Did you know that photos taken by top-of-the-range smartphones have now reached a level where they can produce magazine-quality shots? Our S25 Edge proved it with the first issue of NordiskBil, and now with the S26 Ultra for the next one, we have big things in store.
But that’s just one of the many reasons why this new Samsung flagship is perhaps the most well-rounded high-end device of the first part of 2026.
Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra: our tops & flops
We already gave it a quick test at the national event in Copenhagen (read more here). But now it has shown us that it’s not only a smartphone for professional photographers and videographers (yes, we also shot some videos with it that will be out in the coming weeks). It’s excellent for entertainment; paired with the Galaxy Buds 4 headphones, it’s perfect for music and films even on a plane — but we’ll get to that. It has useful, well-implemented AI features that genuinely help in everyday life and at work, even if there’s still room for improvement. And on top of that, it’s also well-suited for keeping prying eyes at bay, thanks to the built-in privacy display.
In the headline I called it fashionable, because it’s also a very good-looking device. Not that it looks particularly different from the S25. And coming from the S25 Edge, which is so light, it does feel quite heavy by comparison — though it’s comfortable to hold, and it comes in some lovely colours. The one downside is that the camera module protrudes quite a lot, so it wobbles on a flat surface, and you’ll probably want a case.
There are some trade-offs: for the best photos you still need to download Expert RAW, even though it’s now more integrated into the main camera app. And the display’s viewing angle has worsened, precisely because of the privacy feature. For me, neither of these is a particularly big deal — but they’re worth flagging.
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AI is genuinely useful, at last
On the software front, this is arguably the year Samsung made its most meaningful leap forward. AI features are no longer limited to flashy gimmicks, but they are integrated into everyday life in concrete, practical ways.
Galaxy AI can read the context of incoming messages, check your calendar, and access your photo gallery in the background. If a friend asks you to send last Friday’s photos, the system finds them automatically and presents a share button directly from the keyboard — no switching between apps required. Similarly, if someone asks whether you’re free on a certain date, the phone checks your calendar independently and alerts you to any existing commitments. For now this works in English and also in Italian (althought with limitations), but not so good in Danish.
Bixby has also taken a generational step forward, thanks to Perplexity integration and a language model that finally understands natural speech. You can ask it to activate “the feature that stops others from seeing my screen” and it will enable the Privacy Display without hesitation.
Also worth noting: the smart notification summary, improved in-app photo editing that no longer requires third-party tools, and the Gemini agent mode — which allows the phone to carry out background tasks such as booking a ride or placing an order by voice command. The latter is not yet available in all markets, but it represents one of the most compelling evolutions on the horizon.
Camera is the improvement we had been waiting for
This is the department that, more than any other, delivered the biggest positive surprise. The question many were asking was legitimate: with sensors largely unchanged from the previous year, what could really be different? The answer is: a great deal — provided the work is done at the software level. And that is precisely what Samsung has done.
Hardware changes
Starting with the specs. The main camera gains a wider aperture, moving from f/1.7 to f/1.4 — a change that theoretically translates to 47% more light captured. The telephoto improves from f/3.4 to f/2.9, a 37% increase.
Both sensors also benefit from a new lens coating designed to reduce reflections and aberrations in difficult lighting conditions, and the results are visible in practice.
The periscope telephoto adopts a new V-shaped design that helped reduce internal mechanical bulk, but comes with a notable trade-off: the minimum focus distance has increased from 25 to approximately 65 centimetres. In most everyday situations this limitation is rarely felt, but in specific contexts — such as scanning documents with third-party apps — it can become genuinely frustrating, forcing a shooting distance that the app’s interface may not expect or handle well.
Software helps a lot
If the hardware changes account for part of the improvement, it is on the computational photography side that Samsung has made its most significant move. And we could experience it at all in our latest press trip in Lisbon, for the Kia EV2 European test drive (stay tuned on March 30). The image processing chip now breaks the scene into separate layers — subject, foreground, background — applying optimised exposure and noise management to each one individually. Each lens is also treated by a dedicated processing pipeline: the system understands the specific weaknesses of each sensor and applies calibrated noise reduction accordingly.
