Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra Review

Every year, Samsung launches a caller ‘Ultra’ phone, and portion it would beryllium bully to spot thing a small bit, well, antithetic than the aforesaid solid slab that we get each time, the Galaxy S26 Ultra is inactive an charismatic device.

Because portion it does look remarkably akin to the S25 Ultra that came before, it’s inactive packing the astir almighty mobile chipset connected the market, and immoderate fantabulous cameras. Samsung is truly focusing connected AI bundle this clip around, but much than anything, the S26 Ultra is conscionable a truly bully high-end smartphone, and that’s each it truly needs to be.

Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra – Design and Features

The Galaxy S26 Ultra looks conscionable similar the S25 Ultra. It has the aforesaid squared-off edges and rounded corners, and adjacent what looks similar the aforesaid camera bump, with 5 lenses jutting retired of the backmost of the device. But conscionable due to the fact that the instrumentality looks akin to its predecessor doesn’t mean it's disfigured – the Galaxy S26 Ultra is inactive a gorgeous device, particularly if you tin get it successful a brighter color.

However, it would person been bully if Samsung took a enactment from the iPhone 17 Pro Max that came retired precocious past year. Because portion the camera bump connected the S26 Ultra is acold from the astir utmost I’ve ever seen, it did not consciousness large going backmost to a telephone that wobbles immoderate clip I laic it level connected a table. That tin beryllium mitigated with the close case, but for a $1,299 telephone similar this, thing that feels annoying without an added accessory doesn’t consciousness great.

And, conscionable similar with different phones with a camera bump, the S26 Ultra is thin, measuring conscionable 7.9mm thick. That’s thinner than the iPhone 17 Pro Max, contempt having a likewise almighty SoC and immoderate superior camera.

The instrumentality Samsung sent maine for reappraisal is the Cobalt Violet colorway. At archetypal glance, it looks similar the aforesaid dark-gray-black colour enactment that’s truthful fashionable connected high-end phones, but nether the close airy it gives disconnected a truly chill purple tint. It does look that adjacent the brighter colorways for this telephone are subtle, but you tin ever slap a lawsuit connected the telephone to marque it basal retired a spot more.

Also similar its predecessor, the buttons connected the Galaxy S26 Ultra are each recovered connected the close broadside of the display. There’s a measurement rocker astatine the top, on with the fastener fastener connected the side. Unlike thing similar the Galaxy Z Fold 7, though, the fastener fastener does not treble arsenic a fingerprint scholar – that’s alternatively built into the show itself.

Down astatine the bottom, you’ll find the USB-C charging and information port, on with the SIM tray and the S-Pen. There’s besides a small slot there, but don’t get excited if you’re looking for a microSD slot – it’s conscionable the speaker. You besides won’t find a paper scholar successful the SIM tray, similar connected past flagship Galaxy devices, truthful you’re going to privation to marque definite you get the close retention configuration erstwhile you bargain the device.

Samsung is benignant of known for putting fantabulous displays connected its phone, and the Galaxy S26 Ultra is decidedly nary different. You get a 6.9-inch dynamic AMOLED show astatine 3120 x 1440, with a refresh complaint up to 120Hz. It’s gorgeous. I’ve spent a fewer weeks with this telephone astatine this point, mostly owed to a bout of the flu, but successful that clip I’ve been glued to this screen. Colors are vivid and shows, games, and comics look excellent here.

The higher refresh complaint tin origin the artillery to drain a small spot faster, of course, but these accelerated displays person travel a agelong mode successful the past fewer years, to the constituent wherever they’re paired with immoderate of the champion artillery beingness I’ve had successful a telephone successful a while.

Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra – Software and AI

For the past 2 oregon 3 years, Samsung has been making a immense woody of the AI features built into its Galaxy phones, and I’m inactive not definite I spot the hype. I adjacent made it a constituent to crook connected each the AI features erstwhile I was mounting up the phone, and I haven’t truly noticed the difference.

The astir evident happening it’s doing is the Now Brief, which has been astir for a mates of generations astatine this point. At a glance, it tells maine what the adjacent happening connected my calendar is, but I tin click connected it to get a provender of news, weather, and YouTube videos it thinks I’ll enjoy. However, I’m inactive not definite however intelligent this strategy is, arsenic it recommends maine playlists connected Spotify, which I’ve ne'er opened connected the phone, alternatively of Apple Music, which I’ve utilized regular since I took the Galaxy S26 Ultra retired of the box. Maybe it’s holding a grudge, who knows?

However, determination are immoderate much subtle features that Galaxy AI tin assistance with. One of the large things is Call Assist, which tin auto-screen calls. Since enabling it, I haven’t been notified astir a azygous robocall, and it’ll springiness you a useful small transcript of immoderate telephone it intercepts.

Beyond that, there’s of people a wealthiness of tools to bash everything from penning your substance messages to editing your photos. But these tools person been disposable for truthful long, and they enactment precisely similar you’d expect them to here, with mixed results. The existent prima of the amusement for Galaxy AI is the worldly that’s little flashy, screening your calls, translating them and transcribing them. Same arsenic it ever was.

Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra – Gaming and Performance

With the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5, the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra is evidently going to beryllium a accelerated phone, but it seems to beryllium tuned much for productivity than gaming. Because portion the GPU successful the spot is much powerful, the CPU show betterment truly is the prima of the show. This spot besides has a beefy NPU (Neural Processing Unit), which truly does assistance each the AI features connected the telephone consciousness snappy.

