Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra review: Frustratingly the best Android phone I've tested

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Samsung has been using a tried-and-tested formula for its S-series flagships since 2024: it pairs a quality-of-life display upgrade with a processor boost, slimmer design, new (sometimes questionable) AI features, and slightly better cameras. The latest Galaxy S26 Ultra follows this same script. 

The S26 isn’t a revolutionary upgrade over the Galaxy S25 Ultra, which wasn’t a major overhaul of the Galaxy S24 Ultra. However, the formula seems to be working, yet again.

Also: Samsung Galaxy S26 vs. S26 Plus vs. S26 Ultra: I compared every model to help you decide

As much as I want Qi2 magnets, bigger camera sensors, and more battery capacity, the Galaxy S26 Ultra is a well-rounded flagship. I’ve been using it since launch, and features like Privacy Display, faster charging, and Horizontal Lock make for a better user experience. Are they enough to warrant an upgrade from its predecessor? No. But is the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra one of the best phone experiences available right now? Yes.

A big phone that feels light, but…

Samsung continues to slash the weight and thickness of its premium phone. It has shaved 4 grams off the Galaxy S25 Ultra, bringing the S26 Ultra to 214 grams. The thinner, 7.9mm design is down from 8.2mm on the predecessor. In comparison, the iPhone 17 Pro Max (8.75mm) weighs 233g, and the Google Pixel 10 Pro XL (8.50mm) is 232g. 

If you like a big screen but can’t go from a 6.3-inch phone to a 6.9-inch one because of weight, consider the Galaxy S26 Ultra. It is, in fact, the slimmest and lightest among its immediate rivals.

However, Samsung is keeping the sharp sides on the back for another year. The Galaxy S26 Ultra is thinner and lighter but not considerably easier to hold than the Galaxy S25 Ultra. As I used the phone in daily life, I realized it wasn’t comfortable to hold for long. 

I use my phone without a case, so the sharp sides dig into my palm and fingers. Apple added slight curves to the iPhone 17 Pro this year, and I wish Samsung had too. That said, if you put your new phone in a case, this is no longer an issue.

Also: Samsung confirms smart glasses capabilities to compete with Meta Ray-Bans – what’s coming

I love the fact that Samsung flagships come with just three buttons (volume rockers and a side button) instead of adding a redundant Camera Control or Action Button copy. You get the S Pen in the bottom left corner. It is thinner than last year’s and is slanted on one side to match the curvature of S26 Ultra’s corner. 

The Galaxy S26 Ultra features a clean layout with the signature boxy look and a vertical (slightly modified) camera module on the back.

The best screen on a phone I’ve seen

The Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra has a 6.9-inch AMOLED display with support for a 120Hz adaptive refresh rate and a 3120×1440-pixel resolution. It is housed inside the anti-reflective Corning Gorilla Armor 2 cover glass. It is bright, vivid, and the best screen on a phone right now — thanks largely to Samsung’s anti-reflective coating and execution of its new Privacy Display feature.

Theoretically, Privacy Display works like a privacy screen protector — it limits the viewing angles to protect your on-screen content from shoulder surfers. But unlike a third-party accessory, Samsung offers a range of customization options to fine-tune the experience.

You can toggle it on for everything or just for certain apps. For instance, I have it set up for my banking and messaging apps as well as for my passwords and PINs. Whenever I enter a password in an app, the system turns on the Privacy Display feature to protect my sensitive information.

If you enable Privacy Display for specific apps, pop-up notifications from those apps will be protected as well. This is especially handy when you’re using your phone in public, and a notification pops up. While it’ll remain visible to you, anyone looking at it from a side angle will see a blacked-out box in the upper portion of your screen.

I love this feature because of Samsung’s meticulous implementation. Unlike a third-party screen protector, you can control apps, settings, and notifications to set when and at what intensity you want to limit your screen’s viewing angles. Privacy Display is one of those quality-of-life features I wish every phone company would copy. It is the best part about the Galaxy S26 Ultra.

Smooth as ever and lasts an entire day

Samsung’s new top-of-the-line flagship is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 for Galaxy chipset. It is paired with 12GB of RAM on the base variant with 256GB of storage, and 16GB of RAM on the 512GB and 1TB models. It runs Android 16-based One UI 8.5 out of the box and is promised to get seven years of software and security updates.

Also: 5 Samsung bloatware apps I always uninstall first (and why you should do the same)

In my time with the phone, it hasn’t stuttered once. The Galaxy S26 Ultra is fast and responsive. I used the Samsung phone the same way I use my iPhone 17 Pro Max — messaging, social media, taking photos, and navigating almost daily. It didn’t get warm to the touch (the iPhone gets hot when I’m outdoors and multitasking between apps) and performed fine under direct sunlight, too. 

