Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra vs S25 Ultra: Comparing prices, features, and specs

Just how much does one phone change per year, anyway?

That’s what we’re here to find out. Samsung just unveiled its flagship Galaxy S26 Ultra handset at the Galaxy Unpacked event in San Francisco, which means it’s time to see how it compares to the Galaxy S25 Ultra from last year. Both phones are powerful Android devices, but one can only hope that the extra year has given Samsung time to refine and improve the S26 Ultra.

We got a little hands-on time with the new flagship, and we’ll have a full review coming soon. In the meantime, here’s how the two phones compare in terms of price, specifications and feature set.

Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra vs. S25 Ultra: Price

The new Galaxy S26 Ultra.
Credit: Chris Taylor / Mashable

This is easy. The S25 Ultra launched for $1,299.99 last year, as did the S26 Ultra this year. Samsung hasn’t increased the price every year, which will make this comparison easier. (S26 and S26 plus he did get a price hike, though.)

Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra vs. S25 Ultra: Specifications and display

Here are the basic specifications of the Galaxy S25 Ultra:

• 6.9 inch AMOLED display with variable 120Hz refresh rate and 3120×1440 resolution

• Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy processor

• 256GB/512GB/1TB storage options

• 12GB RAM

• 5,000mAh battery

And here are the same specs for the Galaxy S26 Ultra for easy comparison:

• 6.9-inch AMOLED display with 1-120Hz variable refresh rate and 3120×1440 resolution

• Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 Galaxy processor

• 256/512GB/1TB storage options

• 12/16GB RAM

• 5,000mAh battery

As you can see, Samsung didn’t rock the boat with this annual update. Both the phones seem to have almost the same display specifications, and the same battery size. That said, Samsung has done it others 2026 changes. The processor is newer and theoretically more powerful, and the 1TB storage model also comes with an increase to 16GB RAM. That means performance should improve on the new phone, though by how much remains to be seen.

Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra vs. S25 Ultra: Design

S25 Ultra background.
Credit: Joe Maldonado/Mashable

Samsung hasn’t reinvented the wheel when it comes to the S26 Ultra’s body design, but it’s not exactly the same as the S25 Ultra, either.

First, the new phone is slightly thinner and lighter than last year’s model. Samsung has also raised the rear camera slightly, which means it stands out more prominently from the phone’s profile than before. It is not clear where we stand why Samsung did that, but they did it, so it’s worth pointing out. Finally, based on our short time with the device, it has a small overall box design.

Here are the available colors for the S25 Ultra:

• Titanium Gray

• Titanium Whitesilver

• Titanium Silverblue

• Titanium Black

• Titanium Pinkgold

• Titanium Jadegreen

• Titanium Jetblack

Here are the colors of the S26 Ultra:

• Cobalt Violet

• Blue Sky

• Black

• White

• Silver Shadow

• Pink Gold

Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra vs. S25 Ultra: Top new features

As for what’s new with the S26 Ultra, the biggest answer is likely to be the Privacy Display. This is a new, built-in feature at the device level that will dim the screen for anyone watching from the outside, hopefully giving users peace of mind when viewing…whatever they’re viewing in public. We don’t yet know how well this works due to a lack of direct testing, but the S25 Ultra didn’t have this, and the S26 Ultra does.

Additionally, the S26 Ultra brings 60-watt fast charging to the mix. If you have a compatible charger and are tired of waiting for your phone to charge, this is good news.

A new Privacy display feature is in effect.
Credit: Amanda Yeo / Mashable

Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra vs. S25 Ultra: Cameras

Samsung’s S Series phones are overdue for camera upgrades, and the S26 has the goods.

Both the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra and its predecessor have four rear cameras: 200MP wide, 50MP ultrawide, 50MP telephoto with 5x optical zoom, 10MP with 3x optical zoom. Both the devices have a 12MP front-facing selfie camera.

However, according to Samsung, the new Galaxy S26 Ultra features wider camera apertures, which allow more light to enter and result in clearer and more detailed images. The company also claims that the Galaxy S26 Ultra has improved Super Steady capabilities for smoother 4K video and enhanced Nightography video to improve output in low-light settings.

Overall, you can expect a better camera system with the S26 Ultra, which is not surprising.

Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra vs. S25 Ultra: Some AI features

Like the S25 Ultra, the S26 Ultra will issue a daily briefing.
Credit: Chris Taylor / Mashable

Credit: Chris Taylor / Mashable

Samsung has made some improvements to the overall AI feature set with the S26 Ultra. Unsurprisingly, the S26 is called an “agent” phone with integrated artificial intelligence across all your devices, and Galaxy Unpacked has a strong focus on AI. As one example, the S26 Ultra will offer AI call screening, answering calls and taking notes when you’re too busy to answer. Users can also choose between Samsung Bixby, Google Gemini, and Perplexity.

In addition, the S26 Ultra has a new AI graphics and video editing tools, called Creative Studio. A new AI photo editor is also built right into the camera app. Users can define the layout they want, and the AI ​​will take care of the rest.