The Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra has just launched and perceptions are divided. Regardless of the debate, I had already decided to upgrade. But over the last few days since its launch, the fine print and some unexpected cuts have come to light. And ultimately they convinced me to sit it out.
After spending days going through all the upgrades and downgrades – yes, there are many – it is with a heavy heart that I decided to skip this update after all the initial excitement. If you are also planning to get the new Galaxy S26 Ultra, you might want to reconsider your decision and read this first.
Privacy Display is associated with high costs
Samsung’s Privacy Display is the heart of the S26 Ultra and it’s really cool. It prevents curious people from looking at your screen in public. Great idea, except there’s an awkward trade-off: the S26 Ultra’s screen isn’t as bright as the S25 Ultra’s, even with the Privacy Display turned off.
Samsung rates the screen at up to 2,600 nits, but lab tests show a peak brightness of 1,806 nits, compared to the 1,860 nits measured on the Galaxy S25 Ultra. On paper this is a small gap, but in real life it is clearly noticeable.
To make matters worse, several reviewers reported that the text on the display appears blurry compared to the S25 Ultra, even with the Privacy Display turned off.
One user on Twitter even reported eye strain after prolonged use. For me, this is a potential dealbreaker since most of what I do on my phone is texting or reading articles for long periods of time.
Samsung promised 10-bit color and then backtracked
This one is almost difficult to digest. During the Galaxy S26 press conference, Samsung told reporters that one of the upgrades over the S25 Ultra was a 10-bit color depth display.
However, users noticed that the product specifications page only mentioned that the display offers 16.7 million colors, which corresponds to the 8-bit color specifications. When this controversy came to light, a Samsung spokesperson came forward and confirmed that the S26 Ultra’s display is an 8-bit display that simulates 10-bit color depth.
And this isn’t just a theoretical difference on a data sheet. In hands-on testing with the S26 Ultra alongside phones with true 10-bit panels, including the OnePlus 15, the gap in HDR content became noticeable. The sky doesn’t fade as smoothly and darker transitions appear a little harder.
Even if you can’t really tell the difference in daily use, the discrepancy between what was promised and what customers received is difficult to accept.
The 3x camera quietly got worse
The S26 Ultra’s cameras may look the same at first glance, but a closer look at the specs reveals a different story. Although both telephoto cameras have a 10MP telephoto sensor with an f/2.4 aperture, 67mm focal length, PDAF, OIS and 3x optical zoom, the main difference lies in the sensor and pixel size.
The Galaxy S25 Ultra uses a larger 1/3.52-inch sensor with 1.12µm pixels, compared to the smaller 1/3.94-inch sensor with 1.0µm pixels on the S26 Ultra. In bright daylight, the difference may not be noticeable as both cameras produce fairly similar results.
But slide either camera into a dimly lit restaurant or on a late-night photo shoot and the gap becomes visible. The S26 Ultra’s smaller 1/3.94-inch sensor captures less light, meaning you’ll see more noise and less detail. Performance is poorer in low ambient light.
I don’t fully understand the design decisions
This is more of a subjective opinion, but I don’t like the new design of the S26 Ultra. I don’t like the new camera island design and honestly prefer what we had with the S25 Ultra.
Then there’s the decision to switch from titanium back to aluminum, which almost seems like blindly following the iPhone. While the device is slimmer, it is also taller and wider and offers a poorer screen-to-body ratio. On the positive side, the more rounded design should make it more comfortable to use.
None of these things alone are a deal-breaker, but taken as a whole the device feels like a slight downgrade, at least in my opinion.
The charge cycle confusion
In the EU’s EPREL database, the S26 Ultra is rated for 1,200 charge cycles before falling to 80% capacity, compared to 2,000 cycles for the S25 Ultra. That sounds alarming, but it’s not the whole story.
The S25 Ultra was launched before June 2025, when EU testing standards were less stringent and charging cycles were not well defined. The S26 Ultra was likely tested under the newer, stricter rules, which explains the discrepancy.
In real use, the S26 Ultra’s battery should deteriorate to the same extent as its predecessor. And if anything, the more efficient Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chip means the S26 Ultra lasts longer on a single charge.
As far as I can tell, battery cycle history is essentially a non-issue and you can cross it off your list of concerns.
While Samsung is cutting corners, its competitors are making improvements
Here’s the thing: At $1,299, the S26 Ultra doesn’t compete in a vacuum. The OnePlus 15 is available at a significantly cheaper price, but offers comparable performance and a battery that significantly outperforms Samsung’s flagship.
Then there’s the Xiaomi 17 Ultra, which has a 12-bit display with 3,500 nits of peak brightness and a 6,000mAh battery with 90W fast charging. The reality is that Samsung’s flagship is no longer the undisputed winner it once was.
If you’re upgrading from an S23 Ultra or older device, the S26 Ultra is still worth considering, but if you’re already using an S25 Ultra, there’s not enough new here to justify the switch.
