Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra Review: Private and Performant

Samsung is nothing if not consistent. That’s a compliment and a critique, depending on your perspective.

Every year, the company kicks things off with a new Galaxy S lineup. Rumors about reshuffling the series didn’t pan out, so we still get three models: the S26, S26 Plus, and the big daddy, the S26 Ultra. At $1,300, the Ultra isn’t for everyone. But it’s the best-selling flagship Samsung makes, even though you can buy a perfectly capable phone for a third of that. Different market, different expectations.

The S26 Ultra is massive, powerful, and absolutely overflowing with features. Sometimes, it’s too much. If you’re not into mobile AI, you’ll find yourself swiping past a lot of stuff. But if you want the kitchen sink, this is it.

What stands out this year is the focus on privacy. Samsung has baked in more on-device processing for AI tasks, which means less data flying off to some cloud server. It’s a smart move, especially as people get more paranoid about where their info ends up. The performance is predictably top-tier—Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 (or Exynos in some regions, sigh) handles everything you throw at it without breaking a sweat.

The camera system is still overkill. 200MP main sensor, multiple telephoto lenses, and enough computational photography to make your head spin. It takes stunning shots in good light, but I still think Samsung’s processing can be a bit heavy-handed with sharpening. Low light is improved, though—finally catching up to the Pixel in that department.

Battery life is solid. I’m getting a full day with heavy use, and the 45W charging is fine, though not class-leading. I’d love to see Samsung push that further, but they’re playing it safe.

The biggest downside? Price. $1,300 is a lot of money. And with other manufacturers scaling back features to keep costs down, the S26 Ultra might actually look like a reasonable value in a year or two. That’s a weird thing to say about a $1,300 phone, but here we are.

If you want the best Samsung has to offer and don’t mind paying for it, the S26 Ultra delivers. Just be prepared to deal with some AI fluff you’ll never touch.