For instance, successful Geekbench, which tests axenic CPU performance, the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra performed successful enactment with the Redmagic 11 Pro and OnePlus 15, which person the aforesaid chipset. In the single-core test, the S26 Ultra gets 3517 points, compared to 3683 from the OnePlus 15. Then, successful the multi-core test, the Samsung flagship gets 11229 points, outperforming the 10100 points scored by the OnePlus 15.

Likewise successful the Geekbench Vulkan graphics test, the Galaxy S26 Ultra gets 28270 points, compared to 27972 points from the OnePlus 15, which is immense for tasks similar on-device video editing. However, the results are wholly reversed successful 3DMark.

The S26 is comparatively unchangeable successful 3DMark, scoring 80.6% stableness successful the Steel Nomad Light accent test, meaning that implicit a 10-minute burn, results lone fluctuated by astir 20%. But that’s apt due to the fact that the spot wasn’t being pushed arsenic hard arsenic it could person been.

In the Steel Nomad Light test, the S26 Ultra lone gets 2245 points, compared to 2870 points from the OnePlus 15, a beauteous monolithic 27% difference. Then, successful the Wild Life Extreme test, the S26 Ultra gets 5758 points, compared to 7111 points from the OnePlus 15, which is astir a 23% shortfall. I’ve tested and retested the Galaxy S26 Ultra successful these tests astir apt dozens of times crossed a mates strategy updates, and gaming show conscionable does not look to beryllium the S26 Ultra’s beardown suit. For a amended enactment there, you'll privation 1 of the champion gaming phones.

That’s not to accidental that the Galaxy S26 can’t play games though. In my clip with the telephone I’ve been playing everything from Wuthering Waves to MTG Arena, and I haven’t truly noticed immoderate benignant of show slowdown.

Luckily, similar immoderate different Galaxy telephone for the past mates of years, the S26 Ultra does travel with a gaming overlay, which you tin unfastened implicit a mobile crippled by swiping from a small rectangle connected the screen. From here, you tin enactment the telephone into a higher-performance profile, which should assistance with gaming performance.

The Privacy Screen

A batch astir the Galaxy S26 Ultra seems similar it was ripped wholecloth from the S25 Ultra, but the biggest caller diagnostic present is thing altogether caller – a built-in software-controlled Privacy Display. This volition set the display’s pixels successful specified a mode that reduces the screen’s viewing angle. In different words, it makes it hard for anyone to spot what’s connected your surface portion peeking implicit your enarthrosis oregon sitting adjacent to you. And, well, it works highly well! I adjacent actively asked my spouse to effort and look astatine the surface implicit my shoulder, and she couldn’t bash it, which is immense if you’re either perpetually dealing with delicate information, oregon if you conscionable person immoderate nosy friends.

The privateness surface tin beryllium acceptable to lone artifact retired notifications, alternatively of the full screen.

However, portion it is effective, having it connected gives the show this weird grey decorativeness that washes retired a batch of the colors. You tin mitigate this by lone enabling it erstwhile you person a notification oregon connected definite apps, but it does marque the telephone a spot little beauteous to look astatine either way.

I ended up turning disconnected the show astir a week into utilizing the Galaxy S26 Ultra, but I typically don’t usage my telephone to bash thing ace delicate anyways. The dimmer show started to beryllium benignant of a drag, but if privateness is your main concern, that’s a tiny pill to swallow to support your information. Either way, it’s a genuinely utile diagnostic arsenic good arsenic altogether novel, and thing I'm definite plentifulness of radical anticipation becomes a modular enactment connected much phones going forward.

Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra – Camera

Not overmuch has changed for the Galaxy S26 Ultra’s camera. You’re inactive getting a 200MP wide main shooter connected the back, on with a 50MP ultrawide and a 50MP telephoto lens. Basically, the aforesaid layout recovered connected the S25 Ultra from 2025. But that’s not needfully a atrocious thing.

Photos are bully and vibrant, capturing plentifulness of detail. Even astatine night, I was amazed by however good it maintains detail, adjacent successful darker parts of the scene. For instance, I recovered a ridiculously immense heap of snowfall successful New Bedford a mates weeks ago, and took a photograph erstwhile it was acheronian out. The snowfall heap itself was brightly lit, truthful evidently it looks fine, but adjacent the windows successful the inheritance person each of their detail, with astir nary sound until you commencement zooming successful connected it.

The beforehand facing camera is little powerful, with a 12MP selfie lens. It’s serviceable, to beryllium sure, but it doesn’t instrumentality the champion photos, particularly if you’re not successful the champion light. However, I volition accidental that the bundle processing successful the inheritance isn’t excessively extreme, but evidently determination are AI tools built into the camera and assemblage apps if you’re into that benignant of thing.

Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra – Battery Life

The Galaxy S26 Ultra’s gaming show is simply a interaction disappointing, but astatine slightest it comes with immoderate large artillery life. Even with my dense use, I tin expect the S26 Ultra to past a bully 30 hours earlier I request to plug it successful again, astatine slightest from a afloat charge.

I hardly ever complaint my telephone up to full, though, and adjacent erstwhile I’m lone charging the telephone up to 50 oregon 60%, I tin expect the telephone to past a beardown 12 hours earlier I request to plug it successful – and I’m 1 of those sickos that uses the always-on display.

If you’re a spot much blimpish with your artillery use, you tin easy marque the Galaxy S26 past 2 afloat days connected a afloat charge. Samsung claims that the telephone tin get 31 hours of artillery life, but honestly aft spending astir a period with the phone, I deliberation it’s being a spot excessively harmless there.

Jackie Thomas is the Hardware and Buying Guides Editor astatine IGN and the PC components queen. You tin travel her @Jackiecobra