GoKawiilThe Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra is a good phone. In fact, if you’re coming from a four-year-old device, it will likely feel like a revelation. But as someone who lives and breathes mobile tech, I’ve hit a wall. At $1,300, “good” is no longer the benchmark; “extraordinary” is. And quite frankly, the S26 Ultra feels like a Galaxy S23 Ultra-S — a 2023 soul trapped in a 2026 body.
Do you agree that the Galaxy S26 Ultra is the "most boring phone of the year"? 22 votes Absolutely. It's just an S23 Ultra-S. 36 % Somewhat. It’s too safe, but still a solid device. 32 % Not at all. It has enough new features to justify the hype. 32 %
The S26 Ultra feels like an Ultra in name only For many years, the Galaxy Note and subsequently the Galaxy Ultra branding stood for Samsung throwing everything at the wall to see what stuck. Today, that $1,300 price tag feels less like an R&D investment and more like a subsidy for Samsung’s massive marketing and distribution machine.
Privacy Display is a first-generation beta test
Aamir Siddiqui / Android Authority
Don’t get me wrong: The Galaxy S26 Ultra does have some innovations of its own, like the Privacy Display. It’s a great piece of technology that lets you hide content from the display or a part of it. But as useful as it is, the execution has the hallmarks of “first-generation” technology written all over it.
Galaxy S26 Ultra buyers are paying a premium just to beta test Private Display
I agree with my colleague Zac Kew-Dennis that the S26 Ultra’s panel quality appears inferior to the Galaxy S25 Ultra, even with the feature off (and it absolutely washes out when the feature is on). You also get an inferior anti-glare experience than last year. Galaxy S26 Ultra buyers are essentially paying a premium for a beta-tester experience on a lineup that has long abandoned the kind of rough-edged innovation users used to tolerate in the Note days. Pick a lane, Samsung!
The declining legacy of S Pen, and cost-cutting from Titanium
Aamir Siddiqui / Android Authority
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