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Recent Galaxy S26 Ultra leaks suggest that Samsung’s new phone won’t look very different from last year’s handset, seen in our Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra review. The biggest change, however, may be lurking underneath the display.
Samsung Display developed a next-gen privacy innovation called the Flex Magic Pixel over the last five years, and it’s set to be a key feature of the Galaxy S26 Ultra. It’ll allow users to “control visibility at a more granular level than traditional privacy modes,” says Samsung.
It’s a feature that Apple isn’t expected to mimic in the iPhone 18 Pro Max, so if this S26 Ultra-exclusive feature catches your eye (and not the eyes of “shoulder surfers”), then Samsung may have a winner for an otherwise iterative year-over-year phone upgrade.
Samsung explained that this is better than a screen protector with a privacy filter slapped on the screen. It’ll allow users to shade parts of the screen at a granular level. Here are some examples of where this could come in handy.
🔐 Shade password screens. Samsung’s Flex Magic Pixel technology will shade your password entry, preventing phone thieves from spying on your passcode or drawing pattern to unlock your phone when they have it in their hands.
🛑 Lock down specific apps. Banking apps with critical financial information often reveal you’d rather not let strangers see. Unlike a privacy filter, Samsung’s tech will be able to be applied to specific apps.
💬 Hide notifications surprises. We’ve all had text notifications awkwardly show upin front of someone who wasn’t supposed to see that message. Apply some shade while talking shade (or, you know, planning a surprise) with Samsung’s Flex Magic Pixel.
Samsung needs a standout feature that grabs everyone’s attention, especially when the iPhone 17 Pro Max captured so much attention in the last six months. Hopefully, going privacy-first (something Apple is known for) is just the start of this year’s S26 perks.
We’re also expecting the S26 Ultra to feature the latest Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chipset, one tuned for Samsung devices. There’s a chance that charging speeds will be boosted to 60W, while mixed rumors indicate either the same camera sensors with some AI camera perks or offer a small bump beyond 200MP.
We haven’t been able to confirm whether or not the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra will feature Qi2 charging with MagSafe or Pixel Snap-like capabilities – but recent leaks don’t seem very promising. This was disappointing enough last year with the S25 Ultra, and now, 13 months later, we’re still waiting for Android phone makers to include magnets on the back of their smartphones.
We’re also eager to see how much the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra will cost, given that the tech industry is grappling with rising RAM prices amid the focus on AI servers.
Prices for last year’s 25 Ultra phone started at $1,299, though Samsung offered healthy trade-in bonuses during its pre-order phase to cut that price in half. We’re expecting the same when Galaxy S26 Ultra pre-orders launch later this week.
The Shortcut, the #1 consumer tech Substack, will have live reporting from Samsung Galaxy Unpacked in San Francisco all week long. You can expect all of our usual hands-on coverage of the new smartphones – likely to be the Samsung Galaxy S26, S26 Plus, and S26 Ultra – as well as the rumored Galaxy Buds 4 and Buds 4 Pro.
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