I bought this particular phone as an upgrade from my old and weak phone, the Galaxy A54, and obviously the difference with the Galaxy S26 Ultra is huge in every area. Personally, I was quite impressed and I bought it with 512GB of storage.

The Galaxy S26 Ultra comes with new features such as super-fast 60W charging version 3.0 in combination with Samsung’s charger, the EP-T6010/N, where with a 100W 5A charging cable it charges from 20% to 95% in 33 minutes, groundbreaking for Samsung. There is also now the privacy display, where you can activate it either for which apps you want it to apply to, or when you enter passwords, etc., so only you, who are directly in front of the screen, can see it, while the person next to you will see a black screen from the side if they look at it. These are the two most important and groundbreaking features for the first time in the history of Samsung phones, as well as horizon lock, where when you activate it and rotate the phone it has much more stable stabilization!

POSITIVES!
BUILD QUALITY: Quality build, you feel like you are holding something premium, fully waterproof IP68, resistant to dust and fresh water up to 1.5m depth for 30 minutes, overall a very high-quality and solid build. However, I recommend getting a good screen protector and protective camera glass, and a case for 15-20€ is more than enough for the phone’s safety. It’s better not to play around with it since it is an expensive phone!

CAMERAS: I won’t go into specs, etc., as there is no reason, but the point is that it takes impressive photos and videos, mainly during the day, with shots that look like they were taken with a camera under 1000€, and at night in low light it also takes nice shots, and its zoom is quite good. However, for a device that costs this much, it could have been better!

DISPLAY: The screen, as usual, is 6.9 inches, Dynamic LTPO AMOLED 2X, and its quality is not bad, however it could be better, and it is unacceptable to have an 8-bit panel. In practice it performs like 10-bit, but it should have had a 10-bit display when you pay so much for such a phone. Still, it is a very bright display at 2600 nits, which means that outside in the sun you will be able to see your screen.

PROCESSOR: No need to say anything, the CPU is a beast, the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen5 at 3 nanometers from Qualcomm is extremely powerful, and the GPU graphics card, the Adreno 840, these two together make up the whole essence and core of the powerful hardware for demanding games, and it handles heavy games or heavy apps like video editing, etc., with plenty of ease. There is no discussion about that, and it really doesn’t lag anywhere; you can’t even keep up with how fast it opens apps!

THERMAL MANAGEMENT: Samsung put a vapor chamber on the back to provide a cooler device and up to 28% better thermal management, meaning it won’t overheat excessively when used for gaming or when charging and using it at the same time. I measured the temperature of the screen and the back of my S26 Ultra, and while charging on a wooden desk it reached up to 36-38 degrees, but outside in the summer sun there will be a small problem, it will start to get very warm, so yes, keep an eye on it a bit, but that is normal.

AI CAPABILITIES: In terms of AI features, Samsung has a fully integrated suite with many capabilities that do extreme things.

Software: Android 16 One UI 8.5, a complete, organized, and clean software; in this area Samsung did a very good job!

ANTENNA-SIGNAL: The WiFi and generally the signal it gets are good and, compared to the A54, stronger, especially the WiFi that the S26 Ultra catches from a greater range!

NEGATIVES!
BATTERY: Here I will complain; to be completely honest, the battery for what it is at only 5000mAh, yes for 2026 this capacity is now the minimum, especially in this price category, since demands have increased significantly and with heavy use it probably won’t last 24 hours. It will definitely need a second charge during the day, but with normal use and not very demanding use it will certainly last a day until it needs charging again. Also, something I noticed is that the battery drains faster when you take photos and videos and obviously in games, especially demanding ones! However, battery life for what it is is quite good, and personally with 3 hours of continuous use, many photos and videos, it dropped from 95% to 67%; this is logical, but Samsung urgently needs to do something about this and finally move to the next step, 5700-6000mAh is now necessary in 2026!

S PEN: Standard stuff, nothing needs to be said, however it lost its Bluetooth.

SOUND: It is not bad at all, however it should have been better; the sound for what it is in this phone category is average but full!

