Galaxy S26 hands-on: Samsung delivers on AI assistance, nearly polishes screen privacy

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Galaxy S26 hands-on: Samsung delivers on AI assistance, nearly polishes screen privacy

Published: 26 Feb. 2026, 17:20 Updated: 26 Feb. 2026, 17:42

LEE JAE-LIM
[email protected]

Audio report: written by reporters, read by AI

The Galaxy S26 Ultra, far right, with its Private Display mode on that can darken the screen to obscure content from others [LEE JAE-LIM]

The AI features on Samsung Electronics’ new Galaxy S26 series make one thing clear: The idea of “having a personal AI assistant in your hand” is no longer just marketing rhetoric. With Galaxy AI now capable of sorting through your schedule, media library and even hailing a ride with a simple voice command, the catchphrase feels closer than ever to everyday reality.

Samsung is also debuting a clever new feature called Privacy Display with its Ultra model, a mode that’s sure to appeal to discreet users who want to keep their screen to themselves.

The upgrades might make up for the price hikes for this series if all the AI features are as impressive as they sound to be — but the jury is still out, as a brief hands-on demonstration for journalists left little time to give it a full spin. The prices of all three models have been raised after the electronics maker kept the S25 series on par with the S24.

With base storage set at 256GB, the Galaxy S26 Ultra starts at 1,797,400 won ($1,260), which is 99,000 won higher than the S25 Ultra. The gap grows wider with the 1TB option, which is 423,000 won more than the S25 version at 2,127,400 won. The Galaxy S series can no longer be called a cheaper alternative to the iPhone, as there’s not much of a price difference between the latest iPhone 17 Pro Max with 1TB of storage, going for 2.39 million won.

From left, the Galaxy S26 base, Plus and Ultra models are displayed at a press briefing held at the company’s Taepyeongro building in central Seoul on Feb. 26. Samsung Electronics this time unified the physical design and gave all three models curved edges, a departure from prior lineups, when the Ultra variant featured sharper edges. [LEE JAE-LIM]

Another point of contention is whether the base and plus models, equipped with Samsung’s in-house Exynos 2600 processors, can deliver stable performance without the issues that dogged earlier Exynos-mounted devices, particularly under the strain of the new AI capabilities. The company has received its fair share of complaints from users who got Exynos-loaded devices, with consumers voicing dissatisfaction with overheating, a shorter battery life and performance throttling compared to models fitted with Qualcomm’s Snapdragon chips. This led Samsung to drop the Exynos entirely for the S25 series, but this year, the chip has returned.

As with the S25 lineup, Samsung is once again adopting a dual-chip strategy for the base and plus variants, meaning some regions will receive Exynos-powered models while others get Snapdragon versions. The Ultras, however, are all integrated with Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5.

From right, Galaxy S26 Ultra, Plus and base models are displayed at a press briefing held at the company’s Taepyeongro building in central Seoul on Feb. 26. [LEE JAE-LIM]

AI assistant at hand

The Galaxy S26 series showcases cool new AI features as well as meaningful upgrades to existing ones. One of the new features is called Now Brief. When the user adds an appointment to their calendar and receives a message seeking a meeting at a time that overlaps with the original plan, the AI reminds the user of the prior engagement. Integration with third-party messengers such as KakaoTalk or WhatsApp has yet to be confirmed.

The series can also run on multiple AI agents. Samsung’s Bixby is the default agent, but users can customize their handset to include Gemini or Perplexity as well. With a voice command or the press of a side button, the agents are ready to get to work. What makes this particularly cool is the scenario Samsung gives to paint a clear picture of what the feature can do: On a busy weekday morning when you’re running late, you can summon Gemini with a voice command and have it check whether a ride can be reserved via ride-hailing apps such as Kakao Taxi. With your approval, the AI locks in the booking and voila — your ride is confirmed.

Meanwhile, Circle to Search has gotten an upgrade, which should be useful for fashionists. For instance, a user curious about a celebrity’s style can circle the star in a photo in one motion and the AI provides information on the pieces worn from head to toe.

New try at obscuring the screen
An exciting new feature exclusively available on the Ultra is the Privacy Display mode. Admittedly, there were some discrepancies between what the real function can do and earlier rumors. What fell a little below par was the level of filtering. Anticipation that the screen would appear completely black to others in close proximity proved unrealistic; in reality, the phone has to be tilted quite far to the side before the display is fully obscured. Compared with base and plus models, however, the Ultra’s screen felt far more off-limits to wandering glances. With the mode activated, the display also darkens when tilted upward or downward.

A pop-up message on a screen of the Galaxy S26 Ultra is black with its Privacy Display setting on. [LEE JAE-LIM]

Contrary to some reports suggesting that the filtering level could be adjusted, such a setting was nowhere to be found. The mode can, however, be customized to shield only pop-up notifications or messages. In a quick test, only the message portion appeared black from the side — though again, from a fairly sharp angle. For someone immediately adjacent, the text could still be made out. Even so, for Samsung’s first attempt at the technology, it remains a fairly impressive start.

BY LEE JAE-LIM [[email protected]]