Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra Review: Full Specs, Pros, and Cons

Samsung has unveiled its flagship Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra, now the most powerful entry in the Galaxy S lineup to date. It's built around a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chip customized exclusively for Samsung, a quad-camera system led by a 200MP main lens with a wider aperture than the previous generation, an entirely new privacy feature that hides screen content from onlookers, plus faster wired and wireless charging. Here's everything you need to know about the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra's full specifications at Qayim Li, along with its key strengths and weaknesses, to help you decide whether it's worth buying.

What Stands Out About the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra

The display is a flat LTPO Dynamic AMOLED 2X panel measuring 6.9 inches with a QHD+ resolution (1440×3120 pixels) at a sharp 505 ppi, a 1-120Hz adaptive refresh rate, peak brightness of up to 2,600 nits, and Corning Gorilla Armor 2 protection. The standout new feature this year is "Privacy Display" (technically branded Flex Magic Pixel), an Ultra-exclusive technology that controls the screen's viewing angle so it automatically dims and becomes unreadable when viewed from the side, while staying perfectly clear when viewed head-on — and it can be enabled for specific apps only through settings.

On performance, the phone runs exclusively worldwide on the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 for Galaxy (a custom-tuned 3nm chip), paired with an Adreno 840 GPU and a dedicated AI image enhancer. It delivers a substantial leap over the S25 Ultra: a 19% CPU performance uplift (nearly three times the improvement seen on the standard S26 and S26+ models) and a 39% boost in NPU performance. That extra power demanded a new cooling architecture with a Vapor Chamber design and upgraded thermal interface material, improving thermal performance by up to 21% compared to previous generations. The phone comes with 12GB or 16GB of LPDDR5X RAM and 256GB, 512GB, or 1TB of internal storage, with no microSD expansion.

The camera system is a quad setup: a 200MP main lens (f/1.4 — wider than the previous generation for better low-light performance, 1/1.3″ sensor) with multi-directional autofocus and OIS, a first 10MP telephoto lens with 3x optical zoom, a second 50MP periscope telephoto lens (f/2.8, 1/2.52″ sensor) offering true 5x optical zoom, and a fourth 50MP ultra-wide lens (120° field of view, f/1.9) with Super Steady video support. The front camera is 12MP (f/2.2). The phone records 8K video at 30fps and 4K at up to 120fps with 10-bit color depth and HDR10+ support, and works with the included S Pen.

The 5,000mAh battery supports 60W wired fast charging (the new Super Fast Charging 3.0 tech gets you to 75% in just 30 minutes), 15W wireless charging (Qi2-compatible), and 4.5W reverse wireless charging. On design, the phone this year moves away from the titanium frame used in the previous generation to Samsung's new "Armor Aluminum" frame, paired with a Gorilla Armor 2 front and Gorilla Glass Victus 2 glass back, plus IP68 water and dust resistance. It supports Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6.0, and UWB connectivity, an under-display ultrasonic fingerprint sensor, and full Samsung DeX and Samsung Wireless DeX support. It ships with One UI 8.5 based on Android 16, with Samsung committing to up to 7 generations of OS updates, plus new native support for Perplexity AI alongside Google's Gemini.

Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra Cons

• The shift from a titanium frame in the previous generation to an aluminum one this year may feel like a step back in perceived luxury and durability for some users.

• No traditional 3.5mm headphone jack.

• Wireless charging speed (15W) still lags behind some competitors in the same price bracket.

• Very high price that places it at the top end of flagship phones globally.

• The Privacy Display feature is exclusive to the Ultra model and isn't available on the standard S26 or S26+.

Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra Pros

• An entirely new and unique privacy feature (Privacy Display) that automatically hides screen content from onlookers viewing at an angle.

• Exceptional performance thanks to the Galaxy-exclusive Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5, with a notable jump in overall and AI performance over the previous generation.

• A new Vapor Chamber cooling system that sustains performance longer under heavy load.

• A very strong camera system led by a 200MP main lens with a wider aperture for better low-light shots, plus two genuine telephoto lenses (3x and 5x).

• Faster 60W wired charging that reaches 75% in just 30 minutes.

• A large, high-quality QHD+ display with very high brightness.

• Samsung's commitment to up to 7 generations of OS updates — among the longest support windows in the industry.

• Built-in S Pen support, plus Samsung DeX and Wireless DeX for a full desktop-style experience when connected to an external display.

Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra Box Contents

The box includes: the phone, an S Pen, a USB Type-C cable, a SIM ejector tool, and a quick start guide, with no charging adapter included.

Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra Price

Samsung has officially announced pricing for the Egyptian market: EGP 67,000 for the 256GB / 12GB RAM variant, EGP 74,000 for the 512GB variant with the same RAM, rising to EGP 87,770 for the 1TB / 16GB RAM variant (locally manufactured in Egypt).

In Saudi Arabia, pricing ranges between SAR 5,500 and SAR 5,900 depending on storage, and in the UAE between AED 4,800 and AED 5,200.

Note that these prices are subject to change based on available promotions, so we recommend checking the current price at your local retailer before purchasing.