Joe Maring / Android Authority
Samsung likes to make a splash at the start of each new year. Its Galaxy S series flagships are some of the first off the presses, giving us a taste of new AI features, fresh Snapdragon (or Exynos) chipsets, and some of the newest, toughest materials that Corning’s Gorilla Glass team has created. And at the top of that bunch sits the Galaxy S Ultra.
By now, Samsung’s top dog is a known quantity — the Ultra is going to be big, it’s going to be powerful, and it’s going to come with a built-in S Pen from the days of the Galaxy Note line. However, there’s always a little room to dream about what else Samsung might do to flesh out those features. So, let’s look at just a few things I’m hoping Samsung changes for its Galaxy S26 Ultra.
There are no official rumors or leaks behind any of these. I’m just a guy who would like to see one of the best Android phones get even better, so let’s hop to it.
Please, Samsung, bring back some curves
Damien Wilde / Android Authority
When I reviewed Samsung’s last Galaxy S25 Ultra, I came away with mixed feelings. Not on the performance front — the thing was a beast thanks to its Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy chipset — but on the design front. Simply put, I couldn’t find a comfortable way to hold and use such a large device, and making it look and feel more like the smaller Galaxy S25 and S25 Plus wasn’t working.
Yes, it’s nice that Samsung ditched the previously sharp corners at the top and bottom of its Ultra — it realized that it didn’t need a perfectly flat edge for the S Pen to slot into — but I don’t like the replacement design. Rather than keep with the rounded sides that I’d come to enjoy on the Galaxy S23 Ultra and S24 Ultra, Samsung swapped to a flat, iPhone-like frame, and it felt like it dug into my palms the entire time I reviewed the phone.
So, for the Galaxy S26 Ultra, let’s make curvy cool again. Samsung’s rounded frames are so much more comfortable to hold than its sharp, flat ones, to the point where I’d happily go back to something like the Galaxy S23 again simply because I enjoyed carrying it around. Switching to a rounded frame would make the Galaxy S26 Ultra a bit more distinctive, too, now that others like Google and Nothing have adopted flat frames.
Put a little personality back into the camera bump
... continue reading