Samsung announced the Galaxy S26, S26+, and S26 Ultra today at Galaxy Unpacked in San Francisco. Pre-orders are open now, and the phones hit stores March 11.
Privacy display, Ultra only
The most interesting new feature is a privacy display on the S26 Ultra. It reduces what people can see on your screen from an angle, so the person next to you on the train cannot read your messages. It is exclusive to the Ultra.
S26 Ultra highlights
- 6.9-inch display
- Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 worldwide
- 5,000mAh battery with 60W wired charging, up from 45W
- Four rear cameras:
- 200MP main (f/1.4)
- 50MP ultrawide
- 10MP 3x telephoto
- 50MP 5x periscope telephoto
The full lineup
| Galaxy S26 | Galaxy S26+ | Galaxy S26 Ultra | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Display | 6.3-inch | 6.7-inch | 6.9-inch |
| Battery | 4,300mAh | 4,900mAh | 5,000mAh |
| Wired charging | 25W | 45W | 60W |
In the US, China, and Japan, all three models use the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5. In most other regions, the S26 and S26+ use Samsung's own Exynos 2600. All ship with One UI 8.5 on Android 16.
Ultra pricing (US)
| Storage | Price |
|---|---|
| 256GB | $1,299 |
| 512GB | $1,499 |
| 1TB (16GB RAM) | $1,799 |
Samsung kept the Ultra's starting price the same as last year.
The takeaway
The privacy display is a real everyday feature, not just a spec sheet bump, and faster charging fixes one of the Ultra's longest-running complaints. Holding the price flat also helps, especially with memory costs rising across the industry.
Sources: Wikipedia: Samsung Galaxy S26, SamMobile
