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Need-To-Knows
- The S26 Ultra brings a new chipset and improved memory
- Camera refinements focus on low-light performance rather than resolution jumps
- If you own the S25 Ultra, the upgrade will feel modest
- Privacy Display is the biggest difference between the two
The Ultra line is Samsung at its most progressive, and now that the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra has landed, the big question lingers: is it better than the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra, or just a simple spec refresh?
At first glance, the upgrades look modest. But for daily use, the differences are a bit more refined than you might think. So if you’re racking your brain, trying to decide which Samsung Galaxy flagship you should buy, here is how the two phones compare across design, performance, cameras, battery life, and software.
Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra Vs. S25 Ultra: Design & build
Honestly, at first glance, most people would struggle to tell these two phones apart. As I mentioned in my comparison article to the OnePlus 13, the S25 Ultra has a chiselled, squared-off design with a flat display and integrated S Pen. So does the Galaxy S26 Ultra and both are made with premium materials. The big difference is that the S26 Ultra uses an aluminium frame compared to the titanium one found on the S25 Ultra.
Galaxy S26 Ultra
- Slightly rounded frame
- Marginal weight reduction from the S25 Ultra
- Updated Gorilla Glass protection
- IP68 water and dust resistance
Galaxy S25 Ultra
- Titanium frame
- Gorilla Glass Armour
- IP68 water and dust resistance
To sum it up, the S26 Ultra may feel a bit lighter in hand and appear a bit softer thanks to the rounded edges and a 0.3mm reduction in thickness. Durability continues to be a strong selling point on both devices.
Which Has The Better Display?
Both phones feature a 6.8-inch QHD+ AMOLED panel with an adaptive 120Hz refresh rate.
Galaxy S26 Ultra
- New Privacy Display
- 2600 nits peak brightness
- 1-120Hz Adaptive refresh
Galaxy S25 Ultra
- 2600 nits peak brightness
- 1-120Hz Adaptive refresh
- QHD+ resolution
The display panels for each device are largely the same. Both are excellent to use day-to-day and in direct sunlight. The main difference is the S26 Ultra’s Privacy Display. This is a new technology developed by Samsung that allows the S26 Ultra to dim the display when viewed from certain angles. This is intended to reduce people’s ability to see your sensitive information when out in public.
Check out my full Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra review for more info!
It’s certainly a nice feature to have, but how important it is to you depends on how much you value the ability to hide your display.
Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra Vs. S25 Ultra: Performance
The biggest hardware jump from the S25 Ultra comes from the new chipset inside the S26 Ultra.
Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra
- Latest Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5
- Slightly improved AI processing
- Better power efficiency
Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra
- Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 4
So what do all of these numbers mean for daily use? For most people, the difference will be imperceptible.
You can expect modest performance improvements: apps may open a bit faster, heavy multitasking may feel slightly smoother, and sustained gaming performance will be improved thanks to better thermal management.
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The bigger (but not major) story here is efficiency. A newer chip typically runs cooler and consumes less power while in heavy use. This translates into about an hour or two better battery consistency over time. In all, these are modest differences.
Which has the better camera?
Both phones continue to centre around a 200MP main camera. Here is a comparison table of the camera features:
| Feature | Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra | Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra |
|---|---|---|
| Main Camera | 200MP main sensor | 200MP main sensor |
| Aperture | f/1.4 | f/1.7 |
| Ultra-Wide | 50MP ultrawide | 50MP ultrawide |
| Telephoto | 3x and 5x optical zoom | 3x and 5x optical zoom |
| Image Processing | Enhanced night image processing | – |
As you can see, not much has changed. The main difference is a wider aperture.
A wider aperture allows more light into the sensor while you’re taking a photo. This typically results in better low-light performance, faster shutter speeds indoors, and slightly more natural background blur.
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Basically, night photography looks cleaner with less noise with the S26 Ultra. The improvement is noticeable when placed side-by-side, but it isn’t totally revolutionary.
The S26 Ultra also introduces a new Horizontal Lock mode for shooting video. Now this is a genuinely impressive feature that uses internal gyroscopes to enable you to shoot steady video, no matter how shaky your filming is. It works through a full 360 degrees of rotation and is very dependable.
Again, it’s something you could probably live without, but it is a cool addition.
Which makes better use of Galaxy AI & software?
The Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra launches with the latest version of Samsung’s One UI and an expanded set of Galaxy AI features that will likely make their way to the S25 Ultra at some point in 2026.
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There isn’t a huge deal worth talking about here. The S26 Ultra has new features included like the Now Nudge, which acts as a way to prompt you for app/text shortcuts. There are also some more advanced AI image editing capabilities on the S26 Ultra, but nothing to write home about.
By way of being a year younger, the S26 Ultra supports one more year of software support. But functionally, both devices offer a very similar experience today (see a trend forming?).
Which version has the best battery & charging?
Both the S25 Ultra and S26 Ultra have a 5,000mAh battery and charging speeds are unchanged.
The difference between the two phones lies in efficiency. Thanks to the updated processor, the S26 Ultra offers slightly improved endurance, perhaps by an hour or two at the most.
Both phones will give you a full-day battery life and the Samsung S26 Ultra may stretch that a little further, especially under intensive workloads like gaming or video recording.
Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra Vs. S25 Ultra: S Pen
Both phones have the S-Pen included. The only thing that’s changed is the pen has a slihghtly more rounded end on the S26. That was easy!
So, which is better overall?
The Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra is, on paper, a ‘better’ phone. The battery life is marginally longer thanks to efficiency improvements from the latest software and chip, there’s the Privacy Display and a wider aperture on the main camera lens.
Whether you care about these specs is of course your call, but they are very minor changes. If you already own the S25 Ultra, the S26 Ultra will feel like an almost identical device.
That means, if you’re choosing between the two, the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra is by far the best value pick. Especially when you start considering the various discounts you can get from third-party retailers or refurbished outlets.
