Tired of ‘Shoulder Surfers’? Samsung S26 Ultra Debuts a World-First Privacy Feature

Top of the range is the S26 Ultra. Like its predecessor, it has a big 6.9-inch screen and comes with an S Pen stylus for drawing and writing on the screen. But in a world first, it also has a privacy display that can’t be read by people around you.

This promises to put an end to ‘shoulder surfing’ – the practice of people on the bus looking over your shoulder to see what’s on your screen. You can choose the maximum level of privacy, or to only conceal notifications, and it promises to have no impact on the screen resolution.

Like its siblings, the S26 Ultra has the new Qualcomm Snapdragon Elite Gen 5 for Galaxy chipset (or the Samsung Exynos 2600, depending on where in the world you buy your device). The graphics processor (GPU) promises to be 24 per cent faster than the previous generation, the central processing unit (CPU) 19 per cent faster and the AI-enabling neural processing unit (NPU) a whopping 39 per cent faster. Which should make for quicker, smoother operation. 

Samsung’s ProScaler technology makes for a sharper and richer viewing experience by using AI to enhance colour, brightness and detail. Soft shades of colour should be rendered with four times more precision than the previous generation.

There’s also a new thermal architecture, whose redesigned vapour chamber and repositioned thermal interface material let you play longer for harder without the device overheating.

The S26 range benefits from Super Fast Charging 3.0, too. This juices up the S26 Ultra from zero to 75 per cent capacity in just 30 minutes. A refined algorithm optimises energy use in real time to make the devices more efficient. And the S26 and S26+ have faster wireless charging than their predecessors.

Samsung’s phones are renowned for their cameras, and the S26 Ultra should be no different. Its 200MP main camera allows in 47 per cent more light, while the 50MP ultrawide lets in 37 per cent more. This should make for clearer photos taken in low light. Enhanced noise reduction will make for cleaner, sharper and more vibrant videos in the same conditions.

There’s also automatic correction up to 360 degrees based on real-time gyroscope and accelerometer data to make your videos super steady. And auto framing will help you frame your videos without losing any picture quality. 

AI works across the camera features, including Photo Assist (which can edit the image using prompts, like removing bite marks from a piece of cake, swapping the background and so on). 

But then AI is across the range as a whole, designed to be there when you need it and not when you don’t. Samsung has sought to ‘democratise’ AI by making it easier to use, and has enhanced the ‘proactive’ features like Now Brief and Now Nudge (which suggest information and updates based on your routine and activities).

Samsung’s Bixby personal assistant is also enhanced by AI, and can now make suggestions based on context. Tell it the screen is hurting your eyes, for example, and it will take you to the settings to dim the display, rather than just telling you how to find them yourself.

The S26 Ultra is also available with more storage than the other devices. While they all come in 256GB and 512GB variants, the Ultra is also available in two 1TB models: one with the standard 8GB of RAM, and one with 12GB for faster, slicker operation for power users.

The value proposition