The most obvious effect is in low-light conditions- On the S25 Ultra, photos taken in dim environments were often plagued by visible noise, unwanted colour casts — particularly greens and reds — and a general loss of detail that was difficult to justify for a flagship at that price point. With the S26 Ultra, this changes entirely.
Low-light shots show preserved detail, significantly cleaner noise handling, and — crucially — correct colours. A direct comparison between the two models is stark: they look like cameras from different generations.
Also worth mentioning: after each shot, there is a brief processing moment before the final image appears in the gallery. This behaviour — reminiscent of Google Pixel’s computational photography approach — makes clear how central artificial intelligence is to the final render of every photograph.
The 3x sensor: the weak link
The one sour note in the entire camera setup remains the 3x sensor, which with this S26 Ultra has actually seen its resolution reduced from 12 to 10 megapixels.
In bright conditions it delivers barely acceptable results; in low light the output is disappointing — flat, soft, and lacking in detail.
Given the presence of an excellent optical 5x zoom, this intermediate focal length struggles to justify its place in the spec sheet. It would be reasonable to hope that Samsung rethinks its role — or replaces it outright — in the next generation.
Advanced modes and tools
For those wanting the most from the camera system, Expert RAW remains the reference tool. The good news is that its integration into the main camera app has improved, making access to advanced features more immediate than before. Also available via Camera Assistant is a new 24-megapixel mode — similar to what iPhone uses by default — which offers a solid balance between resolution and noise handling. It is not enabled by default, but straightforward to configure for anyone who wants an optimised shot in all conditions.
Video: a genuine match for iPhone, at last
On the video side, the S26 Ultra competes on equal terms with the iPhone 17 Pro Max in the vast majority of scenarios. The improved lens coating noticeably reduces flare and stray light, with results that surpass the iPhone in environments with direct light sources. Dynamic range is handled more intelligently, highlights are better preserved, and the front-facing camera — which on the S25 Ultra showed serious weaknesses in low light — has taken a significant step forward.
Also worth praising: stabilisation is now active within third-party apps — Instagram, video calls — a feature Samsung implements better than anyone else in the Android space.
On the advanced features front, Samsung introduces the ProVideo format (see a quick example in the video above), Samsung Log with four selectable LUTs, and the ability to preview colour correction in real time during recording — tools that position the S26 Ultra as a serious instrument for content creators and videographers, like us. The horizontal lock mode, which keeps video orientation fixed regardless of how the phone is rotated, is a genuinely useful addition, particularly for social media content.
A few areas still need refinement: white balance occasionally drifts towards cooler or greener tones, and some scenes show abrupt exposure transitions when lighting changes suddenly. Nothing deal-breaking, but elements that should be addressed in future software updates.
Display & privacy Display: innovation with trade-offs
As said, Privacy Display is the killer feature of this device (I’d buy only for that). The concept is inspired: half of the panel’s pixels are “narrow pixels” that emit light only vertically, thanks to a dedicated masking layer, while the other half are conventional “wide pixels.” The result is that, once privacy mode is activated, anyone standing beside you cannot see what’s on your screen.
The implementation is intelligent and flexible. You can activate it across the entire display or limit it to individual notifications, specific applications, or the PIN entry screen. You can even set it to trigger automatically via Samsung Routines — for example, every time you leave home.
That said, the trade-offs are worth flagging. When privacy mode is active, resolution halves and peak brightness drops noticeably.
On the technical side, Samsung has removed the display polariser — a decision that improves energy efficiency (the panel consumes less power for the same brightness level) but introduces slightly more glare than the S25 Ultra.
Outdoors, the two models are broadly equivalent, but the S26 Ultra’s more efficient panel should sustain maximum brightness for longer, particularly in warm weather.
Battery and endurance
Samsung has not yet adopted silicon-carbon battery technology — a missed opportunity, given what it could have delivered in terms of endurance. Capacity remains at 5,000 mAh, but thanks to the display’s improved efficiency and software optimisations, real-world battery life is better than on the S25 Ultra. With heavy use, you will reach the end of the day without difficulty.
