All posts tagged: Samsung Galaxy

Samsung Galaxy S26 and Galaxy S26+ Review: Lacking Ambition

Samsung Galaxy S26 and Galaxy S26+ Review: Lacking Ambition

Published by skeptic

I have not even once gotten Samsung’s Now Nudge feature to work. It’s built into Samsung’s keyboard (which, yes, still sucks and has terrible voice dictation), and is supposed to proactively suggest things based on the context of what’s on the screen. Like, if someone asks you to send photos from a recent trip, it should prompt a button to go to the Samsung Gallery app and choose a selection to send. But I just haven’t seen any nudging. Camera Trio Not much has changed with the cameras on these phones. In fact, Samsung added larger apertures to two of the cameras for the S26 Ultra series, but the S26 and S26+ don’t get any improvements like that. It’s hard to complain too much because this is still a strong triple-camera system. Photograph: Julian Chokkattu Samsung Galaxy S26+ main camera However, I compared several low-light images from the Galaxy S26+ with those from the cheaper Google Pixel 10, and in many instances, I preferred the photos from the latter. Especially the 5X zoom Google offers …

Samsung’s Galaxy A37 and Galaxy A57 Phones Get Price Hikes

Samsung’s Galaxy A37 and Galaxy A57 Phones Get Price Hikes

Published by skeptic

Last month, Samsung jacked up the price of two of its flagship smartphones by $100. Now, its two new midrange models—the Galaxy A37 5G and Galaxy A57 5G—are getting $50 price bumps, despite minor hardware updates over last year’s Galaxy A36 and A56. Samsung has also trimmed the lineup—there’s no successor to the Galaxy A26 this year, at least not yet. These price increases may be indicative of the economic climate, what with tariffs, higher oil prices due to the war in Iran, and the memory shortage that has driven up RAM and storage costs across the board. If a phone’s price doesn’t go up, it could still mean fewer meaningful hardware upgrades to keep costs down, very much like the recent Google Pixel 10a. (The outlier is the iPhone 17e, which managed to add features like MagSafe and a new processor, along with a few other upgrades, without a change to the price over the iPhone 16e.) The Galaxy A57 5G (right) and the Galaxy A37 (left). Photograph: Julian Chokkattu “Price increases or ‘down‑speccing’ …

Samsung Galaxy Buds4 Pro Review: AirPods Pro for Android

Samsung Galaxy Buds4 Pro Review: AirPods Pro for Android

Published by skeptic

The cube-shaped charging case is where you get some real differentiation, stepping back from the Apple-esque rectangular design of 2024’s Buds3 Pro to forge its own path. The transparent lid could easily come off as cheap, but feels hearty instead, as does the matte base that offers both wireless and USB-C charging. Popping the top auto-pairs the buds to your Samsung phone (you’ll need to locate them in the Bluetooth settings for other devices), and placing them in your ears prompts a cool, futuristic tone. The fit is fantastically light at just 5.1 grams per bud, letting me wear them for hours of listening over multiple days with no discomfort. IP57 dust and water resistance make them sport and weather friendly (excluding the case). Beneath the housings are two separate drivers per side, including a newly crafted “woofer” for deeper bass and a specialized tweeter for sharp-cut details in the high end (where strings and cymbals shine). The Buds4 Pro’s battery rating of six hours of playback with active noise canceling (seven hours without) is …

Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra Review: The Privacy Screen

Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra Review: The Privacy Screen

Published by skeptic

Even better, because it’s integrated, you can customize when the Privacy Display turns on through the software. Mine activates automatically with select messaging apps, banking apps, and for notifications, and there’s no visual indication when looking at the phone straight on that the Privacy Display is enabled or not (unless you tilt the screen slightly). You can still see the screen from the sides with Privacy Display enabled, it’s just much dimmer and harder to make out the content. For maximum effect, you can turn on Max Privacy Protection via the quick settings menu, which makes it near impossible to read the screen from the sides. You don’t want to use that mode all the time because the screen looks washed out, but it’s good for when you want to be extra private. Oddly, Samsung doesn’t let you configure this extra layer to automatically turn on with specific apps—it’s a manual toggle every time. I’ve seen some complaints online about the Privacy Display affecting the screen quality, but I have to disagree. Then again, the …

Our experts test the best mobile phones of 2026

Our experts test the best mobile phones of 2026

Published by Sam Flores

We tested all phones for at least a week and often for as long as a month, focusing on improvements over the preceding generation, if applicable. The quality of the cameras and the software behind them is always an important factor, so we take pictures and video in a wide variety of day and night conditions, testing each shooting mode. This is closely followed by battery life, charging time and the speed of the processor: can it smoothly handle the demands of high-definition video and the latest AI-driven software? Screen size and resolution are important when assessing phones as video and gaming platforms, but we also take into account how they feel in the hand and how resistant they are to knocks and scratches. We tend not to compare operating systems given that both iOS and Android are frequently updated, but we do pay attention to how well they work with headphones and other wireless peripherals. Most phones are available with a choice of storage capacities ranging from 128GB to 512GB, and sometimes even 1TB. …

