Samsung UK · Articles

A Privacy Feature Built Into the Screen Itself, Not Bolted On

A Privacy Feature Built Into the Screen Itself, Not Bolted On

Privacy screen protectors have existed for years as an add-on accessory, dimming visibility from the side but often degrading the display underneath. The Galaxy S26 Ultra takes a fundamentally different approach, engineering privacy directly into the OLED panel itself — a world-first according to Samsung.

Privacy Display engineered at the pixel level

Rather than a stick-on filter, Samsung built two distinct types of pixels directly into the OLED panel — letting the screen stay perfectly clear for the person holding the phone while genuinely limiting visibility from side angles, a single tap away from being toggled on or off.

A significantly faster chip across every region

The S26 Ultra runs on the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 for Galaxy — the same chip globally rather than region-specific variants — delivering a 19% CPU boost, 24% graphics improvement, and a substantial 39% jump in NPU performance over the previous generation.

A notably brighter main camera sensor

The 200MP main camera now opens to f/1.4, 47% brighter than the S25 Ultra's aperture — a genuine low-light improvement rather than a marginal spec bump, paired with wider apertures on the ultra-wide and telephoto lenses as well.

The first Galaxy phone with professional-grade video codec support

The S26 Ultra is the first Galaxy device to support Advanced Professional Video (APV) — a near-lossless video format specifically designed to retain quality through repeated editing passes, a detail that matters directly for anyone doing serious video work on their phone.

Meaningfully faster charging across the board

Super Fast Charging 3.0 now reaches up to 60W wired, taking the phone from 0 to 75% in roughly 30 minutes, while wireless charging has also been upgraded to support up to 25W — a genuine real-world time saving for anyone topping up between meetings or before heading out.

A redesigned vapor chamber for sustained performance

The S26 Ultra's redesigned Vapor Chamber is specifically built to dissipate heat more efficiently — keeping performance cool and consistent during demanding tasks like extended gaming sessions, rather than allowing thermal throttling to creep in.

Genuine durability upgrades without added bulk

The phone uses Corning Gorilla Armor 2 on the front and Gorilla Glass Victus 2 on the back, combined with an Armor Aluminum frame, while still coming in 0.3mm thinner than its predecessor — added durability without a corresponding increase in size.

An upgraded Bixby with genuine real-time capability

Bixby now supports real-time internet search and natural language understanding — a meaningful functional upgrade from previous, more rigid voice assistant behaviour, reflecting Samsung's broader push into deeper AI integration across Galaxy AI.

At a glance

Who it suits

The S26 Ultra suits anyone wanting Samsung's most capable camera and performance package to date, particularly those who'll genuinely use the new Privacy Display for screen security in public or shared spaces. Anyone less concerned with flagship camera and video capability, or working with a tighter budget, should consider the standard Galaxy S26 or S26+ instead, which share the same core Snapdragon chip at a considerably lower starting price. Shop the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra — **

Related brands