Having a privacy screen protector always struck me as a weird move, but the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra changed my thinking.
Over the past few days, the new S26 Ultra’s Privacy Display setting has become one of my favorite features due to its functionality and intelligence. If the setting is enabled, anyone looking over your shoulder won’t be able to see what’s on your screen. Importantly, unlike a $10 screen protector you can buy online, this built-in hardware feature is customizable, so you can turn it on from other apps like your bank account or email. It works whether you hold your phone vertically or horizontally.
You can also set the Privacy Screen to only receive pop-up notifications, so that only that part of your screen is black for anyone snooping. That flexibility makes for a more sensible approach, than all-or-nothing privacy screen protectors you can slap on any phone. (There is no need to be secretive all the time, in my humble opinion.)
I was very grateful for the Privacy display setting on my flight to Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. As I grappled with this topic in the Notes app, I didn’t have to worry about anyone watching me put together half-formed thoughts. I browsed my Gallery without feeling like I had made a presentation to any bored viewers. I couldn’t stop people from engaging in the entertainment that I used to do as I watched movies playing on the rear screens around me. (There’s only so much you can see during an 8-hour flight.)
The Privacy Display is one of several features that help the S26 Ultra feel like a significant step up from last year’s Galaxy S25 Ultra. This year’s model has a thinner, lighter body, 7.9mm thick and weighs 214 grams (compared to last year’s 8.2mm and 218 grams). A small cutout that nevertheless helps the phone feel lower and more comfortable to hold. Other improvements, including faster charging, new camera capabilities and seamless AI integration, help the S26 Ultra stand out from older versions. Thankfully, the S26 Ultra retains the $1,300 price tag — a relief amid the lack of RAM that’s a pedestrian cost in the phone and laptop markets. The base S26 and S26 Plus each received a $100 price increase.
The Galaxy S26 Ultra has a 200-megapixel wide-angle, a 50-megapixel ultrawide-angle, a 10-megapixel 3x telephoto and a 50-megapixel 5x telephoto lens.
Testing the S26 Ultra camera around Barcelona
I’ve been shooting with the S26 Ultra as I explore the ancient streets and colorful buildings of Barcelona, and so far it’s certainly done the city justice.
The S26 Ultra packs the same camera features as last year: a 200-megapixel wide-angle, a 50-megapixel ultrawide-angle, a 10-megapixel 3x telephoto and a 50-megapixel 5x telephoto lens on the back, and a 12-megapixel selfie camera. Most of the improvements come in the form of software and AI improvements, especially Horizontal Lock and Photo Assist. Horizontal Lock lets you tilt and rotate your phone the way you want while keeping the horizon fixed. I can rotate the S26 Ultra all the way around, and the photos I take still come out level.
I tried this while climbing several places in Park Güell, and even though I exaggerated the movement of my arm, I got strong pictures, minus the slight movement. I even rotated the camera 180 degrees when recording, but the images were not rotated in the final video. It is still impressive to witness, in the days of using this phone. Horizontal Lock is also available on the baseline S26 and S26 Plus.
Photo Assist is baked into the Gallery app, and lets you change anything you want in a photo using natural language voice commands. I decided I needed to break the social media rule of “the camera eats first” and eat a burrito I bought at La Boqueria Market. Then I used Photo Assist to “fill the burrito,” and suddenly it was whole again, instead of the bite I had taken. This is a neat feature, but not one I plan to use every day. I’m not one for creating or sharing AI-generated photos, but looking at the technology alone, it’s impressive what Photo Assist can handle. This AI feature is available across the entire S26 lineup.
Here are some of my favorite photos I’ve taken on the S26 Ultra so far.
I love how all the colors pop, and how clever this illustration is.
What better way to see how the colors appear on the S26 Ultra than to visit the Sagrada Familia?
This low-light photo came out nice and clear, and the colors in the mocktail still stood out.
Even when you zoom in at 10x, the details in this mosaic remain sharp.
Selfies are designed to better capture natural skin tones and textures in varying lighting.
What I’m looking forward to exploring next
Since I travel internationally and use data roaming, I couldn’t really test the S26 Ultra’s battery in a day-to-day situation. The Ultra retains last year’s 5,000-mAh capacity, but improvements in the efficiency of the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 processor and a redesigned vapor chamber should help the phone’s power last longer. With advanced 60-watt charging, Samsung says the battery can go from 0% to 75% in half an hour. I’m looking forward to putting this all to the test when I get home.
For now, though, it’s all about taking pictures of the tapas and getting on with my recently completed work on the Privacy Screening.
