Samsung has officially expanded the Galaxy S26 lineup with two new high-end phones: the Galaxy S26+ and the Galaxy S26 Ultra. Both are built around big displays, faster performance, and a deeper push into AI-powered features, while the Ultra also introduces a standout extra you won’t find on the S26+—a new Privacy Display designed to block prying eyes from side angles.
Galaxy S26+ vs Galaxy S26 Ultra: display and design upgrades
The Galaxy S26+ comes with a 6.7-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X display at 1440 x 3120 resolution, a smooth variable refresh rate up to 120Hz, and a big jump in peak brightness, hitting 3,000 nits (up from 2,600 nits on the previous generation). Screen protection is handled by Corning Gorilla Armor 2, and the phone measures 158.4mm x 75.8mm x 7.3mm—just a hair wider than the prior model.
The Galaxy S26 Ultra steps up to a larger 6.9-inch Dynamic LTPO AMOLED 2X panel with the same 1440 x 3120 resolution, variable up to 120Hz refresh rate, HDR10+ support, and 2,600 nits peak brightness. Its frame measures 163.6mm x 78.1mm x 7.9mm.
The most noticeable design shift across the S26 series is around the cameras: Samsung has moved them into a dedicated rear camera island, now being referred to as the “ambient island,” giving the back a more defined, modern look.
Privacy Display: the Ultra-only feature
If you’ve been waiting for a true built-in privacy screen experience, the Galaxy S26 Ultra is the one to watch. Samsung’s Privacy Display uses Flex Magic Pixel OLED technology. When enabled, a liquid crystal layer embedded in the display changes state, shifting its refractive index so the screen becomes difficult to see from side angles. In simple terms, it’s designed to keep your content visible to you and far less visible to anyone looking over from the left or right. The Galaxy S26+ does not get this feature.
Performance and internals: Exynos or Snapdragon on S26+, Snapdragon-only on Ultra
The Galaxy S26+ will ship with either Samsung’s Exynos 2600 or Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 depending on region. The Galaxy S26 Ultra goes all-in on Snapdragon, using the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 exclusively.
Samsung positions the Exynos 2600 as a major milestone, built on a 2nm GAA process and featuring a 10-core CPU setup:
– 1x C1-Ultra core at 3.80GHz
– 3x C1-Pro cores at 3.25GHz
– 6x C1-Pro cores at 2.75GHz
It also includes an Xclipse 960 GPU based on AMD RDNA 4 with ray-tracing support, plus an AI engine with a 32K Mac NPU and a claimed 39% performance boost, along with LPDDR5X memory support.
Thermals also get attention on the Ultra. Samsung says the Galaxy S26 Ultra uses a revamped cooling chamber and customized thermal interface material for a 21% improvement in thermal performance.
Both phones start with 12GB LPDDR5X RAM and 256GB storage, and both include Wi‑Fi 7, Bluetooth 5.4, UWB, 5G, and satellite-based connectivity support.
Battery and charging: faster wireless on S26+, fast top-ups on Ultra
The Galaxy S26+ keeps a 4,900mAh battery, but improves wireless charging to 25W (up from 15W on the prior generation) and supports 45W wired charging.
The Galaxy S26 Ultra includes a 5,000mAh battery and supports Fast Charging 3.0, with Samsung claiming a full charge in around 30 minutes.
Cameras: S26+ gets a strong triple camera, Ultra goes all-out
On the front, both models use a 12MP wide-angle selfie camera with HDR and 4K recording at 30fps and 60fps.
Galaxy S26+ rear cameras:
– 50MP main camera
– 10MP telephoto camera
– 12MP ultrawide camera
Galaxy S26 Ultra camera setup (as listed):
– 12MP selfie camera
– 10MP 3x telephoto camera
– 200MP main camera
– 50MP ultrawide camera
– 50MP 5x periscope camera
Samsung says the S26 Ultra improves low-light photography with wider apertures on the 200MP main camera and the 50MP telephoto camera. There’s also an upgraded “Super Steady” mode that uses real-time gyro and accelerometer data to keep the horizon locked for steadier video.
The Ultra also adds pro-focused video and imaging upgrades:
– Advanced Video Professional (AVP) codec for higher-bitrate RAW video capture, targeting better post-production flexibility
– AI ISP updates using the Digital Natural Image engine (mDNIe) to avoid yellow-ish skin tones
– Camera Assistant controls to reduce overly harsh detail for a softer, more natural look
– A more powerful Photo Assist that lets you describe edits in natural language, such as changing a scene from day to night or restoring missing parts of objects
Software: One UI 8.5 on Android 16, plus a multi-agent AI approach
Both phones launch with One UI 8.5 based on Android 16. Samsung highlights a refreshed look with vibrant icons and a 3D depth effect created through shadows and gradients, alongside a revamped Bixby.
A major theme for the S26 series is Galaxy AI acting more like an “orchestration layer” across multiple AI agents:
– A revamped Bixby experience backed by Perplexity AI for natural language device control and real-time web search inside its interface (you can trigger it by saying “Hey Plex”)
– Google Gemini features including Gemini Live, Circle to Search, and Nano Banana image generation
– ChatGPT as another available agent option
Other AI features mentioned for the S26 lineup include:
– AI-powered screenshot analyzer
– Automatic Call Screener that can answer suspected spam/unknown calls and provide live on-screen summaries
– Privacy Alerts that warn you when apps with administrative privileges attempt boundary-crossing actions
– Now Nudge for smarter cross-app suggestions (such as surfacing a set of trip photos when a friend asks about travel)
– Now Brief for timely reminders like reservations and travel changes
Samsung also notes ongoing support for features such as Private Album, seamless actions across apps, ProScaler imaging, Audio Eraser, and Audio Trim.
Expert RAW app improvements
Samsung is also emphasizing the Expert RAW experience, which uses computational photography to produce multi-frame RAW output for more dynamic range and detail. It offers manual controls like ISO, shutter speed, exposure, focus with focus peaking, and white balance across all lenses, and can save uncompressed 16-bit linear DNG files for maximum editing flexibility.
Galaxy S26+ and S26 Ultra prices and release timing
Pre-orders are already live, with in-store deliveries starting March 11.
If you’re deciding between the two, the Galaxy S26+ targets buyers who want a premium large-screen Samsung phone with strong performance and improved charging, while the Galaxy S26 Ultra is clearly positioned as the no-compromises pick—exclusive Privacy Display, a more advanced camera system, upgraded thermals, and extra pro-level imaging tools.
