Samsung has unveiled the Galaxy S26 Ultra at its Galaxy Unpacked 2026 event, highlighting a new Privacy Display feature to prevent shoulder surfing. The device maintains the $1,300 price of its predecessors while introducing marginal upgrades like faster charging and an aluminum frame. Other enhancements include improved camera software and a more powerful processor.
Samsung introduced the Galaxy S26, S26 Plus, and S26 Ultra at the Galaxy Unpacked 2026 event, continuing its tradition of premium Ultra models with top-tier features. The S26 Ultra, priced at $1,300, features a Privacy Display built into its 6.9-inch AMOLED screen, which has a 3,120 by 1,440 pixel resolution and a 1 to 120Hz adaptive refresh rate. This hardware-integrated technology uses directional backlighting and an adaptive pixel layer to limit visibility from the sides while keeping the screen clear for the primary user. Sensors detect nearby faces via the front-facing camera and can activate the mode automatically, or it can be set for specific apps like banking or notifications.
During the event, tech expert Miles Franklin demonstrated the feature, noting that content remains crisp when viewed directly but fades into shadow from angles. "It's seriously one of the coolest features I've seen on a phone in years," Franklin said. The screen is protected by Gorilla Glass Armor 2, claimed to be more scratch- and drop-resistant than the Gorilla Glass Armor on the S25 Ultra and S24 Ultra.
Design changes include an aluminum frame, a departure from the titanium on prior models, with dimensions of 6.44 by 3.07 by 0.31 inches, making it slightly larger but thinner. The camera setup matches predecessors: a 200-megapixel wide, 50-megapixel ultrawide, 10-megapixel 3x telephoto, 50-megapixel 5x telephoto, and 12-megapixel front camera, with larger apertures for better low-light performance. Software upgrades feature Horizontal Lock to steady video horizons—even during 360-degree turns, described as "a gimbal inside a smartphone"—natural skin tones in selfies, and organized screenshot categories in the Gallery.
The 5,000 mAh battery supports 60W wired and 25W wireless charging, up from 45W and 15W on earlier models. It uses the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 for Galaxy processor, succeeding the S25 Ultra's Snapdragon 8 Elite and the S24 Ultra's Snapdragon 8 Gen 3. RAM options reach 16GB on 512GB and 1TB storage variants, compared to 12GB on previous Ultras.
