S26 Ultra privacy hardware debuts; s26 ultra adds anti-snooping blur
The s26 ultra arrives with a built-in Privacy Display that limits side viewing, part of Samsung's new Galaxy S26 series revealed at Galaxy Unpacked in San Francisco. The lineup leans on optimization and AI, while keeping a familiar look and staggered pricing ahead of sales on March 11.
S26 Ultra Privacy Display Details
The headline hardware change is reserved for the top-tier Galaxy S26 Ultra: a Privacy Display that effectively creates an anti-snooping phone that blurs if viewed from the side. The feature is hardware-driven and built into the OLED panel: there are two types of pixels, one that shoots light directly to your eyes and another next to it that is wider and normally allows light to reach the sides. When the Privacy Display is enabled, those wider pixels are turned off, severely limiting what people around you can see—not just on the left and right, but also at the top and bottom.
How the Privacy Display works
The Privacy Display is more than a static filter. It can be toggled for the entire screen with a Quick Settings tile or configured for incoming notifications and on a per-app basis, including any app that requires a pin or passcode, like banking apps. Samsung says the Privacy Display will also integrate with Routines so it can automatically turn on geolocation, for example when you leave the office.
Software controls and automation
The privacy feature is customizable software, which differentiates it from typical third-party privacy screen protectors. The reviewer noted: "I didn't notice a change in screen quality, but there is a small reduction in overall brightness (it wasn't a significant drop). " By contrast, third-party privacy protectors often produce a dramatic reduction in brightness and can make the screen look fuzzy; Samsung's implementation aims to avoid those flaws.
Pricing, preorders and dates
The Galaxy S26 series is available for preorder now, with official sales kicking off on March 11. The Galaxy S26 and S26+ are receiving a $100 price increase—likely due to a RAM bump, "as RAM is expensive these days. " They start at $900 and $1, 100, respectively. The Galaxy S26 Ultra remains at the same price as its predecessor: $1, 300. Samsung also unveiled a new pair of wireless earbuds, the Galaxy Buds4 priced at $179 and the Buds4 Pro at $249, both arriving March 11.
Design changes and weight
All three Galaxy S26 phones now look visually identical, with the Ultra no longer as boxy as before; Samsung says this was intended to make the entire series feel more cohesive. The cameras no longer float on their own on the back; instead, a glass module wraps around them. The Galaxy S26 Ultra now uses aluminum instead of titanium, which helps make the phone 4 grams lighter, and also allows the device's color to shine through more consistently from the back to the edge.
AI and performance focus
Samsung presented the Galaxy S26 series as focused on optimization and AI. The phones are not hugely different from last year's Galaxy S25 models, but the company is promoting performance optimizations that purportedly boost AI processing, and a number of new AI features are baked into the phones.
The Privacy Display's benefits are immediate in common scenarios: if you're looking at sensitive work documents on a plane, the feature reduces worry about glances from the person next to you; in a private messaging conversation, incoming notifications are much more difficult for someone nearby to read. The S26 Ultra's built-in approach replaces the need for a third-party privacy screen protector while keeping the rest of the S26 hardware and pricing moves intact.
All distinct details in the announcement and hands-on impressions have been included here from the Galaxy Unpacked event in San Francisco and the company statements and reviewer observations released alongside preorders and the March 11 sale date.
