Samsung unveils new Galaxy S26 with one clever feature the iPhone can't match
Samsung's new Galaxy S26 Ultra comes with a Privacy Display that blocks prying eyes from seeing what's on your screen
Samsung has just lifted the lid on a trio of new Galaxy S26 smartphones and one of them has a very unique new feature that the iPhone can't beat. The S26 Ultra is not only thinner and faster than before, but it now comes with a Privacy Display, which stops prying eyes from seeing what's on the screen.
Once activated in the settings, content magically disappears if you aren't staring directly at it. That means strangers sitting next to you on the train won't be able to read your texts or have a cheeky glance at the movie you are watching. It can even be set to only block out specific apps or certain notifications.
"Galaxy S26 Ultra introduces the mobile industry’s first built-in Privacy Display, a breakthrough in display technology that fundamentally changes how privacy can be protected on a phone," Samsung explained.
"By controlling how pixels disperse light, the display keeps content clear, bright and comfortable for the user in everyday use, while limiting what others can see."
Along with that smart screen, the Ultra gets a thinner design, long battery life and is now powered by the ultimate Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 Mobile Platform for Galaxy from Qualcomm. There's even some pretty rapid charging which can take things from flat to 75% in 30 minutes.
There's also an updated quad rear camera that snaps much better images at night and video capture is further enhanced with upgraded Super Steady capabilities, which add a horizontal lock option for less wobble when shooting home movies.
Like previous Ultra phones, it comes with an S Pen inside so you can scribble notes on the 6.9-inch AMOLED screen without using your finger.
The Ultra is being joined by a standard S26 with a 6.3-inch screen and a bigger 6.7-inch Plus version. These are powered by Samsung's Exynos chip and feature triple-lens cameras on the rear case.
One thing that all of Samsung's new smartphones get is a big boost to their smart features thanks to a Galaxy AI upgrade.
Samsung is promising a far more useful experience with updates such as Now Nudge. This offers up relevant suggestions to help users stay in the flow without being distracted.
For example, if a friend asks for photos from a recent trip, the Galaxy S26 automatically suggests photos from the Gallery.
When receiving a message about a meeting, Galaxy S26 can recognise related Calendar entries and check for conflicts. Google Gemini continues to be backed, which makes finding information on the web far more intuitive.
These are nice updates from Samsung but they do come at cost with everything going up this year.
Here is the full UK pricing for the new Samsung Galaxy S26 range:
S26: 256GB £879, 512GB £1,049
S26 Plus: 256GB £1,099, 512GB £1,269
S26 Ultra: 256GB £1,279, 512GB £1,449, 1TB (with 16GB RAM) £1,699
They will alll arrive in stores from next month.
