Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra review: This is too much phone

I haven't always been an iOS user. Before I finally gave into peer pressure and bought my first iPhone, I was a satisfied Android user. But while testing out the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra, I was tempted to make this stunner of a smartphone my new go-to.

Now, the fact that I'm opening a review of the new flagship Samsung Galaxy smartphone with a reference to Apple kind of gives away the game. In January, Apple eclipsed Samsung to become the top global smartphone brand. This, despite the fact that Apple still doesn't have a foldable phone. (Yes, I'm still lusting after the Galaxy Z TriFold.)

For my Galaxy S26 Ultra review, I spent two weeks with this flagship. I took 1,461 photos and 93 videos. I doomscrolled in bed. I made so many frivolous demands of Gemini, Perplexity, and Bixby. I even used it to report live from an Apple event.

And the more time I spent with it, the harder it was to go back to my iPhone.

Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra: First impressions

In this era of iterative upgrades, let's answer an important question right off the bat: What's new?

For once, a decent amount.

The S series is overdue for camera upgrades, and Samsung delivered. (Keep scrolling for unedited photos from my camera tests.) You also get a new custom processor, the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 for Galaxy processor. As Samsung — along with every mobile brand — adds more and more AI features, updated chips let you do more on-device. Better processors also mean better battery life.

In addition, Samsung has a cool new hardware feature, which isn't something we often see anymore. I'm talking, of course, about Privacy Display, by far its coolest trick.

Apple's big mobile innovation recently was the iPhone Air, which has largely fallen flat. Meanwhile, Samsung phones are folding, folding again, and bringing new display tech like Privacy Display.

As ever, the phone's got impressive specs:

• Display: 6.9-inch AMOLED display

• Refresh rate: Adaptive refresh rate up to 120Hz

• Processor: Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 for Galaxy processor

• Resolution: 3120x1440

• Storage: 256GB, 512GB, 1TB storage options

• Battery: 5000 mAh (31 hours of video playback)

• Durability: IP68 rated, Corning Gorilla Armor 2, Corning Gorilla Glass Victus 2

• Main camera: 200MP

Privacy Display is as cool as it looks, but not 100 percent foolproof

Privacy Display lets you hide the contents of your screen from anyone nearby. Until now, you needed a separate privacy screen to achieve this. But here's what's really cool: Privacy Display works on the pixel level. Not only can you turn the feature on and off with the tap of a finger, but you can black out a specific part of the screen. I activated Privacy Display specifically for notifications and specific apps.

Seeing a notification black out as you tilt the screen feels like a magic trick the first time you see it.

As someone who spends a lot of time scrolling through Instagram, X, and other social media apps on the subway, you never know when an NSFW image might pop up. There are tons of potential use cases here: drama-filled group chats. Smutty romance books on the Kindle app. Checking your bank balance.

One word of caution: Privacy Display doesn't black out your screen quite as much as pictures make it seem. The effect is noticeable and should stop casual snoopers, but it's not a total blackout.

All the tech reporters I know (myself included) have been geeking out over Privacy Display. But when I've shown non-techies the feature, they've sometimes been underwhelmed.

I still think it's really frickin' cool, FWIW.

Galaxy S26 Ultra: Performance, handfeel, and being too much

Why did I say that the Galaxy S26 Ultra is too much phone? Just check out the Geekbench 6 performance score.

The new Ultra received a multi-core score of 10,827, which is 10.7 percent higher than the iPhone 17 Pro Max's 9,778 score. It's also a sizable jump from the S25's 10,049 (and a huge leap from the S24 Ultra's 6,675). It also received a single-core score of 3,524.

For context, that means the new Snapdragon 8 Elite could power a laptop (Apple just proved that mobile chips can power laptops with the MacBook Neo). Its single-core score, a good measure of everyday performance, is higher than some elite gaming laptops.

I pushed this phone to the limit, shooting 4K videos in 120 frames per second while running dozens of apps, yet the phone never slowed down. And thanks to the newly improved vapor chamber, overheating wasn't a problem. It's all very impressive.

So, with such impressive performance, why am I not convinced this will be my new daily smartphone?

Because size matters, and it's just too damn big. I have large hands, but the S26 Ultra is super unwieldy. I've been describing it as a two-hander phone. Fortunately, it's slim enough that it fits easily into my pockets (it's a little slimmer than the last model). And yet. The feel in my hand never felt quite right because of the size.

Ultimately, I'm not sure I need this much phone, both literally and figuratively. That said, I think this is a very future-proofed smartphone for hardcore techies.

Galaxy S26 Ultra: The display

Strangely, while Samsung initially said the new Ultra has a 10-bit display, the company later clarified it's actually an 8-bit display. That means the display natively displays 16.7 million colors and simulates 10-bit (1.07 billion colors), using software to make up the difference.