The Galaxy S26 Ultra packs the same 5,000mAh battery capacity as previous generations. I was disappointed to see this on the spec sheet, especially since rival brands are using silicon-carbon anode batteries to increase the cell size in their phones. We have the OnePlus 15, the Oppo Find X9 Pro, and more phones with 7,000mAh+ batteries. 

However, while the Galaxy S26 Ultra doesn’t last as long as those devices, it is surprisingly efficient. With medium use, you can expect the Galaxy S26 Ultra to last you an entire day. I charged it to full in the mornings and used it to doomscroll on social media apps, watch Reels, text on WhatsApp and Instagram, navigate for 15 minutes on Google Maps, and take a few photos. My usage was split between Wi-Fi (~75%) and 5G (~25%). 

On such days, I got to bedtime with 25% or more battery left. It’ll deplete faster if you’re gaming, navigating for longer, or shooting 8K videos. 

If you end up needing to charge your Galaxy S26 Ultra in the middle of the day, Samsung has improved its charging rate. The new phone supports 60W fast charging, enabling it to go from 5% to 75% in 30 minutes. 

It can also charge wirelessly at 25 watts, but there are no Qi2 magnets for alignment. Samsung says it had to omit the magnets to keep the phone thin. You’ll need a compatible case to enable Qi2 magnetic charging and support magnetic accessories. 

All the AI you’d need (and then some)

Samsung has packed its new phones with contextual AI features. For example, Now Nudge uses Galaxy AI to surface real-time suggestions based on what’s on your screen. If your friend asks you for photos from, say, London, the Samsung Keyboard will suggest taking you to the Gallery with London photos already searched for you.

However, like Google’s Magic Cue feature, Samsung’s Now Nudge was inconsistent throughout my review period.

Also: Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra vs. S26 Ultra: Should you upgrade to the latest model after two years?

The Galaxy S26 Ultra now includes an upgraded Audio Eraser feature that can be used on videos from third-party apps. I used it to minimize the artificial crowd noise so I could listen to the commentary clearly while watching my favorite sport. 

Samsung also updated Bixby to help you find the settings you need from the home screen. I enabled it to be my primary assistant via the side key. And like most AI features, it is also inconsistent. Bixby was able to turn on Privacy Display on my command, but it searched the web for other similar requests.

I liked another AI feature, Document Scan, in the Camera app. It shows up when you are taking a photo of a document and removes shadows or creases on the paper to give you a sharper image. You can also export them as PDFs.

Samsung is on the right track with features like Now Nudge and improved Bixby, but it needs to be more consistent to sway users into its broader push for AI phones. I love it when they work, but there’s always that unreliability still breaking the smooth user experience.

The cameras are…good enough

Samsung says the Galaxy S26 Ultra has its “best camera system yet.” The upgrades include a 200MP primary camera with a bigger f/1.4 lens (vs. f/1.7 on S25 Ultra) and a 50MP telephoto sensor with 5x optical zoom and f/2.9 (up from f/3.4). These are paired with the same 10MP f/2.4 3x telephoto sensor and a 50MP ultrawide-angle camera as before.

A major camera upgrade is a new GoPro-like Horizontal Lock feature that keeps your videos steady even when you rotate the phone. In my tests, it worked amazingly well, and I can’t wait to put it up against the GoPro Hero 13 Black on my next adventure.

The Galaxy S26 Ultra’s camera system performs well in daylight conditions. You get good clarity, dynamic range, and skin tones remain close to accurate. Using the 200MP mode gives you richer photos with plenty of detail to crop. Colors remain consistent across lenses.

At night, it captures better photos with less noise than before, and it’s on par with, or even better than, the iPhone 17 Pro. However, portrait shots can be unpredictable. Sometimes they come out great, other times they can look artificial with strong blur and poor edge detection.

Also: Own a Samsung phone? I changed 10 settings to greatly improve its performance

The Galaxy S26 Ultra is not a camera-specific phone or geared toward mobile photographers like the recent Xiaomi 17 Ultra or last year’s Oppo Find X9 Pro. Instead, you can expect the same vibrant Samsung colors and rich details alongside improvements in nighttime videos and photos.

ZDNET’s buying advice

The Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra is one of the best all-around flagship phones that you can buy right now. It excels in one area (display) while delivering a satisfying experience across the other fronts. For $1,300, you get the best screen on a phone, excellent performance, long-term software support, good battery life, and a versatile set of cameras. There are some practical AI features too, but they aren’t consistent enough to trigger a purchasing decision.

If you have the Galaxy S25 Ultra, there’s no need to upgrade. If you’re coming from an S24 Ultra or older generation, or simply looking for a reliable high-end Android phone, the new Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra will serve you well. As much as I wish for a better set of cameras and Qi2 magnets, the overall package remains easy to recommend.