Samsung S26 Series Unpacked: Faster Lenses, Pixel-Level Privacy and Buckets of AI

The smartphone season has officially begun with Samsung “unpacking” its Galaxy S26 Series. Although we always focus on camera upgrades here at Image Matrix Tech, we can’t ignore the impressive pixel-level privacy features on the S26 Ultra.

It’s the industry’s first built-in Privacy Display. This hardware-integrated feature controls the screen’s viewing angle at the pixel level to limit what off-axis nosey types want to see on your screen. It uses a narrow and wide pixel arrangement to adjust the level of privacy. I’m here to report that it’s pretty impressive. So instead of sticking a privacy sheet to your display, you can just press a button and you’re good to go.

The Ultra’s cameras have had a couple of upgrades, but they are significant. The main 200MP sensor has a faster lens in front of it. It’s now f/1.4, improved from f1/1.7. The other, more important lens is the new, wider f/2.9 aperture on the 50MP 5x optical camera. This used to be f/3.4 and as you can see in the video above, every bit of light gathering counts when taking photos at concerts.

Other Camera Specs

• Enhanced Light Sensitivity: The S26 Ultra’s 200MP wide camera captures 47% more light, while the 50MP telephoto (5x zoom) captures 37% more light compared to the S25 Ultra.
• Professional Video: The Ultra is the first Galaxy to support APV, a professional-grade video codec for high-quality production workflows.
• Conversational AI Editing: Through the Photo Assist suite, users can describe changes in plain language—such as changing a scene from day to night or even changing an outfit—and the AI executes the edit.

The other excellent camera feature is Super Steady with Horizontal Lock. This helps to almost eliminate shaky video and, just like a GoPro, will keep the horizon level, even when rotating the phone.

AI Everywhere

The S26 Series is essentially a portable AI device. Everything you do will involve a form of AI interaction that’s either obvious or running quietly in the background.

New AI Features in 26 Ultra

• You can now use written prompts in Photo Assist to get faster photo editing.
• Now Nudge is a new feature that intelligently understands what’s on your screen and will provide suggestions, such as viewing your Calendar to add an event or the option to jump straight to your Gallery when someone asks you to share photos with them.
• Now Brief delivers even more personalised insights based on user behaviour and preferences in bite-sized briefs. These include reminders based on information saved on your device, like booking details and friends’ birthdays.
• Search with Finder allows you to search for information without looking through apps yourself, such as flight details or notes you have saved.

Performance and Build

To make sure all of this runs smoothly, the processing power of the S26 Ultra has been improved with impressive gains across the CPU, GPU, and NPU to support “always-on” AI features without lag.

• Thermal Management: A redesigned Vapour Chamber uses thermal interface material along the sides of the processor to dissipate heat across a larger surface area.
• Battery and Charging: The Ultra houses a 5,000 mAh battery and supports Super-Fast Charging 3.0.
• Form Factor: This is the slimmest Ultra yet, featuring a 6.9-inch QHD+ Dynamic AMOLED 2X display.

Check out the comparison chart below to see the key differences between the models.

Quick Specs Comparison

*Processor varies by market; Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 is available in select regions.

PRICING AND AVAILABILITY

Pre-order Date: February 26, 2026.

General Availability: March 11, 2026.

Standard Colours: Cobalt Violet, White, Black, and Sky Blue.

Samsung.com.au Exclusive Colours: Pink Gold and Silver Shadow

Storage Tiers: * S26 / S26+: 256GB and 512GB.

S26 Ultra: 256GB, 512GB, and 1TB.

• Colours: Cobalt Violet, White, Black, and Sky Blue are standard; Pink Gold and Silver Shadow are exclusive to Samsung.com.au.

• Support: All models are backed by seven years of security updates.