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ZDNET's key takeaways
Samsung's Galaxy S26 series sports a much-needed design upgrade.
Top features include Privacy Display and truly useful AI.
The camera and battery updates are unremarkable.
Samsung has announced the third generation of its AI phones, the Galaxy S26 series, at the Galaxy Unpacked event in San Francisco. As in previous years, the new lineup includes three phones: the Galaxy S26, Galaxy S26 Plus, and Galaxy S26 Ultra.
I got a brief hands-on demo with the new-gen Samsung phones, and while the specs sheet might not indicate this, there are plenty of experiential upgrades to get through.
Also: Samsung Unpacked 2026 live blog: Galaxy S26 Ultra specs, Buds 4 Pro, OneUI 8.5, more
From the pixel-level Privacy Display feature to an all-new agentic AI and improved night mode videos, the Galaxy S26 Ultra seems like a solid upgrade over its predecessor. I used it for an hour ahead of launch, and here's why I think it's a bigger upgrade than the last two generations.
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