Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra Long-Term Review — Over 6 Months Later
Samsung says the red tint some people are seeing on the Galaxy S26 Ultra is basically a software calibration problem, and they've pushed out an update meant to fix it. I installed the update, and I can still see it. Does that mean every S26 Ultra has a bad display? Absolutely not — most people probably won't even notice what I'm talking about. But if you're an enthusiast like me, once you see it, it's hard to unsee. I've been using the S26 Ultra on and off for about six months, and there's a lot I love here — but also a couple of things that still make it feel like first-generation hardware the S27 Ultra will clean up.
Quick Verdict
After six months, the S26 Ultra is a very complete phone that Samsung slightly compromised in one area: the display. The privacy panel introduces a subtle reddish tint and worse-than-usual viewing angles, and there's some PWM flicker and fuzzy text that bother a subset of people. If none of that bothers you, this is one of the best phones you can buy — great battery, the most consistent Galaxy camera yet, fantastic speakers, a lighter design, the S Pen, and long software support. Around $896–$1,000 it's a really good buy. But if you want Samsung's absolute best and display imperfections will drive you crazy, wait for the S27 Ultra — I suspect it fixes most of my complaints.
The Display: The Privacy-Panel Trade-Off
The display is still my biggest issue, and it comes down to this year's privacy display. I like the idea — on a subway or a plane, stopping the person beside you from seeing your screen is cool — but I feel Samsung compromised overall display quality to make it happen, and there are two separate things going on:
- The reddish tint. Looking straight at the screen, especially at max brightness, there's a subtle warm reddish area toward the middle. Samsung has acknowledged this, calls it a software calibration issue, is offering free calibration for affected phones, and the August update is supposed to address it. A lot of people say it fixed theirs. Mine, I still kind of see.
- Color shift on tilt. Tilt the phone even slightly and the colors shift aggressively — for me from warm to bluish (others see purple/magenta). This is where the privacy hardware itself is part of the trade-off, because the panel is designed to control where light goes, so even with privacy off, the viewing angles just aren't as good as other phones.
If you actually like the privacy display, the best way to use it is Modes and Routines — set it to kick in automatically when you're away from trusted places, rather than toggling it manually (you'll forget). Maximum Privacy mode is a different story: it kills brightness, so I only use it for something genuinely confidential, never all day.
There's also PWM flicker — it doesn't bother my eyes, but some people are sensitive and a number have returned the phone over headaches or eye strain. Related but separate: certain text (especially in the settings menu) can look a little fuzzy or shimmery. If that bothers you, go to Display → Screen zoom and move it one notch right (noticeably cleaner text for me), run QHD+, and I prefer Vivid shifted slightly cooler. And if your display looks perfect to you and you have no idea what I'm describing — then honestly, none of this matters.
It Still Sold Like Crazy
I don't want this to become an entire video about the screen, because Samsung clearly did something right. In Q2, the S26 Ultra was the fourth best-selling smartphone in the world — not fourth Android phone, fourth smartphone, with only three iPhones ahead of it, making it the best-selling Android phone that quarter. For a $1,300 phone (where the Androids near the top are usually cheap A-series devices), that's wild — and it accounted for more than half of the entire S26 series' sales. People love it, and once you move past what annoys me, I understand why.
Battery and Thermals
Battery life has been great. It's still 5,000mAh — Samsung hasn't chased the huge silicon-carbon capacities some Chinese brands have — but it's easily a full-day phone. One weird tweak that's worked for me: I turn off adaptive battery and use the Light performance profile, and that combination has consistently given me some of the best battery life. The concerning part is long-term health: per Samsung's European energy label, the S26 Ultra battery is rated for 1,200 charge cycles to 80% capacity, down from 2,000 on the S25 Ultra — a 40% reduction. At one cycle a day that's about 3.25 years versus 5.5. Real life isn't that clean, but the gap is still big. One battery-adjacent win: Quick Share now works with Apple's AirDrop (it rolled out earlier this year, no One UI 9 required).
Thermals are okay — not amazing, not terrible. It gets pretty warm after about 30 minutes of gaming, and I'd like Samsung to improve cooling on the S27 Ultra, especially when much cheaper Poco phones use aggressive cooling now. Interestingly, Samsung went back to aluminum from titanium this year; people called it a downgrade, but I don't care — aluminum conducts heat better anyway, and Samsung's focus was thinner and lighter. At 214g for a 6.9-inch Ultra, it's genuinely good. I've dropped it more than I'd like to admit and it basically looks new — no scratches or scuffs, unlike my iPhone 17 Pro Max, which looks significantly worse. The edges are a touch more chiseled than I'd prefer, but it's not uncomfortable.
Cameras
The camera is still a main reason to buy an Ultra: a 200MP main, 50MP ultrawide, 10MP 3×, and 50MP 5×. The weakest link is obviously the 10MP 3× — it's fine, just not amazing, and Samsung needs to upgrade that sensor. The 5× is more interesting this year, moving from a traditional periscope to Samsung's newer ALoP design. Overall this is the most consistent Galaxy camera system Samsung has ever made — not the best smartphone camera in the world (phones from Oppo and Huawei beat it in certain telephoto situations), but consistent. I can pull it out, take a picture, and most of the time get something usable — and after six months I care about that more than winning some 200% crop comparison.
The lingering problem: motion. Anything moving still gives me more blurry shots than some competitors — a years-long Galaxy issue I really want fixed. Video, though, is great: Log, APV, tons of manual controls — a Swiss Army knife camera system.
The Small Things That Add Up
A bunch of underrated wins: the speakers are fantastic, a massive improvement; the anti-reflective coating is still one of the best things Samsung has added in years (please never remove it); banding is much better than the S25 Ultra; connectivity has been excellent even in low-signal areas; and charging is finally respectable.
Looking Ahead to the S27 Ultra
The S27 Ultra is coming soon, and I bet a lot of my complaints get fixed. My wishlist: magnets in the back for MagSafe/Pixel Snap-style attachment and better wireless charging; silicon-carbon battery tech like the Fold 8 and Fold 8 Ultra already use (I'm fairly confident on this one); and better haptics — they're good, but not Pixel-good. Minor things that would just make the phone feel more refined.
Who Should Buy It?
- If you already own an S26 Ultra and none of the display stuff bothers you — don't let this convince you something's wrong with your phone. Enjoy it; it's great.
- If you're buying now and can find it around $896–$1,000, it's a really good buy: Samsung's best camera, great battery, fantastic speakers, great connectivity, a lighter design, the S Pen, and long software support.
- If you buy an Ultra because you want Samsung's absolute best and little display imperfections will drive you nuts (like they do me), wait for the S27 Ultra — I have a feeling it cleans up exactly the things I'm complaining about here.
Where to Buy
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Published: September 2026
