In the ever-evolving world of high-end smartphones, you can never discount Samsung and the company's newest flagship proves this with a kind of scorched-earth dominance that we haven't seen for some time in these days of incremental updates.
Basically, with the release of the Galaxy S26 Ultra, Samsung has once again set the benchmark in flagship phones, and while 2026 has seen a massive shift toward AI-driven software, Samsung proves that clever hardware still has a place in our pockets. While also delivering some stunningly good AI-driven software, of course...
The first thing you’ll notice picking up the S26 Ultra is the superbly refined and high quality feel. Samsung has swapped the titanium frame of the previous model for "Armour Aluminium," contributing to a thinner 7.9mm profile and a lighter weight of 214 grams.
More importantly for users who often find the big "Ultra" phones a bit brick-like, the four corners are now more rounded, making it significantly more comfortable to hold and easier to slip into a pocket.
The 6.9-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X screen is a spectacular thing to behold - bright, vibrant and super high-res, it is also a true delight to use with superbly slick responsiveness. But the headline feature of this fantastic screen, however, is the Privacy Display, a hardware-level innovation that uses a pattern of narrow and wide pixels to prevent anyone standing at an angle from seeing your screen.
Whether you’re on a crowded bus or in a busy mall, you can toggle this on to black out your display to prying eyes, and while it does slightly mute the vividness of the screen when looking head-on, the security benefit is a game-changer for those handling sensitive info on the go.
As usual with a Samsung flagship, the rear camera array remains a beast, with a 200MP wide-angle lens, alongside a 50MP ultrawide, 10MP 3x telephoto, and a 50MP 5x telephoto (which also handles 10x high-quality zoom).
Key upgrades this year include larger apertures on the main and 5x lenses, which capture significantly more light for clearer, less grainy shots in low-light environments.
The real party trick, however, is Horizontal Lock. Using the phone’s gyroscope and clever software cropping, you can literally rotate the phone 360 degrees while recording, and the video horizon stays perfectly level. It effectively turns your phone into a built-in gimbal - or a heavily stabilised action cam - making it an essential tool for adventurous users, as well as a surprisingly effective dashcam.
Under the hood is the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 for Galaxy, a customised chip that delivers top-tier speed and power efficiency. Samsung has packed this device with a massive suite of AI tools, including:
- Photo Assist: Generative AI that lets you move objects or fill in missing parts of a photo (like adding a slice back into a bitten apple).
- Now Nudge: Offers real-time suggestions based on your screen, like pulling up your calendar when someone texts to ask if you're free for dinner.
- Circle to Search (Find the Look): Circle an outfit in a video or photo, and the AI will identify the clothing and accessories for you.
The phone runs Android 16 and comes with an industry-leading promise of seven years of software and security updates, ensuring your investment lasts well into the 2030s.
Battery life on the 5000mAh cell is excellent, easily lasting over a day and a half of heavy use, and for the first time, Samsung has stepped up its charging game with 60W wired charging, which can take the phone from 0% to 76% in just 30 minutes.
It also supports 25W wireless charging, though it notably still lacks built-in magnets for Qi2 magnetic accessories without a compatible case.
At a starting price of $2459 for the 256GB model (rising to $3549 for the 1TB model), the Galaxy S26 Ultra is undeniably expensive. However, for that price, you get the most complete Android experience available: the best-in-class camera, the unique S Pen stylus, and hardware innovations like the Privacy Display that you won’t find elsewhere.
What’s it like in a car?
The S26 Ultra shares the same current annoyance of being a large, yet remarkably slim phone, which means the camera lenses need to be housed in a bulge out the back. While the bulge is relatively small here, it does stick out quite a long way, meaning that the phone will never sit perfectly flat in a car’s wireless charging pad.
This isn’t as big a problem as the likes of the otherwise-superb Oppo Find N6 Fold that simply won’t charge on some pads, but it does occasionally throw up some flaky charging performance in cars with poorly placed or weak charging coils.
That said, it’s absolutely fine for the vast majority of the time, and aside from this slight wobble (literally; the phone will never sit flat unless you lie it screen down), the S26 Ultra’s in-car performance is as spectacular as the rest of it, with super fast connectivity that is rock solid, plus that privacy feature could also come in handy here, particularly if you use a vent or windscreen mount to hold your phone (just be aware that any back seat passengers will be able to see it though!).
If you are using an S24 or S25 Ultra, the changes may seem incremental on paper, but in daily use the step up in performance and practicality is remarkable - for anyone looking for the ultimate mobile workstation and creative tool, the S26 Ultra is the new king of the hill.
