Samsung officially announced Galaxy Unpacked will take place on February 25, 2026, at 10 AM PT in San Francisco. The event will be livestreamed on Samsung’s website and YouTube, where the company will unveil the Galaxy S26 series including the Galaxy S26, S26+, and S26 Ultra alongside the new Galaxy Buds 4 series.
The Galaxy S26 Ultra positions itself as Samsung’s response to increasing competition from Apple’s iPhone 17 Pro and Google’s Pixel 10 Pro. Samsung is shifting strategy from traditional spec wars to prioritizing on-device AI processing and privacy features, aiming to redefine the smartphone experience for the next decade.
The Galaxy S26 Edge, Samsung’s ultra-thin smartphone released in May 2025, sold only 1.31 million units through August 2025 compared to the S25 Ultra’s 12.18 million units. Following these disappointing sales figures, Samsung cancelled the Galaxy S26 Edge and discontinued production of the S25 Edge, choosing instead to focus on the traditional Plus model for the S26 lineup.
Privacy Display: Viewing Angle Protection
Experience Samsung’s new screen privacy technology that obscures content when viewed from the side
Samsung’s Privacy Display uses Flex Magic Pixel technology to obscure screen content when viewed from angles. The feature allows portions of the display to become unreadable to people sitting beside you, while remaining clearly visible when looking directly at the screen.
This moves privacy from abstract concepts like encrypted cloud backups to something immediately visible and demonstrable. The Privacy Display sets a new standard for smartphone privacy features that competitors will need to match.
From Generative Tools to Agentic AI
Samsung’s strategic evolution toward intelligent, context-aware assistance
On-Device AI Processing and Privacy
The Galaxy S26 Ultra runs on Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 processor, which provides substantial processing power for AI tasks to be handled locally on the device rather than requiring cloud connectivity. This approach addresses privacy concerns by keeping user data on the phone while enabling the responsiveness needed for agentic AI features.
Samsung already implements Knox security protections built into its devices from the chipset level. The combination of on-device AI processing with Privacy Display creates a comprehensive privacy approach that goes beyond what competitors currently offer. This strategy positions Samsung to differentiate itself in the premium smartphone market as concerns about AI data privacy continue to grow.
The Galaxy S26 series receives 7 years of software updates and security patches, matching the industry-leading support period. Samsung’s decision to maintain slower charging speeds compared to competitors (60W versus 120W+ on Chinese flagship phones) prioritizes battery longevity, ensuring the 5,000 mAh battery maintains good health throughout the seven-year support window.
Galaxy S26 Ultra: Key Specifications
Core hardware details confirmed through official leaks and promo materials
Market Positioning: S26 Ultra vs Competition
How Samsung’s flagship compares to rival premium smartphones
- Upgraded portrait camera system
- Enhanced Siri AI capabilities
- Face ID biometric security
- Tight iOS ecosystem integration
- Premium pricing strategy
- Privacy Display screen filter
- Now Brief/Bar AI features
- On-device AI processing (Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5)
- 7 years of software support
- 200MP camera + dual telephoto
- S Pen stylus support
- Magic Cue AI capabilities
- Deep Gemini AI integration
- Stock Android experience
- Computational photography focus
- Tensor G4 custom chip
Camera System and Performance
The Galaxy S26 Ultra maintains the 200MP main camera from the S25 Ultra but features a wider f/1.4 aperture compared to the previous f/1.7, improving low-light performance. The camera array includes a 50MP ultrawide sensor, a 50MP 5x periscope telephoto with f/2.8 aperture, a 10MP 3x telephoto, and a 12MP front-facing camera.
Samsung emphasized AI-enhanced photography features, including improved low-light video recording and prompt-based image editing integrated directly into the camera interface. The company also announced integration with Perplexity AI through Bixby for web searches, expanding beyond Google’s Gemini to offer users more AI assistant options.
Battery life remains at approximately 31 hours of video playback according to leaked official promo materials. The phone charges from 0% to 75% in 30 minutes with 60W wired charging support, up from 45W on the S25 Ultra. Wireless charging reaches 25W, an increase from 15W on the previous generation. Despite rumors of silicon-carbon battery technology adoption, Samsung chose to maintain traditional lithium-ion chemistry with a 5,000 mAh capacity.
Samsung’s February 25, 2026 Galaxy Unpacked event was discussed, covering the Galaxy S26 series launch with the S26, S26+, and S26 Ultra models. The Privacy Display feature using Flex Magic Pixel technology was examined, along with the 200MP camera system, 5,000 mAh battery, Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 processor, and 7-year software support commitment.
The article covered Samsung’s strategic direction toward agentic AI experiences, the Now Brief and Now Bar features introduced with One UI 7, and the cancellation of the Galaxy S26 Edge following poor S25 Edge sales. Battery specifications, charging capabilities, and comparisons with competing flagship smartphones from Apple and Google were presented.
Technical specifications discussed include the f/1.4 aperture main camera, 50MP ultrawide and telephoto cameras, 60W wired charging, 25W wireless charging, and Knox security integration with on-device AI processing capabilities enabled by the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chipset.
