The Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra is here, and if you look just at the specs there doesn't seem to be a ton of differences versus the Galaxy S25 Ultra. But dig a little deeper and there's actually a lot of upgrades.
Samsung has added agentic AI upgrades through Gemini, a larger camera aperture for brighter photos and the long-awaited 60W wired charging upgrade. Not to mention the Privacy Display, which promises to help keep your sensitive data safe from prying eyes.
While those upgrades are mighty impressive, are they worth the extra cost compared to the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra? Last year's flagship is one of the best Android phones you can buy and has a lot to offer. We know the S26 Ultra is supposed to be better than the S25 Ultra, but how much better is it really? Let's take a look.
Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra vs S25 Ultra: Specs
Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra |
Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra |
|
Display size |
6.9 inches (3,120 x 1,440) |
6.9 inches (3,120 x 1,440) |
Refresh rate |
120Hz |
120Hz |
Chipset |
Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 for Galaxy |
Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy |
Memory |
12 GB / 16GB |
12GB |
Storage |
256GB, 512GB, 1TB |
256GB, 512GB, 1TB |
Rear cameras |
200MP main, 50MP ultrawide, 50MP periscope telephoto (5x zoom), 10MP telephoto (3x zoom) |
200MP main, 50MP ultrawide, 50MP periscope telephoto (5x zoom), 10MP telephoto (3x zoom) |
Front camera |
12MP |
12MP |
Battery size |
5,000mAh |
5,000mAh |
Dimensions |
6.44 x 3.07 x 0.31 inches |
6.41 x 3.06 x 0.32 inches |
Weight |
7.55 ounces |
7.69 ounces |
Colors |
Cobalt Violet, Black, Sky Blue and White |
Titanium Silverblue, Black, Bray and Whitesilver |
Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra vs S25 Ultra: Release date and price
Let’s start with last year's model. The Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra was released on February 7 2025, with a starting price of $1,299 for the 256GB model, rising to $1,659 if you want to quadruple that storage to 1TB.
As you might expect, that price has dropped considerably in the months since release — something that should continue now the S26 Ultra has landed. In fact, you can pick up an S25 ultra for as little as $789 if you’re happy with refurbished units.
Meanwhile, the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra starts at the same $1,299 price tag for a model with 256GB storage. Thankfully, there have been no price increases this year, but it does mean the S26 Ultra is still one of the most expensive non-folding phones you can buy.
Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra vs S25 Ultra: Design & display
As with recent previous ‘S’ releases, it sounds like Samsung is offering subtle design shifts, rather than wholesale change in 2026. The Galaxy S26 Ultra comes with the same 6.9-inch, 120Hz, 3,120 x 1,440 display as the S25 Ultra, ensuring that this remains best suited to those with large hands.
The S26 Ultra has also been made slightly thinner and lighter, with measurements of 6.44 x 3.07 x 0.31 inches and 7.55 ounces. That's compared to the 6.41 x 3.06 x 0.32 inches and 7.69 ounces from the Galaxy S25 Ultra. The corners are also a little more curved, which helps the S26 Ultra look more like the rest of the Galaxy S26 lineup.
Despite leaks to the contrary, Samsung has not reduced that thickness by removing the digitizer layer that powers the S Pen stylus. The stylus is unchanged from last year, which means you get the same advanced features like pressure sensitivity and hover. Sadly, this also means that Bluetooth features are still missing in action.
It's worth pointing out that Samsung has ditched the titanium frame this year, in favor of Armor Aluminum. How that will face up to durability challenges is still to be determined. However, the screen is still made of the same Gorilla Glass Armor 2, meaning both the S26 Ultra and S25 Ultra should have comparable levels of display protection.
The back of the S26 Ultra has also changed slightly, with a Galaxy Z Fold 7-inspired camera bump rather than the protruding lenses we've seen on the S25 Ultra and older devices.
Samsung has included the ProScaler display technology for another year, but promises updated algorithms and technology. The benefit of that is that it should make the screen sharper and more vivid, while enhancing the finer details and offering four times as many colors compared to the S25 Ultra.
A new anti-reflective coating also helps prevent glare from bright background lighting.
Privacy Display
The biggest hardware upgrade to the Galaxy S26 Ultra vs S25 Ultra is the Privacy Display, which can cut off the view from side angles and ensure bystanders can't snoop at your phone screen without you realizing.
The S26 Ultra can obscure sensitive information by making the whole display difficult to read with the touch of a button. Just swipe down and activate Privacy Display from Quick Settings.
But Privacy Display is also customizable. You can turn it on or off based on the app you're using. Or you can make it so that even specific parts of the screen are difficult to read by onlookers, such as the notification window.
Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra vs S25 Ultra: Performance
According to Samsung’s own executives, the Galaxy S26 series’ biggest improvements will come in raw performance, AI and the cameras.
