Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra

Our database lists the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra 12GB + 256GB at Rs. 387,495. That puts it well below the Apple iPhone 17 Pro Max (Rs. 504,999) and the Google Pixel 11 Pro XL (Rs. 469,999).

What you get for the money:

• Privacy Display, a hardware feature no other phone currently offers
• The S Pen stored inside the body
• Fast, cool performance and very stable software with long update support
• Good, dependable battery life with 60W charging

What you give up:

• Cameras that trail the newest Chinese camera flagships in fine detail, 3x zoom and macro
• A battery that did not grow in size, so heavy users can still run low by evening
• Weaker anti-glare treatment than the S25 Ultra

Verdict: a strong buy for people who want one safe, well-rounded flagship with a stylus. Owners of an S24 Ultra or S25 Ultra get little reason to upgrade, and anyone who wants the very best camera or the biggest battery should look elsewhere.

The S26 Ultra has a 6.9-inch Dynamic LTPO AMOLED 2X panel at 1440 x 3120 pixels with a 120Hz refresh rate and up to 2600 nits peak brightness. Note that it ships set to 1080p to save battery, so switch to full resolution in settings if you want the sharpest text.

In daily use the colours are pleasing and the whole experience, with responsive touch, good haptics and clear stereo speakers, feels polished. The Extra Dim option is handy for night-time scrolling. Gaming and video look good, though this is still an 8-bit panel imitating 10-bit colour, and there is no Dolby Vision.

The new Privacy Display can black out the whole screen, single apps or notification pop-ups to people beside you. The trade-off is real:

• Half the pixels switch off when it is on, so fine text looks blockier
• At normal settings the screen stays readable from a moderate angle; only the strongest mode truly blocks it
• Viewing angles are slightly worse all the time, the anti-reflective coating is weaker than on the S25 Ultra and the panel can look a bit dimmer

It remains a very good screen, just not the best-looking one for pixel peepers.

It is powered by a Galaxy-tuned, higher-clocked Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5. In practice apps open quickly, animations stay smooth, switching between apps feels instant and heavy multitasking is handled without fuss. Long-term use shows it as one of the most stable, fastest-feeling phones around.

Heat is well controlled. Even in summer with a case on, it only gets warm during heavy games or charging, and it stays cooler than other Snapdragon flagships thanks to a redesigned vapour chamber.

Gaming is strong: PUBG Mobile runs at maximum settings, while Genshin Impact offers High rather than its highest preset. A side-by-side video export even finished ahead of the iPhone 18 Pro Max.

Limitations:

• In single-core tests Apple's newest chip is clearly faster, though everyday use shows little real difference
• Signal strength was criticised in one long test, with zero bars in places where newer iPhones held on

The S26 Ultra keeps a 200 MP f/1.4 main camera, a 10 MP 3x telephoto, a 50 MP 5x periscope, a 50 MP ultrawide and a 12 MP selfie camera. The brighter main and 5x lenses help in dim light and give softer background blur up close.

Daylight: photos are bright, well exposed and have excellent colour and white balance, with shadows kept slightly deep for a natural look. Zoom in, though, and the main sensor resolves less detail than newer Chinese flagships, and faces can look oversharpened.

Low light: glare control is much improved, and bright light sources stay sharp. However, auto night mode sometimes oversharpens, and Apple's latest Pro Max produces more natural, cinematic night shots.

Zoom and portraits: the 5x lens is good, with nice skin tones and subject separation, and beats a 4x iPhone zoom in daylight. The 3x lens is weak, giving grainy, washed-out portraits. Macro relies on the ultrawide, and the main camera no longer focuses as close.

Video: Horizon Lock keeps footage level and very stable at QHD up to 60 fps, 8K recording is available and the new APV log option works well. Lens switching still shows a small jerk, and people in the frame can look darker than on an iPhone.

Selfies are decent but not very wide, with tones that can look a little washed out unless you change the style setting.

The battery is still 5000 mAh, the same size as before. Real-world results differ, so it depends on how you use it:

• In one long rundown it lasted over 14 hours, beating the S25 Ultra, an iPhone and a top Xiaomi, while staying among the coolest phones in thermal testing
• Another test found it slightly better than last year, though standby drain is not class-leading
• A three-month heavy user saw screen-on time of roughly 7 to 8 hours at best and was often low on charge by evening, and the phone drops quickly once it falls below about 5%

Charging is now 60W wired, which our database rates at 75% in 30 minutes. It also supports 25W wireless (Qi2.2) and 4.5W reverse wireless, but there are no built-in magnets, so magnetic accessories need a case. There is no silicon-carbon battery, which is why some rival phones with larger cells last longer.

The S26 Ultra runs Android 16 with One UI, and our database says it is upgradable to Android 17 and One UI 9 with up to 7 major OS updates, the longest commitment in its class.

One UI is now very stable and deeply customisable. Small touches stand out: suggested apps in the multitasking view, tidy widgets and notifications, and Good Lock for changing almost anything, including S Pen pointers and button shortcuts. Quick Share also sends files to other brands, including iPhones.

Galaxy AI is large but mixed:

• Useful: call screening for unknown numbers, Audio Eraser for removing background noise, and message translation
• Hit and miss: Now Nudge and the new Bixby often misunderstood requests, generated images come out in a small square size, and AI edits reduce photo resolution
• The Create editor needs an internet connection, and Galaxy AI features work fully in Pakistan

Many of these extras are fun at first but easy to ignore. There is also no quick AI hub for saved screenshots and voice notes like some OnePlus and Nothing phones offer.