Galaxy S26 Ultra announced — Privacy display, new Galaxy AI features, different prices, and more

Samsung officially pulled back the curtain on its highly anticipated Galaxy S26 lineup today. Based on the announcement, it’s apparent that privacy and artificial intelligence take center stage. As predicted, the lineup consists of the Galaxy S26, S26 Plus, and S26 Ultra — complete with sleeker designs, faster charging, and a shakeup to their pricing structure.

While the Galaxy S26 Ultra maintains its $1,299 starting price, the Galaxy S26 and S26 Plus get $100 price hikes that put them at $899 and $1,099 respectively. Another detail confirmed at Unpacked is that all three U.S. versions of the phones are powered by the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 for Galaxy, whereas in other regions, the Galaxy S26 and S26 Plus will lean on the Exynos 2600.

Galaxy S26 Ultra HANDS ON | Biggest Upgrades vs. S25 Ultra - YouTube

Watch On

Pre-orders for all three phones are available today, with Samsung offering up to $900 in trade-in credit. The lineup features a unified color palette: Cobalt Violet, White, Black, and Sky Blue. They'll be released globally on March 11, 2026.

Galaxy S26: Specifications

Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra

If there’s one new feature that stands out most, it has to be the Privacy Display — a feature exclusive to the Galaxy S26 Ultra. Really, it's unlike anything else currently on the market because of how it shields the phone’s 6.9-inch AMOLED display by controlling light dispersion so the screen is unviewable from the sides. It’s perfect for blocking prying eyes, and the best part is that you can toggle it on or off at will.

The next thing I’m stoked about is the 200MP main camera, which now features a wider f/1.4 aperture. Samsung says this will deliver richer details in low-light conditions. Nighttime zooming is also improved because the 50MP 5x optical telephoto lens is getting a wider f/2.9 aperture as well.

Several new camera tools help establish the S26 Ultra as a top-tier best camera phone contender. A new Enhanced Nightography Video mode boosts performance in low light, and I’m eager to see how it stacks up to the competition. It gets an upgraded Super Steady capability that adds a horizontal lock to stabilize the frame, even when you’re moving significantly.

Other specific camera features include an upgraded Photo Assist tool that lets you type the changes you want in a photo, similar to Ask Photos that debuted with the Pixel 10. There are also improvements to the AI ISP that extend to the selfie camera for more natural skin tones and details under challenging lighting conditions.

The S26 Ultra is powered by the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chip paired with either 12GB or 16GB of RAM. Gamers will appreciate the redesigned Vapor Chamber that moves the thermal interface material to the sides of the processor for more efficient heat dissipation.

While the battery remains at 5,000 mAh, Super Fast Charging 3.0 now delivers wired speeds up to 60W. That is a notable boost over the S25 Ultra, and wireless charging also climbs to 25W. Finally, the price remains at $1,299.99, which is delightful news for those who feared a price hike.

Galaxy S26 and Galaxy S26 Plus

As for the other two phones in the announcement, the Galaxy S26 and Galaxy S26 Plus, there’s a bit of a shakeup because of their price hikes. Both models are going up by $100, effectively putting them at $899 and $1,099, respectively. And while the U.S. versions of the phones are being treated to the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chipset, other regions will be powered by the Exynos 2600 instead.

Both of these phones share many commonalities, but they’re differentiated by their sizes. The Galaxy S26 features a 6.2-inch AMOLED display — up from the previous 6.2-inch one of the S25 — along with a 4,300 mAh battery that’s also an upgrade. However, it has the slowest charging speed of the bunch, with 25W wired and 15W wireless, which is actually no change over the previous Galaxy S25.

Meanwhile, the Galaxy S26 Plus has a larger 6.7-inch AMOLED, a 4,900 mAh battery, and 45W wired charging. These aren't different specs-wise from the previous S25 Plus, but it does get upgraded to 20W wireless charging.

Both phones come in the same colors as the S26 Ultra — Cobalt Violet, White, Black, and Sky Blue — along with 12GB of RAM and 256/512GB of storage. They also feature subtle new changes to their designs, like how their camera compartments are raised more from the surrounding back panel.

In terms of software features, both models share the same Agentic AI features powered by the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5. They include new tools like Now Nudge, which proactively makes suggestions based on what you’re doing on your phone, and the Photo Assist tool, which lets you describe the photo edits you want to make.

There's also an updated Now Brief with more personalized recommendations, expanded automated app actions that work with more third-party apps, and Creative Studio that uses generative AI to transform sketches into polished images. Furthermore, a more intelligent Bixby agent becomes your personal device controller, and the Call Screening tool can even take calls for you.

From the looks of it, the new Galaxy AI features are uniform across all three devices, which is great news given the rumors of some being exclusive to the S26 Ultra. Likewise, they’re all running One UI 8.5 on top of Android 16 and come with seven years of major Android and security updates.

Follow Tom's Guide on Google News and add us as a preferred source to get our up-to-date news, analysis, and reviews in your feeds.

More from Tom's Guide

• I'm a deals expert and this is the best Galaxy S26 preorder deal you'll see all week
• Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra could be the first phone to truly challenge the iPhone — here's how
• Next week's Apple event may start earlier than expected — here's why

Follow Tom's Guide on Google News and add us as a preferred source to get our up-to-date news, analysis, and reviews in your feeds.

More from Tom's Guide

• I'm a deals expert and this is the best Galaxy S26 preorder deal you'll see all week
• Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra could be the first phone to truly challenge the iPhone — here's how
• Next week's Apple event may start earlier than expected — here's why