Galaxy S26 Ultra after 14 days: my opinion has changed

I have been using the Galaxy S26 Ultra as my daily driver for 14 days. That is not a long-term review yet, but my opinion after the first impressions has changed, partly for the better and partly for the worse.

Hardware: little change

It was clear from the start that Samsung hadn’’t changed much about the hardware in the S26 series. The device is a bit lighter and thinner, but the Qi2 magnet on the back is missing, and there is still no silicon-carbon battery. That would have made the device thinner, lighter and longer-lasting, and a magnet would have fit right in. I really regret that. Sure, most people use a case, and then you can buy one with a magnet. But on a €1,449 device, relying on accessories to get current hardware features is not the right way, in my opinion.

Now Nudge and Finder: the AI disappoints

After the press event, I was convinced that the S26 Ultra would take a step forward because of the software. I was especially hyped about Now Nudge, because it is supposed to react proactively to what I am doing on the screen. That is exactly what I have been waiting for, for a long time.

My wish would be this: in the morning, the smartphone tells me what is important today, summarizes the most important news and gives me a briefing on appointments and to-dos, because the AI has access to emails and messages. It reminds me of my niece’‘s birthday along with a gift link, suggests a train connection for the trip to Berlin and tells me that, because of the traffic situation, I should already set off for my doctor’’s appointment. The data and the AI are there, after all, you would just have to connect the two.

The reality with Now Nudge:

• When someone asks about an appointment in a message, a pop-up with my appointments appears above the keyboard, but only for a specific date like “March 11, 6 p.m.”, not for “Friday morning”. It isn’’t that hard, is it?
• Suggesting photos for a place or date works well, but it rarely happens.
• Nothing more happens. I had thought it would learn along with me and meet me in other areas after a while. But it doesn’’t. I hope something still comes with longer use or updates.

With the new Finder, I like the idea of searching for a keyword and having it search all content, including emails and messages. Great in theory, but it doesn’’t really work. Mostly it only shows web content or YouTube videos, apparently not yet emails and WhatsApp messages.

Privacy Display: a game changer

What I underestimated in its usefulness and use almost without limit is the Privacy Display. Packed train, packed plane, been there, done that: I write messages in a relaxed way, open banking apps or scroll through social media without my seat neighbor seeing anything.

It is a completely new technology. When the Privacy Display is on, the resolution is not quite as good anymore, because certain pixels are switched off. Especially with the camera you have strong restrictions, as if there were a gray filter on the display, even when looking straight at it. That doesn’’t bother me. I only turn the Privacy Display on in certain situations and off again afterward.

Because of the new technology, the display is one of the most valuable and most sensitive parts of the device. Ad: To protect it, I use a screen protector from TORRAS, which can be combined with the Q3 Air or the Q3 VegSkin Case.

Camera

There were no changes to the sensors, but there were to the lenses: the main camera has a lens that is 77% brighter, the telephoto camera one that is 37% brighter. You notice that especially in low-light shots. After 14 days, I can say that the S26 Ultra takes really good shots that live up to the term ultra smartphone in 2026.

• Super Steady: No matter how I rotate the smartphone, the picture stays level. Technically impressive, but in those 14 days I rarely felt the need to use it, because I shoot less action-packed videos.
• APV format: The counterpart to ProRes mode on Apple, for professional video recording with good post-processing. I didn’’t use it, because I am happy with the video quality anyway. Both are there for Pro and Ultra users, if they have a use for them.
• Prompter in photo editing: I use this now and then. I enter by voice command what should be changed, and the AI implements it in outrageous quality.

Battery

The battery size hasn’’t changed, which looks stingy on paper, especially compared to Honor or Xiaomi. Thanks to the more efficient Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 for Galaxy, I get 8 to 9 hours of screen-on time. As a hardcore user, that is a full two days for me. I am often indoors and on Wi-Fi, though. When I am outdoors a lot on 5G, the battery life is lower. But two days is more than enough for me.

S Pen

Because the body has gotten thinner, the built-in S Pen is much skinnier than on the S25 Ultra. I haven’‘t used it a single time so far. Because of the changed camera design, the S26 Ultra also wobbles terribly on the table. Without a case, you can’‘t write on it with the S Pen without getting seasick. Because AI features increasingly aim at voice control, I suspect that the S Pen won’’t remain part of the Ultra devices for much longer. That is just my personal guess.

Verdict

I will keep using the S26 Ultra. I have to hand back the test device in cobalt violet; privately, or rather for this channel, I bought the color Pink Gold, to match the Galaxy Buds 4 Pro. I will keep watching the AI features in particular and give you an update.