Samsung continues its three-device flagship strategy for 2026, and at the very top sits the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra. As expected, this is the most feature-packed model in the lineup—but in a market that’s evolving rapidly, being “Ultra” now demands more than just incremental upgrades.
Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra Specs
- 6.9-inch QHD+ Dynamic AMOLED 2X display with Vision Booster
- 3nm Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 for Galaxy
- Up to 16GB RAM
- 256GB | 512GB | 1TB storage
- Rear cameras: 50MP ultra-wide + 200MP wide + 10MP 3x telephoto + 50MP 5x telephoto
- 12MP front camera
- IP68 water and dust resistance
- 5,000mAh battery with 60W Super Fast Charging 3.0 and 25W wireless charging
- One UI 8.5 with Galaxy AI (Android 16)
- Colors: Black, Cobalt Violet, Sky Blue, White (Online Exclusive: Silver Shadow and Pink Gold)
- Price: RM5,999 (12GB+56GB) | RM6,799 (12GB+512GB) | RM7,999 (16GB+1TB)
Design
The Galaxy S26 Ultra finally feels like it truly belongs in the same family as its siblings. Samsung has unified the design language, giving the Ultra a look that’s less isolated and more cohesive.
One notable change this year is the switch back to an Armor Aluminum frame, moving away from Titanium. The reason? Better heat dissipation—and in daily use, that’s a practical trade-off.
You get the signature camera island, now with a more pronounced bump, along with slightly more rounded edges that make the phone more comfortable to hold. The S Pen is also refined, but now slots in one direction only.
Color options include Black, Cobalt Violet, Sky Blue, and White, with Silver Shadow and Pink Gold available as online exclusives.
Display
The 6.9-inch LTPO OLED display remains one of Samsung’s strongest selling points. With its sharp 1,440 x 3,120 resolution and adaptive 120Hz refresh rate, the experience is as smooth and vibrant as ever. Outdoor visibility, in particular, sees a noticeable boost thanks to the improved anti-reflective coating.
However, there are a few omissions that are harder to ignore in 2026. The panel sticks to 8-bit color with FRC instead of true 10-bit, skips Dolby Vision, and doesn’t adopt high-frequency PWM dimming. None of these are deal-breakers individually, but together they do make the display feel slightly behind some competitors on paper.
The standout feature this year is the Privacy Display mode, exclusive to the Galaxy S26 Ultra.
Instead of relying on a physical filter like traditional privacy screen protectors, Samsung uses a clever pixel-level approach. Certain pixels emit light in a narrow forward beam, and when the mode is enabled, the standard pixels switch off. The result is a display that looks normal head-on but becomes dim or unreadable from side angles—even from the top and bottom.
It’s a smart implementation, especially with app-level customization for things like banking or messaging apps. There’s also a Maximum Privacy mode, though this comes at the cost of heavily reduced contrast and washed-out colors.
In practice, the feature is useful, but not flawless. The standard mode doesn’t completely block visibility, while the maximum setting is too aggressive for daily use.
Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 Elite for Galaxy
Powered by the Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 Elite for Galaxy, the Galaxy S26 Ultra delivers exactly what you’d expect from a flagship—fast, smooth, and reliable performance across the board.
That said, the improvements over its siblings aren’t as significant as you might expect. The gains largely come from better thermal management, aided by a larger vapor chamber and the switch back to aluminum. It’s an upgrade that improves consistency rather than outright speed.
One UI 8.5
Running One UI 8.5 on top of Android 16, the Galaxy S26 Ultra continues to push Samsung’s Galaxy AI ecosystem forward. Features like Now Nudge and Audio Eraser add genuine convenience, and the built-in document scanner in the camera app is a practical touch. You can read more about it in our Galaxy S26+ review here.
@gadgetmtech #Samsung brings AirDrop support to #GalaxyS26 series using Quick Share! More Samsung phones will be getting this feature soon! #GalaxyS26Series ♬ original sound – gadgetmtech
Samsung also takes a step toward cross-platform compatibility by enabling Quick Share to work with Apple devices, offering something close to an AirDrop-like experience.
Still, the usefulness of these features depends heavily on language support and ecosystem integration. Many of the AI tools remain limited to Samsung’s own apps, which makes them feel less impactful than they could be.
Camera
The camera system on the Galaxy S26 Ultra feels like a mix of progression and compromise.
While the 200MP main sensor remains unchanged from previous generations, Samsung has widened the aperture to f/1.4, allowing more light in. The same goes for the 5x telephoto lens (f/3.4 to f/1.4), which now benefits from a brighter aperture as well.
The bigger change comes from the switch to a more compact ALoP telephoto design. This results in more natural-looking bokeh, but sacrifices the ability to focus on closer subjects—something the previous periscope setup handled better.
In daylight, results are largely similar to before. But in low-light scenarios, the improvements become more apparent, with better brightness, dynamic range, and noise control. Video also benefits from Horizontal Lock for enhanced stabilization, making handheld shooting more reliable. It also supports professional-grade APV codec for high-quality video capture and editing.
It’s a camera system that improves in specific areas, but doesn’t fully address the gap with some competing flagships.
Battery Life
Battery capacity remains at 5,000mAh, which is starting to feel conservative at this level. Still, efficiency improvements help the Galaxy S26 Ultra comfortably last through a full day, and even stretch into a second day with lighter use.
The real upgrade comes in charging speed. With 60W wired charging now supported, the phone finally feels less behind its rivals in this area.
Final Words
Retailing at RM5,999 (12GB+256GB), RM6,799 (12GB+512GB), and RM7,999 (16GB+1TB), the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra refines an already solid formula, introduces a few genuinely useful features like the Privacy Display, and improves in key areas such as charging and low-light photography.
At the same time, it doesn’t push boundaries in the way you might expect from an Ultra device. The upgrades are incremental, some design decisions are questionable, and certain limitations—like battery capacity and camera progression—are becoming harder to overlook.
Even so, this remains a well-balanced flagship with no major flaws. The S Pen continues to be a defining feature, and for users coming from older devices, the experience will still feel premium and complete.
For those already on a recent Ultra, however, this might be one generation that’s easier to skip. Ultimately, most people don’t switch to a new flagship every year.
Yay
- Top-class display
- Privacy Display mode is groundbreaking
- Great AI features
Nay
- Switched from a Titanium frame to an Armor Aluminum frame
- No more periscope telephoto lens that has better close-ups
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