Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra key specs

• Storage: 12GB memory with 256GB / 512GB storage, 16GB memory with 1TB storage
• Processor: Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 For Galaxy
• Display: 6.9-inch 3,120 x 1,440 Dynamic AMOLED display with 500 pixels per inch
• Screen brightness: 2,600 nits at peak
• Dimensions: 78.1 x 163.6 x 7.9mm
• Weight: 214g
• Max display refresh rate: 120Hz
• Front Camera: 12MP
• Rear Cameras: 200MP wide, 50MP ultra-wide, 50MP telephoto (5x optical zoom), 10MP telephoto (3x optical zoom)
• Charging port: USB-C
• Battery: 5000mAh
• Colours: Cobalt violet, sky blue, black, white, silver shadow and pink gold

Last year’s S25 Ultra had a titanium frame, but Samsung has switched to aluminium this time (Apple did the same for the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max). Samsung calls it the Armour Aluminium frame. Aluminium is light and great for dissipating heat, which can be beneficial if you’re playing games on your phone, for instance.

The latest Ultra is lighter than last year’s model due to the material change. It’s also the thinnest Ultra yet, 7.9mm thick instead of last year’s 8.2mm.

Despite being thinner, the phone still houses the S Pen, the slim stylus which can be used to scribble on the display.

One thing that fans may have been hoping for but hasn’t arrived is Qi 2 charging. That’s the ring of magnets inside the phone that allows it to snap onto a wireless charging pad in the right position.

Qi 2 is similar to the MagSafe feature found on most iPhones. Samsung has previously said that the S Pen and Qi 2 rings could interfere with each other. Now, though, I’ve been told it’s because a super-slim phone was the design focus. The phone does have wireless charging, just not the magnetic ring.

The Ultra has a fast and powerful processor, a bespoke version of the leading Qualcomm chip, called Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 For Galaxy. Combined with increased levels of active memory, it delivers big improvements, Samsung says. This means faster graphics, which make gameplay look better, as well as increased overall performance.

AI remains a buzzword, and the new chip offers AI voice recognition that’s twice as good as the previous generation. Samsung has gone big on AI in the last two years, and it is adding more features now. Without decent performance, they would founder, but Samsung is confident it can deliver. Since AI features are increasingly done on-device rather than in the cloud, this is important. On-device is better because it’s faster and intrinsically more private.

New AI features include Now Nudge, a Samsung version of Google’s Magic Cue for the Pixel phones. If you haven’t come across either, the idea is that in the background, AI is watching how you use the phone and proactively delivers useful data. So, if you’re texting with someone about photos taken on a recent trip, the phone will locate the right photos and offer some up. Similarly, if someone suggests a meeting, Now Nudge checks your calendar and can let you know if you’re free, without you diving out of messages and into calendar. Now Nudge is also on the S26 and S26 Plus.

Arguably, the biggest change to the phone is the addition of Privacy Display — a world first.

It means that nobody can peep over your shoulder on the Tube to see what you’re looking at. You can do that right now on any phone by slapping on a privacy screen protector, but this is different. With an additional protector, it’s an always-on situation, so to show someone what’s on your screen, you have to angle it carefully towards them.

This solution, however, is turned on and off in an instant in Quick Settings. Plus, you can set it to automatically activate when selected apps are on the display — like a banking app, for instance. And if you choose it for notifications, the portion of the display which shows your incoming message is greyed out for eyes other than your own. It’s an impressive new feature, which rival brands will doubtless seek to copy.

The cameras on the Ultra have similar sensors to last year’s model, though since these include a large-sized 200-megapixel main camera, there is plenty of resolution to play with.

The main 200-megapixel camera and the 5x telephoto lens both have wider apertures compared to the last model. That’s better for drawing in more light quickly, improving low-light performance.

There’s also a 3x optical sensor, but this is just 10 megapixels, as with the S25 Ultra. Still, it’s an update.

Samsung has routinely offered exceptional photographic capabilities, and early tests suggest that most users are unlikely to be disappointed with the results these cameras deliver. The lenses and sensors work together to create effortless point-and-shoot results that look great, and there are neat features such as video stabilisation so your footage looks steady — even if you’re not.

While some of the upgrades here may seem iterative, and they come with a modest price increase of £30 over last year’s model, the S26 Ultra is a sensationally good phone. It’s highly intuitive to use and looks and feels great.