The best wireless earbuds for Android, iPhone and more

The best wireless earbuds for Android, iPhone and more

Published by Sam Flores

Wireless earbuds have taken over the world, offering excellent sound and dramatic noise cancelling effectiveness all in a convenient package. There are multiple things to consider, especially with the wide range of ‘true wireless’ earbuds on the market. Having overtaken all the best headphones (the over-ear sort) in 2020, wireless stereo earbuds now account for 72.6 per cent of the smart personal audio market in 2024, according to analyst Canalys, with 77 million units shipped. However, despite Apple’s AirPods earning $18 billion in 2023, more than companies such as Nintendo and Spotify, AirPods aren’t necessarily the best wireless earbuds in terms of price, noise cancelling abilities or sound. I tried some of the best models, including Beats, Samsung and Sony, picking out my top 10, including one pair that costs less than £50. If you are after more detail, the full, in-depth reviews for each style are further down. You can also find the answers to frequently asked questions for more information. The best wireless earbuds: At a glance JUMP TO THE REVIEWS How to …

I’m a tech editor, and this is your need-to-know guide to the latest Samsung Galaxy S26 drop

I’m a tech editor, and this is your need-to-know guide to the latest Samsung Galaxy S26 drop

Published by Sam Flores

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 …

Samsung Galaxy S26, S26+, and S26 Ultra: Specs, Features, Price, Release Date

Samsung Galaxy S26, S26+, and S26 Ultra: Specs, Features, Price, Release Date

Published by skeptic

Samsung’s latest Galaxy smartphones—the Galaxy S26 series—are all about optimization and AI. Announced at its Galaxy Unpacked event in San Francisco, the phones are not hugely different from last year’s Galaxy S25 models, but the company is hyping up performance optimizations that purportedly boost AI processing. Naturally, there are a bunch of new AI features baked into the phones too. The headline hardware change is reserved for the top-tier Galaxy S26 Ultra: the Privacy Display. It prevents stray eyes from peeping over your shoulder at sensitive information on your screen—no need to apply a third-party privacy screen protector. The Ultra otherwise doesn’t look as visually distinct next to the Galaxy S26+ and Galaxy S26; unlike the previous flagships, they now all share the same look. Samsung Galaxy S26 Series Photograph: Julian Chokkattu The Galaxy S26 series is available for preorder now, with official sales kicking off on March 11. The Galaxy S26 and S26+ are getting a $100 price increase—likely due to a RAM bump, as RAM is expensive these days. They start at $900 …

Samsung to hold its Galaxy S26 event on February 25

Samsung to hold its Galaxy S26 event on February 25

Published by skeptic

Samsung sent out invites Tuesday to its next Galaxy Unpacked event, scheduled for February 25 in San Francisco, where the company is expected to launch its Galaxy 26 series of smartphones. AI features will be at the forefront again, as the company said the upcoming phones are “built to simplify everyday interactions, inspire confidence and make Galaxy AI feel seamlessly integrated from the moment it’s in hand.” A standout feature the company has teased is a privacy display expected to debut on the Galaxy S26 Ultra.This feature will allow users to hide certain areas of the phone’s screen from onlookers to protect sensitive information. For instance, users will be able to hide the notification area from prying eyes. Reports suggest that the top phone in the lineup will run Qualcomm’s latest Snapdragon Elite Gen 5 processor in the U.S. and China. Samsung will likely opt for its own Exynos 2600 processor in other regions. The distinction matters, but increasingly less so. Snapdragon processors have historically outperformed Samsung’s Exynos chips in benchmarks and thermal efficiency, but …

Best Samsung tablets 2025, fully tested by an expert

Best Samsung tablets 2025, fully tested by an expert

Published by Sam Flores

The Galaxy Tab S11 is the latest in Samsung’s premium tablet range. There are two of these high-priced, flagship models to choose from: the Tab S11 (£799) and Tab S11 Ultra (£1,199). These replace the Tab S10+ and Tab S10 Ultra, but you can still buy the Galaxy Tab S10 FE (from £499) and Galaxy Tab S10 FE+ (from £649), both of which sit in the mid-range section of the tablet market. The Galaxy Tab A11, meanwhile, is the cheapest of Samsung’s tablets, starting at just £149. There’s a Galaxy Tab A11+ model, too, which has a larger screen. Samsung’s AI features are predominantly reserved for the pricier tablets, including the ability to erase unwanted objects from pictures or extract text from screenshots. The Tab S11 models have the highest display resolutions, as well as extra storage and increased performance speeds. The S11 models also have two rear cameras, compared to the Tab S10 FE and Tab A11’s single lenses. Only the Tab S11 and Tab S10 FE support Samsung’s S Pen stylus for on-the-go …