Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra Review: Key Trade-offs

TL;DR

The Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra introduces a Privacy Display that limits viewing angles, enhancing privacy but reducing resolution and brightness. While the display is innovative, it comes with trade-offs in visual quality. The phone maintains strong performance and battery life, but lacks features like Qi2 magnets and a silicon-carbon battery, making its high price a point of contention.

Transcript

You know, we can still hear what you're... What? ... Nevermind. You might remember all my impressions of the phone were based on footage of it before actually getting to hold it in person... And those impressions were pretty positive. But... not a lot is actually new with this phone. Just a few things that are new are pretty interesting. But I have... Read More

Key Insights

• The Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra features a new Privacy Display that limits viewing angles to enhance privacy.
• Activating the Privacy Display reduces the screen's resolution and brightness due to the unique pixel structure.
• The phone's design changes include a thinner body and rounded corners, impacting the S Pen's insertion and the phone's stability on flat surfaces.
• Performance is strong with the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5, offering smooth multitasking and gaming experiences.
• The battery life is slightly improved despite maintaining the same capacity, due to more efficient chip and software.
• Camera improvements include larger apertures for better light intake, though software enhancements like Horizon Lock are notable.
• AI features such as call screening and Audio Eraser are included, though their necessity as selling points is debatable.
• The S26 Ultra is priced at $1,300, making it a premium option with some unique but not universally essential features.

Questions & Answers

Q: What is the Privacy Display on the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra?

The Privacy Display on the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra is a feature that limits the screen's viewing angles to enhance user privacy. By toggling this feature, users can prevent others from viewing their screen content from the side. This is achieved by using two types of pixels: wide-angle pixels and narrow-angle pixels. When the Privacy Display is activated, the wide-angle pixels are turned off, reducing the screen's resolution and brightness but providing a privacy filter effect.

Q: How does the Privacy Display affect the screen quality of the S26 Ultra?

Activating the Privacy Display on the S26 Ultra reduces the screen's resolution and brightness. The display uses a combination of wide-angle and narrow-angle pixels, and when the Privacy Display is on, the wide-angle pixels are turned off. This results in a lower resolution, with visible blockier edges around text and details, and a slight decrease in brightness. Despite these changes, the feature offers enhanced privacy for users.

Q: What are the design changes in the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra?

The Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra has undergone design changes to make it thinner and rounder at the corners, aligning it with other flagship phones. These changes impact the phone's stability on flat surfaces and the insertion of the S Pen, which now requires a specific orientation due to the curved cap. The phone's camera bump has been redesigned as a plateau with rings, contributing to its tendency to rock when placed on a table without a case.

Q: How does the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra perform in terms of battery life and charging?

The Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra offers slightly improved battery life compared to its predecessor, despite retaining the same 5,000 mAh capacity. This improvement is due to more efficient chip and software optimizations. The phone supports faster charging, peaking at 60 watts, but lacks features like a silicon-carbon battery or Qi2 magnets, which could have further enhanced its battery performance and charging capabilities.

Q: What are the key camera improvements in the S26 Ultra?

The S26 Ultra features larger apertures on its main and 5X cameras, allowing more light intake and resulting in benefits like softer bokeh for close-up subjects. While the minimum focus distance on the main camera has worsened, software enhancements like the APV log codec and Horizon Lock stabilization offer improved video capabilities. These camera updates contribute to the phone's strong photography and videography performance.

Q: What AI features are included in the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra?

The Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra includes several AI features such as call screening, which helps filter unknown numbers, and Audio Eraser, which reduces background noise in videos. Photo Assist allows users to edit photos to create new scenes. While these features add functionality, their necessity as primary selling points is debatable, as they could potentially be added to other Samsung devices through software updates.

Q: Why is the price of the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra a point of discussion?

The Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra is priced at $1,300, positioning it as a premium smartphone. While it offers unique features like the Privacy Display and strong overall performance, the high price is a point of contention given the absence of certain features like Qi2 magnets, a silicon-carbon battery, and super-fast charging. Consumers must weigh these trade-offs against its innovative elements when considering the phone.

Q: What are the criticisms of the base S26 and S26 Plus models?

The base S26 and S26 Plus models are criticized for being poor value propositions. Their designs remain largely unchanged, and they feature the same cameras as the S23. Additionally, they lack millimeter wave support and use Exynos chips in many regions outside the US. The removal of the 128 GB version means the price of entry is higher, making these models less competitive compared to other options in the market.

Summary & Key Takeaways

• The Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra introduces a Privacy Display that enhances privacy by limiting viewing angles, though it reduces resolution and brightness. Performance remains strong with the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chip, supporting smooth multitasking and gaming. Camera improvements focus on larger apertures and software features, while AI additions offer call screening and audio enhancements.

• Design changes make the phone thinner and rounder, affecting the S Pen's insertion and stability on surfaces. Despite maintaining the same battery capacity, efficiency improvements deliver slightly better battery life. The phone lacks features like Qi2 magnets and a silicon-carbon battery, making its high price a significant consideration.

• The S26 Ultra is priced at $1,300, positioning it as a premium option with some unique features. While the Privacy Display and camera enhancements are notable, the absence of certain features like super-fast charging and wireless charging might deter some buyers. Overall, the phone offers strong performance and innovative elements, but its trade-offs and price are important factors to consider.