Also, something else very special and strange that I don’t know whether the specific S26 Ultra I have is like this or whether it is due to software, but at night in low or very low light levels its photos are not good, it makes them excessively bright and ruins them to the point of disgust. However, with zoom from x3 and above and tapping on the screen, a circle with a sun will appear, basically sliding on a line. By moving the sun to the left, meaning lowering the brightness so your photo comes out more true to what you see with your eye, the result will be very close. Hold the phone as steadily as you can; it will take 1 to 2 seconds, preferably 1 second. A crescent moon will appear at the top right showing 1, 2, 3 or 4, for example, and prefer it to say 1, meaning one second. Keep it still and then the photo will come out very good. If it is below x3 zoom, tap the screen again where you want it to focus and lower the brightness sun until it shows a crescent moon at the top right, strictly saying 1, and keep the phone still for 1 second and the photo will come out much more normal, and then you can edit it however you want to your liking. I tried it many times and the result was really closer to reality this way below x3, and the second solution that will save the day is to prefer Expert RAW, available on Google Play I think, it should not be missing from your phone. You can also manually play with the settings and get better shots, but generally it needs a little time until you learn it! Now this is annoying, I know, I experienced it too, but if you learn it you will understand how it responds. The positive thing in all this is that almost zero grain appears in the photos, and also if the lighting conditions at night are good you will probably not face these problems so intensely at all. I encountered this in noticeably dark places. If you see that it doesn’t work, open the Expert RAW app, which saves the situation in such cases! I don’t know if something is wrong with the software and it needs adjustment or if I am the only one having this problem, and additionally this is the reason it gets 4 instead of 5 stars + the small battery it has.

CONCLUSION, the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra is a good phone, let’s not kid ourselves, it is a very capable one, but does it deserve every last euro? The answer is no, it doesn’t, but overall as a complete phone it may be worth it in my opinion. However, in terms of value for money, for what it is and the price it costs, it is not worth it 100%.

I apologize for such a long and tiring text

Coming from the one and only S23 Ultra, I was hesitant about whether or not I should change, as I had been more than two years extremely satisfied with my usage.
With only one thorn: the corners of the S23!
I could never get used to those awful corners like floor tiles, which always got stuck whenever I took it out of my bag or pocket.
So when I saw the curved corners of the S26 Ultra, I said this is it.

Sturdy, beautiful, two clicks faster in everything and in the fingerprint sensor.

Battery more or less the same as the S23 Ultra, maybe a click better.

The ONE UI has now become so beautiful and smooth that if you get used to it, it's very hard to leave it.

The only two negatives I have noticed are the not so vivid screen colors compared to the S23 Ultra, which was truly a joy to look at. Maybe the Privacy Display is responsible for this.
The other negative is the protrusion of the rear cameras, which doesn't let the phone sit flat on a table and it wobbles if you want to type something.

Other than that, it is a very complete device that will easily cover you for at least the next 2-3 years.

I had the S21 Ultra and proceeded to replace it with the corresponding S26.

Positives: Improved sound, S Pen (although with limited capabilities), improved camera, fast multitasking without problems, improved connections and their speeds (bluetooth, wifi, etc.), better screen (although privacy mode has limited it a bit even when inactive from being perfect), fast charging capability, cameras (especially in photos - video has some issues in low light), design that initially feels odd but then you feel the quality in your hand and end up liking it quite a lot.

Negatives: Battery (improved but I feel it will let me down in the future and definitely without power saving you have to watch it), mobile data (twice I had to restart the phone for it to come back - with the S21 this never happened in five years of use), without a case the camera bump is annoying, video in low light.

I do not comment on the AI modes as I do not use them and I do not know how much they serve daily use.

Conclusion: It is an excellent phone that I hope will have the same ability to perform even after five years. Personally, I think that for the money it asks, some improvements have definitely been made, but for five years I expected more, naturally for its price. I do not regret it because it was a conscious decision but something is missing...

A quick comparison with the previous S25 Ultra model that will definitely interest many users, some for a new purchase, others for a possible switch from the 25. The processor is definitely better in the 26, a difference that will mainly show in processing and use of heavy applications like video editing and games for those who play. The camera with a wider aperture and improved AI is definitely better in the newer model. As for the battery, excellent work has been done on the S26U—even though it's small in capacity compared to the competition, it performs superbly!! Fresher appearance, especially at the back with the camera base tile, but depending on the case used, it may wobble a little or a bit more on flat surfaces, like on a table. Regarding privacy display, etc., which have been discussed extensively, there’s no point in commenting—it's purely a personal choice for each user, but the screen on the 26 Ultra is even brighter! Conclusion: small upgrades both in power for everyday use and in appearance, the cameras have definitely improved, but keep in mind that the latest One UI 8.5 software has already arrived on the 25 series, improving significant areas and to some extent reaching the user experience of the S26U. The decision is yours depending on how much money each person wants to spend and what they like to hold in their hand, where the new device is thinner with a lighter feel in the hand, but it is also slightly wider. It's up to you :)

After many years of using top Samsung devices and having kept the Galaxy S24 Ultra for two years, this year I decided to proceed with the purchase of the S26 Ultra. Last year I didn't go for the S25 Ultra, because I thought it wasn't worth the switch from the S24 Ultra, which was already an extremely complete and ahead-of-its-time device. Eventually, with the S26 Ultra, I decided to make the change, more out of technological curiosity than actual need.

