- OneUI 8.5 provides a smooth, intelligent user experience.
Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra Review: When it comes to premium ‘Pro’ phones, you know, the ones that push the price tag beyond Rs 1 lakh, I swear by Google Pixel phones. The no-frills stock Android, those best-among-peers cameras, and the overall ease-of-use alongside premium hardware are what draw me to the Mountain View tech giant each time. Apple’s more of a hit or a miss, and I have been trying out non-iOS systems for a couple of years now just to see how others cope (that’s a story for a different time). Now, I have been using the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra for over a month, and excuse my GenZ-lingo, but Samsung really cooked this time!
The Galaxy Ultra offerings are almost always known for their AI-tuned camera systems. However, considering the current slate of ‘premium’ phones, no other device can truly hold a candle to the Zeiss-powered gale that is Vivo X300 Pro. So, what can Samsung do to lure in customers over to the Galaxy side? It’s simple, really. Don’t break what works, but add enough tweaks that make living with an Ultra phone an absolute breeze. And add just enough candies (like the much-hyped Privacy Display tech, which is actually handy at times) to leave users not only interested in S26 Ultra, but hook them to keep returning to the lineup.
Let’s take a deep dive into the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra, and I’ll answer all the questions you had about the phone one by one.
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Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra Review: Does The Privacy Display Actually Help?
Short answer:Yes! But only if you are afraid of shoulder surfers.
If we just talk about the tech, it is a cool breakthrough that is sure to be emulated by other premium rivals in the years to come. We don’t often see much innovation in phones nowadays, so I certainly appreciate a tech titan trying to do something new effectively, even though the tech is in its nascent stage now.
Instead of using a separate screen guard to limit the S26 Ultra’s field of view (FoV), Samsung has engineered the LEDs on the screen to limit the overall FoV angle. On standard LED panels, the small diodes emit light in a wide FoV, which makes the screen content visible from the sides, allowing the neighbour on your metro seat to check out everything you watch on screen.
The new LED tech can be configured to allow select diodes to have a limited FoV, while others can have regular FoVs. What this does is pretty genius: You can choose to make some parts of the screen visible only to you (someone who is holding the phone straight in front of their eyes). So, sensitive notifications or your PIN code number pad will be the only regions on the screen that will have the privacy censor. The rest of the screen can be visible as regular.
If you want to go full stealth and don’t wish anyone to see anything on your screen, you can simply switch to the full privacy mode, which makes the entire screen dark for any unwanted peepers. The major drawback of this mode is that the screen becomes visibly dull. You would need to pump up your screen brightness to the max to be able to see visuals clearly.
While some might call this a drawback, I find this to be important. This shows that a tech giant is actually bothering to bring in innovations that go beyond just “cosmetic changes”. This is sure to be emulated at a mass scale later on. All eyes are now on Samsung to see how they plan to incorporate this tech into other lineups under their belt.
Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra Review: Is The Camera Good?
Short answer:Yes! But don’t expect benchmark-setting greatness.
If you are a S25 Ultra user, you may not notice a whole lot of difference in the overall camera output on S26 Ultra. Samsung Galaxy S series’ cameras have always been among the best there is. And I’m happy to report that this time around, the Korean tech giant has managed to deliver steady quality.
Daylight photos are phenomenal. Videos are sharp. The much-hyped ‘Nightography’ low-light settings is pretty much standard. Although I must admit that the S26 Ultra does a much better job in dimly lit scenes than the iPhone 17 Pro Max. And that’s saying something.
I found myself using the Food Photo mode a lot, and it automatically takes care of the depth and bokeh effect, making food photography a breeze.
However, the Google Pixel 10 Pro still edges out if you look at overall AI remastering or zoom mastery. The S26 Ultra offers a 200-megapixel wide (f/1.4) lens, a 50-megapixel ultra wide (f/1.9) snapper, and a 50-megapixel telephoto (f/2.9) camera. These might be worth an upgrade for an S24 Ultra user. However, for an S25 Ultra, or a Pixel 9 Pro, or an iPhone 16 Pro Max user, there is not much worth lightening your wallet for.
You still get a 100x ‘AI-powered’ zoom that is more than enough to take care of all your digital zooming concerns (see above).
But, switch over to Video, and turn on the Super Steady Horizon Lock feature, and no matter what you do, the final video has near-GoPro stability. Matter of fact, I turned on the Horizon Lock, started a video capture, rotated my phone fully 360 degrees and back, and the final video looks like it’s shot from a camera that was held by supersteady hands. Even if you turn your camera upside down, the horizon lock manages to keep the video level as if nothing happened. Nothing short of magic, this. Hence, the GoPro-worthy commendation.
Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra Review: Is The Battery Long-Lasting?
Short answer: Yes! It is well optimised, to say the least.
The S26 Ultra sports a 5,000mAh battery that supports 60W fast charging, 25W fast wireless charging, and 4.5W reverse wireless charging. The battery performs well under pressure. I ran Genshin Impact and BGMI in the highest possible settings, right after shooting a 4K 60fps video for a few minutes, while heavy background apps were running as well. The phone didn’t throttle for a second.
Of course, the phone did heat up, as is expected from any premium phone under Indian conditions, but the combo of the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 SoC and the series’ ‘largest’ vapour chamber makes sure that the battery cools down fast enough.
I’d charge the phone once overnight, and no matter how I used it (be it regular office workhorsing, or intense shoots and GPS needs during a trip), the battery managed to pull through the entire day and did not need me to charge the phone twice within a period of 24 hours.
Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra Review: Is The Phone Smooth & Easy To Use?
Short answer:Yes! And it won my Pixel-heavy heart.
After years of using stock Android on Pixels, the OneUI 8.5 took me a couple of hours of getting used to. But since it’s built on Android 16, the overall experience was hassle-free. The phone knew what I needed exactly when I needed it. If you allow the right permissions, it would fetch every important thing from your Calendar or even news-reading habits, and would collate everything in a quick ‘AI Summary’ section, keeping me abreast with everything from upcoming meetings to task reminders.
Auto-fetching OTPs, using Samsung Routines to automatically switch to Privacy Display modes depending on your GPS location, and more… the Galaxy S26 Ultra has lots of tricks up its sleeves to give you the feeling that you are indeed using a ‘premium’ phone.
You can be a seasoned OneUI veteran or a newbie switching over from iOS; you won’t face any major trouble once you start using the phone. And whenever there is a new feature to be used, there are always handy pop-ups to show you how things work, so don’t worry about all that.
Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra Review: Is the S Pen of any use?
Short answer:Nope! Not since S25.
I’ll be honest. In my years of reporting and writing about gadgets, I haven’t really met anyone who uses a stylus to constantly take notes on their phones. Most stylus users I’ve met generally prefer tablets and are mostly graphic designers. So, I don’t think there is much use for a stylus (S Pen in Samsung lingo) for smartphones.
Don’t get me wrong. I did try to take notes during an office meeting. Let’s just say I fell woefully short in keeping up.
Also, the new S Pen’s top has a curved edge to match the curved edges of the S26 Ultra. This is a bit of a weird call from Samsung. In earlier models, you could slot in the S Pen without checking which side it was facing. In the latest phone, you cannot slot the phone in any which way. You have to make sure the curve is facing the right direction, which becomes a headache sooner than later. 
Earlier, S Pens used to be fun, when they had Bluetooth connectivity. You could control the camera shutter, you could scroll through pages, you could even scroll through photos, or control the camera zoom as well. Samsung decided to remove Bluetooth support on the S25 Ultra, and the S26 Ultra also follows the same suit. So, S Pens are not even fun anymore.
Perhaps Samsung can do away with the S Pen in future iterations. Wishful thinking, perhaps.
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Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra Review: Is It Worth The Rs 1.4 Lakh Price Tag?
Short answer: Depends. Mostly on which phone you have currently.
Suppose you have an iPhone 16 Pro Max or a Google Pixel 9 Pro, or even a Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra, there’s not much sense in upgrading yet (unless you manage to land mega discounts). The Galaxy S26 Ultra starts at Rs 1,39,999 for the 12GB + 256GB model, the 12GB + 512GB model is priced at Rs 1,59,999, and the top-end 16GB + 1TB model is priced at Rs 1,89,999.
But, given the overall expertise of the SD Elite SoC, the attention to minute ease-of-use details built in, the general effectiveness of the camera in capturing exactly what you want, and the fun Privacy Display settings, Samsung has truly delivered a ‘peak’ phone with the Galaxy S26 Ultra, and I cannot imagine my life without it right now.
I find myself checking out the AI Summary box more often than I realise. I find the ultra-stable videos really nifty. And I appreciate that no matter what tall task you throw at it, the Galaxy S26 Ultra’s battery and OS always manage to deliver (and how). Ladies and gentlemen, say hello to the best flagship of the year (so far).