These improvements will largely fall on the figurative shoulders of Qualcomm's new Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 for Galaxy chipset, which should give a big boost over the Snapdragon 8 Elite in the Galaxy S25 Ultra.
We benchmarked a non-Galaxy reference device, and found it achieved Geekbench scores of 3,832 in single-core tests and 12,208 for the multi-core equivalent. That’s a solid improvement over the Galaxy S25 Ultra’s totals of 3,031 and 9,829.
Graphically, it’s a similar story. Qualcomm’s reference device managed 55.31 fps in the intensive 3DMark Solar Bay test, while the Galaxy S25 Ultra ‘only’ got 42.36fps. For further reference, the iPhone 17 Pro Max reached 46.63fps.
These scores are impressive, but leaked benchmarks also suggest that the overclocked chip may finally be able to outpace Apple's A19 Pro chipset in every test. That's something no other Snapdragon chip has managed before.
Samsung has also added more RAM to 26 Ultra models with 1TB of storage. While the 256GB and 512GB models still have the same 12GB as the S25 Ultra, the higher-specced phone should offer even better performance than its predecessor.
Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra vs S25 Ultra: Cameras
At first glance, the camera specs on the Galaxy S26 Ultra don't look all that different from the Galaxy S25 Ultra. The resolution and zoom are the same.
However, Samsung has increased the aperture from 1.7 to 1.4, meaning that even more light will enter the camera and hit the sensor. This should lead to brighter, better quality photos with more vivid colors, as well as significantly better low-light performance.
You'll also should see better looking video in low light, with brighter looking footage and less noise.
The selfie camera is also sticking with the same 12MP resolution as before, but it's getting a bunch of features previously restricted to the rear cameras. That means it'll offer enhanced AI image signal processing and an object-aware engine that makes sure photos of you actually look like you.
We haven't been able to test the S26 Ultra's camera yet for a more direct comparison, but Samsung claims that it'll be 47% brighter on the main lens and 37% brighter on the 50MP telephoto camera.
Another useful new feature is the horizontal lock on the camera, letting you lock the orientation of the camera to either vertical or horizontal. It won't matter how much you move your phone around; it will keep the viewing angle locked in place.
Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra vs S25 Ultra: Battery & charging
There's bad news on the battery front, with the Galaxy S26 Ultra sporting the same 5,000 mAh capacity as the S25 Ultra.
That said, those same labels suggest the new batteries are more energy efficient, which would be beneficial for battery life. Likewise, the presumed efficiency improvements from the new Gen 5 for Galaxy chipset should help squeeze more time out of the battery before it needs recharging.
We won't know for sure until we actually get to test the Galaxy S26 Ultra's battery in the Tom's Guide labs. Hopefully, we'll see it beat the Galaxy S25 Ultra's 17 hours and 14 minutes of battery life.
The S26 Ultra is also set to benefit from 60W wired charging, which Samsung claims will restore 75% charge in 30 minutes. That's compared to the 65% advertised for the Galaxy S25 Ultra, and the 71% we restored during our testing.
Wireless charging has also had an upgrade, increasing from 15W to 25W, thanks to Qi 2.2. Sadly, Samsung has skipped out on the magnetic charging ring for another year, instead opting for magnetic cases.
Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra vs S25 Ultra: Galaxy AI
Bixby is taking on a role as an AI agent with the Galaxy S26 Ultra, with the intended goal of helping you make the most out of your phone without necessarily having to learn it. Simply ask Bixby to do stuff, and the AI will be able to handle all the hassle for you.
Similar to this are Automated App actions, based on Google Gemini. This will allow Google's AI to do tasks on your behalf, including booking you an Uber or ordering food from apps like Doordash or Instacart.
Then there's Now Nudge, which is a proactive AI tool designed to make suggestions based on what it can see on screen. A little like Google's Magic Cue, but based on Samsung's own tech. Speaking of which, Galaxy S26 series phones will be the first to have the new Circle to Search features, which is capable of organizing or searching for multiple objects at the same time.
Samsung's also added Photo Assist, which lets you use voice and text prompts to edit your photos, and hopefully making the process significantly easier. Other features include call screen, which asks callers what they want before forwarding them to you, third-party support for Audio Eraser (so you can better hear voices) and an AI document scanner with auto-organization capabilities.
Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra vs S25 Ultra: Outlook
It would be very surprising if the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra wasn’t one of the best phones of 2026. With a super-fast processor, speedier charging and an improved camera array, it sounds like one of the best Android phones will be getting even better. Though we won't know for sure until we do some proper testing for ourselves.
The biggest upgrade is Privacy Display, which seems genuinely useful, but we want to see what if any impact it has on brightness and viewing angles overall.
But there’s no denying that some of the improvements are incremental rather than revolutionary, and with the high price of entry, it’s unlikely that Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra owners will see a pressing need to upgrade right away, if at all.
