I went to Best Buy and played with the Ultra. That privacy display is pretty slick. I would use it in some form if I had that phone. Overall a nice phone, which is to be expected, but it's a big one.
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Samsung S26 Ultra/S26/S26 Plus
- Thread starter HouseLannister
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I always thought the Ultra versions were awesome and I would love to have one but the size and weight kill them for me.
Same for me. I won't rule one out,I have a Pixel 10 Pro and I kinda wish I had the XL model, but I like to use a case and that makes them a lot larger than I'd like. But I'm going to be watching the S27 Ultra. That could be the one.
Caved in and ordered. Got £100 code pre order code from someone, £50 Samsung code, used £50 points from Samsung and got £100 off for using PayPal.
£979 for 512gb black (as always!) S26 Ultra
£979 for 512gb black (as always!) S26 Ultra
I am waiting a couple weeks for more first-hand reports on the display. Even with the privacy mode off, there seem to be some complaints from early hands-on: problems with viewing off axis, less sharp text and pixel uniformity, and increased eye strain. Please share your thoughts as you play with your new toys.
When i look at the screen off axis it looks fine, but i tend to look quite straight on my screens so don't know when bad off axis would be a issue for how i use my devices.
Maybe, perhaps text is slighly less sharp. Maybe. I use the Samsung anti glare screen protector and have tried the setting screen resolution to both FHD+ and QHD and to my eyes there really is no major difference between the two so i left it on FHD+
Using the S25 Edge which also has the anti glare protector and S26 Ultra side by side with display settings set exactly the same there is a slight difference in how they look to me - neither is better or worse than the other, they are just ever so slighty different. Could it be that the Ultra essentially has two layers of anti-glare when the Edge only has 1 - I guess.
Or since i'm speculating and throwing out assumptions it could be my eyes still adjusting and/or a side effect of the different pixel structure on the Ultra. Or a combination of all three.
Will give the 26 Ultra a few more weeks and see how i get on with it.
Maybe, perhaps text is slighly less sharp. Maybe. I use the Samsung anti glare screen protector and have tried the setting screen resolution to both FHD+ and QHD and to my eyes there really is no major difference between the two so i left it on FHD+
Using the S25 Edge which also has the anti glare protector and S26 Ultra side by side with display settings set exactly the same there is a slight difference in how they look to me - neither is better or worse than the other, they are just ever so slighty different. Could it be that the Ultra essentially has two layers of anti-glare when the Edge only has 1 - I guess.
Or since i'm speculating and throwing out assumptions it could be my eyes still adjusting and/or a side effect of the different pixel structure on the Ultra. Or a combination of all three.
Will give the 26 Ultra a few more weeks and see how i get on with it.
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I haven't messed with privacy mode yet but I'm typing on the phone now, set at max resolution and I'm finding the screen great. No issues to report
Also the phone feels super light. Just switched between my 17PM and the s26 ultra feels like a toy in comparison
jamezr
macrumors P6
I notice those things as well. I thought it was just the honeymoon phase of a new phone.
IMHO this is the smoothest phone I have had is quite some time. I think it is great blend of software and hardware.
dumastudetto
macrumors 603
I haven't gotten rid of my iPhone. Currently have bothThis mean you're switching back?
Samsung never seems to work like that. Even though the beta been out a while, there always seems to be a delay
drinkingtea
macrumors 65816
Picking up my S26U today! Going to give it the full two weeks before deciding to part with my Pixel.
aggie99
macrumors 65816
Wow this is the first s series/ultra I have passed on since that Galaxy S II. Nothing against it. It looks great but the S25U is still so good and there's really not much of a step up in my opinion between these two. Plus, having a Trifold, I doubt I'd give it much use anyways. I'm gonna swap the sim back and forth with my S25U next week in Hawaii for pic purposes and to keep the Trifold out of harms way when doing the beach and excursions but it's gonna be my main for the forseeable future. I do hope to see the privacy screen make it's way to more Samsung devices in the future. I played with one at the Samsung store and it's really slick.
aggie99
macrumors 65816
I'll play this game 😂
sjsharksfan12
macrumors 68030
I'm going to be the same way. I don't really understand the privacy feature too. Are you sharing your phone with several other people? Why would what is on the phone be a privacy issue. I guess maybe if you are at the gym and glance towards someone on the machine next to you and see the phone, but in that case I don't really hand my phone to others at all.
ToddH
macrumors 68040
I agree, the privacy screen issue or option is not needed. I’m never close enough to someone else’s phone to see what they’re looking at no worries anyone close enough to mine to see what I’m looking at. Normally anyone is six or 8 feet away from someone else using their phone anytime of the day. The only time I guess it would be important as if you were on a subway or some sort of tram. Even at that point, personal information shouldn’t be looked at or opened around a group of people. Do that at your home or in your car away from others. Privacy screens are terrible for photographers like myself. You have to be using your phone/camera completely face on to see what you’re looking at to frame the image in the camera, you definitely can’t hold the phone over your head to take a picture because you can’t see the screen. holding it at arms length usually doesn’t work either. Privacy screens are useless in my opinion and the glass or plastic ones are too dark and they require your background display to be two or three times brighter just to make a difference to shine through the tinted glass. That will reduce battery life quite a bit. This new electronic one on the S 26 seems OK but I would never use it. It’s more of a gimmick than anything else I would think. Something that Samsung came up with to sell more phones because they’ve probably reached a plateau of adding new features/hardware.
I have a Samsung S25 ultra, I hardly use it anymore because I use two iPhones, 17 pro max. I mainly got the S25 ultra because of the camera. however, I kind of got bored with it because there’s no photography apps available to use with the camera like iPhone has. Anyway, not upgrading to the 26 ultra. especially when the main camera is F/1.4 now which is only 1/3 of a stop faster optics. Not worth it.
Not sure why the privacy screen bothers people so much. If you don't like it or think it's unnecessary keep it turned off. I think it's neat but I wouldn't buy just for that feature.
maka344
macrumors 68020
I think you’re right. The issue is there’s not much else on offer over the S25U and Samsung is pushing the privacy screen hard but it does downgrade the experience for some thus, it’s a hard pass for a lot of people.
