Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra refines the formula, pushes AI to the forefront

There was a time when a new Galaxy Ultra meant something dramatic. Bleeding-edge camera numbers, a louder design, and a fresh reason to feel slightly smug about your upgrade. The Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra does not quite chase that energy. It feels more like Samsung tidying up its flagship rather than shaking it up, to be honest.

After a brief hands-on at the Galaxy Unpacked 2026 event, the overriding impression we got from the S26 Ultra was familiarity. Not in a lazy way, but in the way a well-worn jacket still fits just right. The S26 Ultra does not demand attention. It assumes it already has it. But are the upgrades and refinements good enough to justify its asking price? Let’s dive deeper in our Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra first impressions.

Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra: Subtle tweaks you actually notice

The design changes on the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra are easy to miss in photos, but less so in the hand. The individual camera rings are gone, replaced by a single oval island that looks a lot like the one on the Galaxy Z Fold7. It is cleaner and slightly more grown up.

The corners are more rounded too. Previous Ultras had that squared, almost brick-like stance. The S26 Ultra softens things just enough to make it more comfortable without losing its presence. At 7.9mm, it is also the slimmest Ultra yet. For a phone this big, that slim-down helps. It feels less like you are gripping a small tablet.

The S Pen is still tucked into the bottom edge, which is good. It remains the Ultra’s quiet flex. Most of the other elements are exactly where you expect them to be, as well.

Samsung’s display game is still strong. A new 10-bit panel replaces the good ol’ 8-bit one, which now handles over a billion colours. While you are unlikely to sit counting them, gradients look smoother and images feel richer. Gorilla Armour 2 up front adds durability, though that is the sort of upgrade you only appreciate after an unfortunate drop.

One of the standout features on the S26 Ultra is the new Privacy Display. It is genuinely interesting. Tilt the phone beyond a certain angle and the screen darkens for anyone not looking straight at it. It’s like one of those privacy screen guards we had to externally apply before, but now, it’s built-in!

ALSO READ: Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra: What is Privacy Display?

You can even set it to activate automatically for certain apps, so there’s zonal activation technology at play here. It is practical on a train or in a café. Whether it becomes something people use daily is another question, but it is one of the more thoughtful additions here.

Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra: Faster, brighter, smarter but not wildly different

Inside, it is all properly flagship. The Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 for Galaxy runs the show, paired with 12GB or 16GB of RAM and up to 1TB of storage. In short use, it felt quick and smooth, exactly as you would hope.

Samsung has also redesigned the vapour chamber to keep things cool under pressure. It is not flashy, but it suggests the company is thinking about sustained performance, not just launch-day benchmarks, which we appreciate.

Charging finally moves forward, but the battery capacity, sadly, doesn’t. The 5,000mAh battery now supports 60W Super Fast Charging 3.0, with Samsung claiming 75 per cent in 30 minutes. That is a solid improvement, even if rivals have been pushing hard on charging speeds for a while.

Wireless charging sticks at 25W, and there are no built-in Qi 2 magnets. If you want that snap-on magnetic convenience, you will need a case. At this price, that feels slightly stingy.

ALSO READ: Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra debuts with Privacy Display, faster charging; S26, S26+ tags along

Camera hardware looks familiar on paper. The 200MP main and 50MP telephoto return, now with wider apertures for better low-light performance. There is Enhanced Nightography and improved Super Steady video, plus 8K at 30fps and a new 360-degree horizontal lock for keeping footage level.

The S25 Ultra was already a heavy hitter in photography, so this feels more like careful sharpening than bold experimentation.

Then there is the AI push, and it’s a serious now. Now Nudge pulls context from messages and calendars to suggest actions. Call Screen answers unknown numbers and gives you a live transcript. Photo Assist now handles more complex, text-based edits. Even, Now Brief gets an AI-assisted upgrade.

Samsung has also folded in Gemini, Perplexity and Bixby to handle multi-step tasks in one go. So, this is a full-fledged AI beast of a phone, and Samsung’s going all out to show it off.

Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra early impressions

If you are already an S25 Ultra, this is not an obvious must-buy. The improvements are sensible rather than seismic. A slimmer body, faster charging, slightly better camera capabilities, and smarter software. Features like Privacy Display do stand out, but they aren’t enough to warrant an S25 Ultra user to spend Rs 1.40lakhs to upgrade.

But there’s also something reassuring about Samsung’s approach this year. The company is not throwing everything at the wall this year, hoping something sticks. Instead, it is tightening the screws on a phone that was already near the top of the Android pile.

ALSO READ: Samsung Galaxy S26 series prices in India, sale date, pre-order offers and more

So, if you’re holding on to an older Samsung, or even flirting with the idea of leaving iOS to see what all this Galaxy AI buzz is about, the Galaxy S26 Ultra makes a compelling case for the switch. It is not a radical reinvention. Instead, it feels like years of lessons distilled into one sharply polished flagship.

And sometimes, the smartest upgrade is not the loudest one, it is the one that simply gets most things right. What do you think of the Galaxy S26 Ultra? Drop a comment with your thoughts.