for the pricey 1TB model.

Overall, this is a fast device ready to accomplish a range of tasks, including running some impressive local AI models.

• Performance score: 5/5

Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra review: Battery

• 5,000 mAh
• Fast wireless charging
• No MagSafe

I'm honestly impressed by the Galaxy S26 Ultra's battery life. Even with brightness turned up, the screen refresh set to a max 120hz, and resolution turned up to QHD+, it carried well past 24 hours of operation. If I lower the brightness and work with FHD+ resolution (which still looks great), it can last two days on a charge.

The 3-nanometer Qualcomm Snapdragon chip is efficient, and the OneUI 8.5 platform knows how to squeeze the most life out of a single charge.

Recharging can be done with a 45W charger, reaching 75% in about 35 minutes. A 65W wired charge could reportedly do the same in 30 minutes. I had my phone fully charged in under an hour.

The phone supports fast wireless charging with up to a 25W charger. What's missing, though, is any kind of MagSafe-style support. There are no magnets in the back of the S26 Ultra, which is a bit of a surprise considering we got Pixel Snap on Google's Pixel 10 phones.

Samsung is only promising that all the cases it sells will come with built-in magnets.

• Battery score: 4.5/5

Should I buy the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra?Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra score card

Value

Keeping the same price while increasing capabilities, speed, and photo quality is always a good thing. It's a pricey flagship but I think the inclusion of the S Pen makes it a better value than most.

4.5/5

Design

If you liked the design of the last Ultra, you should appreciate this incremental update that slims the phone down, makes it lighter and just a little bit softer around the edges. The new colors are a bonus, too.

5/5

Display

It's a fantastic 6.9-inch AMOLED that makes every image pop. Plus it has that fast and buttery-smooth 120hz refresh rate. The marquee update, though is Privacy Display, a one-of-a-kind innovation that actually does what it promises

5/5

Cameras

While this is essentially the same set of cameras as with the S25 Ultra, Samsung has upgraded the aperture on a couple of key lenses, thereby effectively upgrading light-capturing capabilities and we have a selfie camera that can fit more friends and family in the frame. Photos taken with all the lenses are excellent and Super Steady with horizontal lock is shockingly effective.

5/5

Software and AI

Samsung has stuffed the Galaxy S26 Ultra full of AI possibilities to the extent that the options can be overwhelming. You can use the powerful Gemini, the photo and creativity-enhancing Galaxy AI, the phone system-knowledgeable Bixby, or its new partner Perplexity. Each lets you do many AI-infused wonderful things (though some things don't always work as anticipated). Some consolidation is in order. At least OneUI 8.5 feels more consistent and useful than ever. The Now Brief is a useful widget, but I remain unmoved by Now Nudge and Now Bar.

4.5/5

Performance

The S26 Ultra's Qualcomm Snapdragon Gen 8 Elite 5 for Galaxy is more powerful and efficient than ever. It's hard to find a task it can't handle.

5/5

Battery

Fantastic battery life; days if you keep settings to a mid-range resolution.

5/5

Buy it if...

You want the best Android phone on the market
There are cheaper Android phones, but few mix the power, performance, battery life, maximum AI options, and creative possibilities of the S26 Ultra. Honestly, it lives up to its name.

You own other Samsung products
I've said this before, and I'll say it again: Samsung lacks the same kind of deeply connected ecosystem that Apple has across its products, but it's not non-existent, and for every Samsung product you own, the utility of a Galaxy S26 Ultra to connect and sometimes control it all increases.

You want multi-day battery life and no-compromises power
The Galaxy S26 Ultra has not just Qualcomm's fastest mobile chip, it has one customized for the Galaxy line, which means even more power and bespoke performance.

Don't buy it if...

You're on a budget
Even though the S26 Ultra is no more expensive than the S25 Ultra, it's still an expensive smartphone (though I encourage you to check out the many deals and trade-in options). There are cheaper and quite performant Android options like the new $499 Google Pixel 10a. Just know that you give up telephoto, an S Pen, and more than a few other flagship capabilities.

