For Galaxy S25 Ultra owners, the S26 Ultra offers incremental improvements plus one major new feature.
What's New
Major Addition
- Privacy Display: Built-in screen privacy from side viewers
Hardware Upgrades
- Charging: 60W wired (vs 45W), 25W wireless
- Main camera: f/1.4 aperture (vs f/1.7)—47% more light
- Periscope: f/2.9 aperture (vs f/3.4)
- Processor: Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5
- Design: 7.9mm thick (vs 8.2mm), 214g (vs 218g)
Unchanged
- 5,000mAh battery
- 6.9-inch display
- 200MP main sensor
- S Pen (no Bluetooth)
Potential Downsides
- Aluminum frame (not titanium)
- Display eye strain reports for some users
- Slightly dimmer screen in some tests
Upgrade If
✅ Privacy Display is essential for your work
✅ Your S25 Ultra has issues
✅ Faster charging matters significantly
✅ Low-light camera improvement is valuable
Skip If
❌ Your S25 Ultra works perfectly
❌ Concerned about display issues
❌ You valued the titanium frame
❌ $1,299 is hard to justify for incremental changes
Software Note
The S25 Ultra will receive One UI 8.5 and most Galaxy AI features. You won't miss significant software updates by keeping your current phone.
Recommendation
Unless Privacy Display addresses a specific need, the S25 Ultra remains excellent. Consider waiting for the S27 Ultra for potentially more substantial upgrades.
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How we researched this
Where this comes from: this answer draws on the product's published specifications and the reviews ShopSavvy collected for it, alongside prices from ShopSavvy's price data.
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