For most of the last decade, flagship phones defined progress through camera advancements. Wider sensors. Longer zoom. Bigger numbers. Shooting movies off your phone.
The new Galaxy S26 series suggests Samsung thinks that era is tapering off. Not because cameras stopped improving, but because the marginal improvements each year, especially for cameras, are getting harder to get excited about.
The Galaxy S26 Ultra measures 7.9mm and 214g, modestly shaving off a little bulk to make this the slimmest Ultra ever. The camera specs are as per usual — 200MP headline sensor, light-capture improvements, stabilisation refinements — but they seem to be no longer the emotional centre of such launches.
Not that this hasn’t already been going on for several releases, but that said, the S26’s ‘headline’ feature might actually shock you.
Privacy display: built-in shoulder-surf defence
At first glance, the most distinctive feature on paper is Samsung’s new Privacy Display, which narrows side-angle visibility at the pixel level. It’s designed for use on trains, in cafés and other shared spaces. It can be toggled quickly and adjusted in strength, allowing a full range of privacy levels from hiding notification previews to full privacy mode.
Notably, it’s one of a few privacy and security features Samsung has introduced, alongside AI Call Screening, which answers unknown numbers, shows a real-time transcript, and summarises intent before you pick up a call. The concept isn’t new — Google’s Pixel phones have had assistant-led screening with live transcript viewing for years — but we’re seeing more of this as Samsung shifts its focus on building a more cohesive internal ecosystem.
This includes the ability to flag suspicious behaviour from high-privilege apps. Typically, we can see what they’re allowed to access, but now the system can nudge you when an app behaves unusually; subtle, but a more useful outcome because we’re not all Android nerds.
Likewise, Knox — its on-phone hardware security platform — isn’t new, but KEEP is. This encrypted layer is built specifically for AI features, storing personal data processed by Galaxy AI (transcripts, indexed screenshots, contextual insights) in isolated, hardware-backed containers rather than in normal app space.
Post-Quantum Cryptography (PQC) — Samsung’s quantum-resistant encryption tech — is also expanding to software verification and firmware protection, as well as specific services such as eSIM transfers. That feels more future-proofing than a daily-life upgrade — but this security retooling for AI-heavy usage reinforces the “secure AI phone” message.
The biggest reason for this is that for AI to work better, it needs better context, which could be learning your habits, routines and preferences, which allows it to predict your actions before you ask; heavy use of AI consolidates many elements of your life into a single account, making it a higher-value target for hackers.
It stands to reason that if the phone is getting smarter and functionally more proactive, it also needs to leak less.
Multi-agent AI: real choice, unclear orchestration
It’s also clearer that not all LLMs are created equal, and we’re likely headed towards a future where we rely on a variety of agents instead of a single do-it-all tool. As such, Samsung positions the S26 as a fully integrated multi-agent phone that integrates Perplexity, which is arguably the best research tool, alongside Gemini, while reframing Bixby as a device-level assistant that can guide settings and perform contextual searches — notable because most AI phones still feel like feature bundles rather than systems, with Google Pixel phones the sole exception.
Whether users can meaningfully route tasks between them, define granularly which assistant handles what, or at least ensure seamless operation, remains to be seen, but the proverbial foundations are in place. Where previously most people might have questioned why a phone would need multiple AI assistants (Google and Bixby), it is now clear that they can all coexist meaningfully, with specific roles for each and an easy way to delegate tasks autonomously.
A host of improvements from charging to video standards
On the business-as-usual front, the S26 features a host of quality-of-life improvements. For starters, Samsung claims the S26 Ultra can reach up to 75% in about 30 minutes via wired charging (Super Fast Charging 3.0), which narrows the gap versus Chinese phones.
The S26 Ultra also introduces support for Advanced Professional Video (APV), a professional-grade video standard designed for visually lossless workflows, including 8K capture — no doubt a response to Apple’s position of its own Ultra as a ‘professional-lite’ creator tool.
In terms of other software features, Photo Assist now does more than clean up backgrounds. It can add or restore missing elements via text prompts, shift scenes from day to night, even change outfits — all with step-by-step revisions.
Document Scan cleans up glare and distortion and bundles multiple shots into a single PDF. Screenshot Analyser sorts your saved chaos. Now Nudge quietly surfaces relevant photos in chat or flags calendar clashes when you’re scheduling.
The multi-AI agent era begins
It’s telling when others are releasing phones with an actual gimbal camera built in, and the highlights of yours are hidden in lines of code. But the reality is that there is a fine line between a feature-rich phone that feels seamless in everyday use and one that tries too hard to be helpful.
Samsung’s post–main character phase might end up being its most defining one — and it’s a position even Pixel may not occupy in quite the same way. Google will almost certainly keep building vertically around Gemini and its backend infrastructure; that’s its game from the start. But Samsung, having kept Bixby alive for years and now layering Gemini and Perplexity on top, may be the first major player with enough scale and leverage to cross the Rubicon of the multi-agent ecosystem.
If that sounds less glamorous than your next wishlist camera gimmick, that’s because it is. But it may also be the smarter move in the long game.
Pre-orders for the Galaxy S26 series begin on 26 February 2026, with general availability from 11 March 2026 across Samsung’s online store, experience stores, telcos and major retailers.
The Galaxy S26 starts at SGD 1,438 (12GB + 256GB), rising to SGD 1,738 for 512GB. The S26+ begins at SGD 1,628 (256GB) and goes up to SGD 1,928 for 512GB. The Galaxy S26 Ultra starts at SGD 1,828 (256GB), with 512GB at SGD 2,128 and a 16GB + 1TB variant at SGD 2,578.
Pre-order customers will receive a complimentary storage upgrade (256GB to 512GB, or 512GB to 1TB, with a top-up required for the 1TB Ultra tier), alongside various bundle and instalment options. Samsung is also introducing a new Galaxy Club programme, which offers up to 50% guaranteed value back when upgrading to the next Galaxy S series, bundled with two years of Samsung Care+ Screen Care.