Maybe you'll be able to tell, but I doubt it. Here's what really matters: The 6.9-inch 120Hz Dynamic AMOLED display is gorgeous. It's also an HDR10 display with peak HDR brightness of 2,400 nits.

What more could you want?

The latest AI features

Samsung has started describing its flagship handsets as "AI smartphones," and the Korean tech giant has added enough AI integrations to justify the name. That's either a positive or a negative, depending on how you feel about AI.

Gemini, Perplexity, and Samsung's AI assistant Bixby all come preloaded on the phone. You can even long-press the side button to instantly pull up Gemini. You can ask questions by text or voice, share your screen and go live with Gemini, or use the new Circle to Search feature. Gemini even customizes the options based on what's on the screen, so if you're on a website, it will offer to read or summarize the page.

Samsung also added a lot of AI image features to the Galaxy experience. You can generate images, add or edit photos with AI, and erase details from the background. Crucially, Samsung labels AI-generated content, which I'm really glad to see, as deepfakes and AI slop are a growing problem.

In the Camera and Gallery apps, you can circle details you want to edit or remove (the included S Pen makes this really easy). This includes large items like a passing truck, or small details, like an unsightly puddle in the corner of the screen. In my testing, these AI features work intuitively and consistently provide impressive results.

Now, speaking of photos...

The Galaxy S26 Ultra camera upgrades

Technically, both the Galaxy S25 Ultra and S26 Ultra have the same exact camera array:

• 200MP wide lens

• 50MP ultra-wide lens

• 50MP telephoto lens with 10x optical zoom

• 10MP lens with 3x optical zoom

• Front-facing 12MP selfie camera

However, the new model has wider camera apertures, allowing more light to enter and giving you clearer and more detailed photos. For video, the phone has improved Super Steady capabilities and Enhanced Nightography Video for low-light shooting. Night photography is also improved.

I've been very impressed with the cameras on this phone across the board. As with the iPhone 17 Pro Max, the Pixel 10 Pro, and other elite handsets, it's hard to imagine how flagship phone cameras can get much better in the years ahead.

Naturally, this is one area of my Galaxy S26 Ultra review where it's better to show than tell.

Galaxy S26 Ultra camera test: The main camera

All of these photos are unedited, unless specifically noted in the caption. Some images have been cropped and resized; your internet browser may also load a lower-quality version of the photographs.

The hard part about reviewing phones in 2026? You have to be a photographer, and I am far from one. On top of that, ever since Samsung sent me this phone, the sun has remained stubbornly behind an overcast sky. (It's been a long, hard winter, folks.) New York City is also particularly ugly this time of year, with barren trees, trash, and dirty, half-melted snow everywhere.

So, to try and bring some cheer to this camera test, I found an elegant solution: Dog pictures.

Lots and lots of dog pictures.

Seriously, though, the S26 Ultra captures color really well without oversaturating your photos. It also captures an incredible amount of detail in each photograph.

Galaxy S26 Ultra cameras: Zoom!

The zoom capabilities on the S26 Ultra are mighty. While you can see the results of the Pixel 10 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max zoom tests in our reviews, I think this one is going to be hard to top.

When working with 2x and 3x zoom, you barely lose any sharpness, and the color is just as good.

When you activate the digital 100x Super Zoom, the results get pretty rough, but it's remarkable just how far you can zoom without sacrificing quality.

With optical zoom, you can choose from 1x (normal), 2x, 3x, 5x, and 10x. You can zoom in all the way to 100x with the software.

See for yourself how well the main wide lens and telephoto lenses work.

Galaxy S26 Ultra cameras review: Night-time photography

Flagship phones have had impressive night-time photography capabilities for a while, but just like Privacy Display, it always feels a little bit like a magic trick.

You can tell the camera is leaning on AI and processing software to fill in some gaps, but the results are impressive. In fact, they're so impressive they're not quite realistic.

Compare a screenshot of a video without fancy nighttime photography with the Galaxy software's take on the same scene.

Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra: The $1,299 question

So, here's the question that really matters: Is the Galaxy S26 Ultra worth it? And if you're an Android-curious iOS user, is it worth defecting from Apple-land to Galaxy-world?

I'm sorely tempted, even if the Galaxy S26 Ultra isn't quite for me. Frankly, it's too much phone for me. In the meantime, I'm saving myself for the Galaxy Z Flip 8. (Or, if it ever comes back in stock, the one-of-a-kind Galaxy Z Trifold.)

However, for dedicated Android users — or anyone who loves big phones and hates Liquid Glass — the S26 Ultra is worth the investment. If you're a professional creator, an AI superuser, or a developer who can make the most of the snappy Qualcomm processor, then I think you'll be very happy.

And...

...a couple more dog photos, just for fun.