The device is top-notch in every aspect. Very fast, with an excellent screen, impeccable build quality, and cameras that are at the top of their class. The performance is exemplary, it never lags anywhere, and in general, it shows that this is a phone designed for heavy use. The camera is improved, mainly in night shots, zoom, and video, while the AI features help in everyday life more than I expected. The screen is one of the best I have seen on a phone, with very high brightness and flawless responsiveness.

Nevertheless, I will say something that may not be written often. The Galaxy S24 Ultra was already so advanced that moving to the S26 Ultra does not give the feeling of a huge leap. The new model is better in almost every way, but not to the extent that makes the S24 Ultra seem outdated. For me, the S24 Ultra remains to this day a truly state-of-the-art device and one of the most successful that Samsung has released.

Also, personally, I did not like the design change that started with the S25 series and continues here. I believe that with the more rounded design, Samsung lost to some extent the strict, squared, and more "tool-like" aesthetic that made the Ultra models stand out. The S24 Ultra, for me, had a more imposing and distinctive appearance, with a greater sense of uniqueness and coherence in its design.

Overall, the S26 Ultra is probably the best Android you can buy at the moment. However, if someone already has the S24 Ultra, upgrading is not necessary. Personally, I kept it and I’m not giving it up, because I believe it is one of those devices that are hard to surpass and will remain among Samsung’s most successful.

Having used and switched between all of Samsung's flagships from the Galaxy S22 Ultra up to the new Galaxy S26 Ultra, I can say that this is the most complete device the company has presented in recent years. It is not a revolution, but a very carefully considered evolution that corrects several small weaknesses of previous models and makes the user experience more mature and balanced.

The camera is perhaps the area where the improvement is most noticeable. The detail remains impressive as in previous Ultra models, but here the image processing looks more natural. In night shots, there is a noticeable difference, with better lighting and less noise. Another thing I noticed is that the shutter speed is noticeably faster, which helps a lot when photographing moving objects. In previous models, there was sometimes a slight delay when pressing the shutter, whereas here the capture is more immediate and blur is reduced.

In videography, it is also clear that Samsung has paid great attention. The stabilization is very good and the result looks more cinematic and clear, especially when shooting video while walking. The colors in the video are more balanced and the lighting management seems more accurate, especially in difficult conditions such as night shots or scenes with strong light contrasts. For someone who likes to shoot video with their phone, the S26 Ultra seems more reliable and closer to a professional result.

The screen remains one of the best you can find on a smartphone. It is bright, with very nice colors and excellent clarity. In everyday use, whether watching videos or just scrolling, everything looks very smooth and easy on the eyes. An interesting new feature is the Privacy Display, which limits side viewing and adds an extra sense of privacy when using the phone in public places.

In terms of battery life, Samsung seems to have done a good job. Although the battery capacity remains about the same, the energy management is much better than the S25U I had. In practice, the phone easily lasts a full day of use without worry, even with considerable camera, social media, and video use.

The build quality is also very high. The phone gives the impression of a sturdy and premium device, while the grip is a bit more balanced compared to previous models. Despite the large size, it feels more comfortable in the hand and generally more refined in detail.

Overall, the Galaxy S26 Ultra gives me the sense of a device that substantially improves the user experience without radically changing the philosophy of the series. It is a phone that does everything very well – from the camera and screen to battery life and performance – and for that reason, it may be Samsung's most balanced flagship to date. If someone is using an older Ultra model, switching to the S26 Ultra really feels like a step forward in all key areas.

Compared to the Galaxy S25 Ultra, the Galaxy S26 Ultra is a more mature and improved version of the series, with targeted upgrades that are noticeable in everyday use.

The camera maintains the same powerful setup but with improved optics and a larger aperture, which offers brighter photos and better low-light performance, and the shutter takes photos quickly without the blur we had with the S25 Ultra.

At the same time, video has been significantly upgraded thanks to more advanced stabilization and features like Horizon Lock, which keeps the horizon steady and makes footage look like it was shot with a gimbal.

The device is also thinner and lighter than the S25 Ultra, which improves grip and the feel in the hand during use.

Combined with the newer and more powerful processor and overall system optimizations, the S26 Ultra does not radically change the philosophy of the series, but perfects the S25 Ultra, offering a more complete and reflagship experience.

The Privacy Display is on another level, the screen is crisp and in sunlight better than the S25 Ultra. It's a joy to look at.

One UI 8.5 is on another level, fluid and smooth at the level of iOS.

The main problems that the S25 Ultra had have been solved: Night Photography, Night Video, Shutter Speed, finally 24mp, Better grip, lighter, Face Unlock finally works even in difficult conditions. For me, as someone who changes to the newest model every year, it is finally a flagship in all areas. For me, there is no comparison with the 25 Ultra, the 26 Ultra is superior in every way.