Galaxy S26 Ultra – Samsung still knows how to innovate | review

Privacy display that works effectively

Excellent display quality

Gemini and Perplexity – two AI assistants in one device

Natural-language photo editing

Faster wired charging – 60W

Not all AI capabilities are available in Hebrew

A larger battery is needed

This is the third year Samsung has focused on AI in its flagship device – the Galaxy S26 Ultra. It began these efforts with the S24, and that bet has paid off. Samsung currently leads the smartphone AI space, while the iPhone is lagging in this category and competitors mostly just integrate Google Gemini into their devices. Samsung has added Perplexity to the new smartphone, allowing users to access it via the voice command “Hey Plex.” It can activate Samsung apps on the device, such as Gallery, Calendar, and Reminders, in addition to accessing third-party apps. Perplexity supports Hebrew, so there is no problem using it instead of Gemini.

In addition, Samsung’s own assistant, Bixby, is also here. It works in English and is designed to help perform actions on the device itself, such as searching through settings. The idea is that it operates in natural language, so you can ask it for help changing the AI assistant on the device.

The Ultra comes with Android 16 and Samsung’s new interface, One UI 8.5. Samsung has improved AI capabilities here as well. Did you take a photo? You can easily remove objects from it with excellent results, or ask in natural Hebrew to add elements - for example, balloons to a photo of a child.

Additional AI improvements appear in Samsung’s built-in document scanner (accessible through the camera app). It can now reduce noise or remove fingers holding the page. This feature works well and is useful for scanning documents.

Another addition is Call Screening. This solution answers calls from unknown numbers, asking callers to identify themselves and state the purpose of the call, saving you from answering unwanted calls. The main drawback is that it works in 13 languages, including English and German, but not Hebrew. Of course, all the previous AI features are also included.

The Ultra’s design remains the same, but it has gone on a slight diet. It is a bit lighter than the S25 Ultra - 214 grams compared to 218 grams - and thinner at 7.9 mm compared to 8.2 mm.

In terms of durability, Samsung has moved from a titanium body to aluminum. While titanium is supposed to be more durable, aluminum is lighter. The display is protected by Gorilla Armor 2 glass, like the previous generation. Water resistance remains at IP68, meaning submersion up to 1.5 meters for 30 minutes (not recommended unless necessary).

The display remains 6.9 inches with AMOLED technology, offering rich, sharp colors that are a pleasure to look at. It has a high QHD Plus resolution, a 120Hz refresh rate for smooth motion, and brightness of 2600 nits. I did not encounter any issues viewing the screen in sunlight.

The main innovation this year is its privacy technology – Privacy Display. This is a useful solution, especially when you are standing in a public shelter and do not want others to peek at your WhatsApp conversations. It eliminates the need for a physical privacy screen protector. Samsung developed a new technology that redirects light beams at the pixel level and manages viewing angles. It’s a combination of hardware and software, allowing you to decide when the feature is active - manually or only in specific apps like WhatsApp or banking apps. You can also set it to activate only when entering a password or during pop-up notifications, while the rest of the screen remains visible.

The result is a slightly grayer and brighter screen when viewed directly. The image quality is lower than in normal mode, but since it’s not intended for watching movies, the trade-off is reasonable and does not harm the overall experience. From the side, the screen appears closed or light gray. At certain angles, very little of the content is visible - and never clearly.

In terms of performance, the Ultra features Qualcomm’s flagship processor – the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5, built on a 3nm process and optimized for Samsung devices. It offers 19% more CPU power, 24% more GPU performance, and 39% better AI processing compared to last year.

The device also includes a redesigned vapor chamber with material placed along the sides of the processor, enabling more efficient heat dissipation across a larger surface area. All of this allows the smartphone to run smoothly.

The version I reviewed had 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage (larger storage options are also available).

The Ultra still includes the S Pen for note-taking. It also features WiFi 7, Bluetooth 6.0, and of course eSIM support. The stereo speakers sound decent, even with a bit of depth.

In the camera department, the sensors remain the same, with only aperture improvements. There are still three sensors: A 200MP main sensor with an f/1.4 aperture instead of f/1.7, a 10MP telephoto sensor with 3x optical zoom and the same f/2.4 aperture, and another 50MP telephoto sensor with 5x optical zoom and an f/2.9 aperture instead of f/3.4.

Samsung says the improvements provide better detail in close-ups, and thanks to the wider aperture, brighter images. The photos are excellent - sharp and detailed. The camera particularly excels in portrait shots, where the background is blurred nicely, although sometimes there is over-processing and the separation between subject and background looks slightly unnatural. Overall, portrait photos look great and sharp.

The selfie camera remains 12MP with an f/2.2 aperture. Samsung claims better tones and textures, and indeed the images look good. Despite no resolution upgrade, you are unlikely to be disappointed.

Samsung has also added improved video stabilization that maintains steady horizontal alignment.

The battery remains at 5000mAh, while Chinese manufacturers easily offer 6000mAh and even over 7000mAh in their smartphones. It’s a shame Samsung didn’t introduce this upgrade in its flagship this year.

Still, the battery lasts a full day. In my usage, it lasted from around 8 a.m. to 10 p.m., with 14% remaining and a screen-on time of just over five hours.

Samsung has improved charging, finally moving from 45W to 60W. While this is not as powerful as some Chinese manufacturers that exceed 100W, it is a step in the right direction. As usual, Samsung does not include a charger in the box, so I could not test charging times, but it is expected to reach 75% in about 30 minutes.

Wireless charging has also been upgraded from 15W to 25W. One thing Samsung did not add is magnetic attachment for charging directly on the back - it is only available through compatible cases.

Bottom line: Samsung has managed to introduce several innovations in the Galaxy S26 Ultra without dramatically shaking up its flagship. The standout upgrades are the privacy display, faster charging, and improved video stabilization. These are not changes that will make S25 Ultra owners rush to upgrade, but they do allow Samsung to offer an excellent smartphone that, beyond strong hardware, also delivers outstanding software with extensive AI capabilities - something that is now hard to go without when buying a new device.