7.0 Score
You know the saying, “Nice guy finishes last”. In this case, the S26 Ultra really is the nice guy. After using the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra for review, honestly, the new Ultra from Samsung doesn’t stray from the granular upgrade tracks like the predecessor. That can be a good and bad thing depending on how you look at but in this review, we are going to highlight the improvements and review focusing on those pointers.
Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra Review
The Privacy Display is Great but has its Quirks
The display size and dimensions are the same as last year, and there’s no change in that. But the big change is the inclusion of the Privacy Display feature, which is amazing. You can have conditional settings to work in certain apps, blocking notification pop-ups and such, which is good control.
Because the Galaxy S26 Ultra now has a Privacy Display, it is no longer the best AMOLED panel you have seen on an Ultra smartphone. Because this feature works on a hardware level, where it turns off the wider illuminating pixels, it then nukes the viewing experience, and to add on to that, under bright sunlight, it does make things hard to view. So, there were times I had to forgo the Privacy Display mode for a better viewing experience.
The glass they have used this round, unfortunately, has fewer anti-reflective properties compared to the S25 Ultra, which again is a bit of a shame, but I see why they did it, so that the privacy display feature doesn’t get affected. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a great feature, but it will need a few iterations to get better, that’s for sure.
New Aperture and ISP, but Exactly the same Camera Experience
You still get a flagship camera experience out of the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra, but the minor change isn’t going to be a game-changer for the majority of users. The improved aperture in two cameras and the support for APV log are two good improvements. The AI improvements aren’t the best in my opinion because I have not been a fan of the faux looks and experience it brings to the table. The colours of the Samsung cameras aren’t as punchy as it used to be but the washed-out look is something I am not a fan of.
You can be the judge of the photos taken with this camera in this review below.
I appreciate the new Faster Charging Speeds
The new 60W fast charging is amazing. We do have PPS adapters with us, and one we use a lot happens to be the SHARGE 67W GaN Charger, and it was able to deliver the latest charging speeds, and I got my phone up from 10% to 100% in like 48 minutes, which is great. I think battery charging speed is worth raving about and deserves the praise. But the capacity remains at 5000mAh, which by today’s standards is not as much as you think it is.
Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 is a Force to be Reckoned with
If flagship performance is what you care about, it’s exactly what you get here. Throw anything at it, the S26 Ultra is capable of handling it. They did reposition the Vapour Chamber cooling; however, I couldn’t tell much difference in its dissipation. Apart from that, gaming is great for those who really care about that. Apart from that, multitasking is a breeze too. We played a bunch of games like Wuthering Waves, Honkai Star Rail, and ZZZ, and it was all working and performing like a champ.
Again, it’s an improvement you can expect every year. But this year, the S26+ with the Exynos happens to surpass the Snapdragon, which we will share about soon.
It’s the Same Galaxy S Ultra as its predecessor, with a slightly new Look
If you are expecting this phone to be different from the few generations we have had, well, I am sorry to burst your bubble – it isn’t really. It’s the same slab phone, with a camera contour-cutout on the back; the rest remains the same. The S Pen’s corner location is fine, but you can no longer flip it around. The cornered finish is nice, but that’s about it. It isn’t going to blow minds if you ask me.
Heavily relying on being the personal AI Assistant
Samsung markets the Galaxy S26 lineup as an AI phone, and I am so not buying this marketing because, as a phone, it’s a great phone. With how divided the entire consumer space is with the AI Slop features, and to see those very features be promoted with the S26 Series is such a shame when the phone has so much going on for. I get that there are Agentic AI features, but these features don’t even work well in Malaysia, as we don’t have many apps that support it either.
So, if you are in the USA, you are going to have a better experience; apart from that, tough luck.
Conclusion
Objectively, it’s no surprise Samsung makes great flagship smartphones for users to enjoy and that is a statement that you can really mark on the tombstone. While smartphones in general have plateaued for a while now, there are other brands that are still experimenting and pushing the envelope.
Which is why the Galaxy S26 Ultra will remain a safe choice but not the exciting choice of smartphone in 2026. Because with AI, you can only go so far and looking at how things are going, this is something Samsung needs to stray away from sooner or later. Especially at this price point, consumers would want more. If excitement is what you are looking for and you want more, there are better options out there. But personally, I hope to see the excitement element return to the S Series someday.
In US, the pricing has remained the same, but that’s not the case in Malaysia, and this phone is pretty expensive. RM 7000 for a phone is crazy money. Especially in the current climate for tech, I foresee that it is going to get more expensive over time. So, get ready for whatever’s about to come.
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