AI is not your thing
One of the S26 Ultra's biggest selling points is comprehensive AI possibilities. It has four (seriously) AI engines, and while that offers a lot of generative possibilities, some people just want a classic smartphone.

Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra review: Also consider

Apple iPhone 17 Pro Max
The Apple iPhone 17 Pro Max pushes the iconic iPhone in bold new directions and colors. It's recognizable, but different in ways that make it eye-catching. The performance is stellar, and the cameras set a new high-water mark for smartphone photography. For people who demand more from their smartphone, there may be no better choice.

Read our full Apple iPhone 17 Pro Max review

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6
The Galaxy Z Fold 6 is a bold reimagining of Samsung’s flagship foldable smartphone. If a 6.9-inch display isn't enough for you, and you want to stick with Samsung and get most of that AI goodness, this foldable is the obvious choice.

Read our full Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 review

Google Pixel 9 Pro XL
The Pixel 9 Pro XL is just a bigger Pixel 9 Pro, but that's good enough. It doesn't have exclusive camera features or extra RAM for a boost, it's just got a bigger display and a bigger battery. That means the Pixel 9 Pro is an even better pick this year, but it also means that you can choose your Pixel based on the size you like, not the features you need.

Read our full Google Pixel 9 Pro XL review

Galaxy S26 Ultra

iPhone 17 Pro Max

Galaxy Z Fold 6

Google Pixel 9 Pro XL

Price (at launch):

$1,299.99 / £1,279 / AU$2,199

$1,199 / £1,199 / AU$2,149

$1,999.99 / £1,799 / AU$2,899

$1,099 / £1,099 / AU$1,849

Dimensions:

163.6 mm (height) x 78.1 mm (width) x 7.9 mm (depth)

163.4 x 78.0 x 8.75 mm

72.8 x 158.4 x 8.9mm (folded)
143.2 x 158.4 x 4.2mm (unfolded)

162.8 x 76.6 x 8.5mm

Weight:

214g

233g

215g

232g

Displays

6.9-inch AMOLED 2X, 120Hz

6.9-inch OLED

Main display:

8-inch QXGA+ Dynamic AMOLED

(2184 x 1968), 120Hz adaptive refresh rate (1~120Hz)

Cover display::

6.5-inch FHD+ Dynamic AMOLED

2X Display(2520 x 1080, 21:9), 120Hz adaptive refresh rate (1~120Hz)

6.8-inch Actua display

Cameras

200MP main, 50MP ultra-wide, 10MP telephoto, 50MP telephoto

48MP wide (24mm, f/1.78), 48MP ultra-wide (13mm, f/2.2), 48MP telephoto (8x optical zoom)

200MP wide, 12MP ultra-wide, 10MP 3x telephoto, 10MP cover-screen, 10MP main-screen

50MP wide; 48MP ultra-wide; 48MP telephoto (5x zoom)

Chipset:

Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 for Galaxy

Apple A19 Pro

Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite for Mobile Platform for Galaxy

Google Tensor G5

How I tested the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra

• Tested the phone for almost one week
• Took photos across all the lenses
• I used the extensive AI tools
• I did work and play on it
• I benchmarked using Geekbench to see the comparative increase in performance over the last Ultra and how it stacks up with the iPhone 17 Pro Max's A19 Pro

Despite a historic East Coast snowstorm, I somehow received the Galaxy S26 Ultra on the same day Samsung announced it at Unpacked in San Francisco. I unboxed and started testing it within minutes of receiving it.

Since then, I've used it constantly and have done my best to push the limits of its processor and entertainment, AI and creative capabilities.

Why you can trust TechRadar

☑️ 100s of gaming laptops reviewed
☑️ 15 years of product testing
☑️ Over 16,000 products reviewed in total
☑️ Nearly 200,000 hours testing tech

I connected the phone to Samsung Galaxy Buds 3 Pro to listen to video, social media, and podcasts. I also connected the phone to a Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra to help it track my activities and, hopefully, enhance the Now Brief reports

Read more about how we test

First reviewed: March, 2026

Samsung's new flagship, the Galaxy S26 Ultra, does not disappoint. It's thinner, lighter, and more powerful, even managing to squeeze more exciting photographic and video capabilities out of the same set of cameras.

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