Up next in 10
In Mark’s Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra review, he breaks down the pros and cons of the new Android flagship. But not only does this video cover the big upgrades like Privacy Display, Horizontal Lock and faster charging, but it positions the S26 Ultra vs. iPhone 17 Pro Max. Has Samsung pushed smartphone boundaries far enough with agentic AI features to make Apple worried?
Show More Show Less View Video Transcript
0:00
For the last few years, choosing between Samsung and Apple has felt predictable
0:03
Want better battery? iPhone. Want better zoom? Samsung. Want a smoother ecosystem? Apple. Customization? Samsung
0:11
But this year, with the Galaxy S26 Ultra, something feels different. Today, I'm giving you my Galaxy S26 Ultra review, buyer skip style
0:19
but we're going to talk a lot about whether Apple should be worried about Samsung's new flagship
0:24
specifically when it comes to AI. Let's get into it. Let's start with getting a close-up look at the design. The Galaxy S26 Ultra copied the iPhone 17 Pro Max by ditching titanium for aluminum
0:38
But the S26 Ultra is more than 15 grams lighter than the 17 Pro Max
0:42
And this is with the included S Pen, which is just as handy as ever for taking notes as well as sketching in AI apps like Creative Studio
0:49
I don't miss the titanium in phones pretty much at all. It still feels premium
0:54
The S26 Ultra also has more rounded corners versus last year's S25 Ultra, making it more like the rest of Samsung's phones
1:01
I don't know. I'd actually rather my $1,300 phone visually stand out. But we've got to talk about this camera bump. It's massive
1:08
It wobbles on a table like it's nervous. Meanwhile, Apple's camera plateau is even larger, but it stretches across the back, so no wobble
1:17
Turning back to the display, this is where things get interesting. The Galaxy S26 Ultra has something Apple doesn't. Privacy display
1:24
Turn it on, adjust the intensity, and your screen literally disappears from side angles
1:29
It's not a cheap screen protector, not a gimmick. It's built into the pixels that make up the panel
1:34
You can set it up app by app. So my banking and messaging apps? Privacy display is on automatically
1:40
You can even set it so just notifications are blacked out for others. It's pretty great, and I already hear the iPhone users asking Apple to copy it
1:48
But it does come with a trade-off. The S26 Ultra's display is slightly dimmer than last year's S25 Ultra
1:53
It's about 50 nits or so in our testing. So you won't see it head on
1:57
but I definitely noticed it off angle. That said, in a world where the term shoulder surfing
2:02
is in our lexicon, the privacy display is the kind of innovation that makes a difference
2:06
And it really no surprise that this is the S26 Ultra feature everyone is talking about Another new feature getting a lot of buzz is the horizontal lock It locks your horizon no matter how much you wobble and twist the Galaxy S26 Ultra while filming
2:21
I tested it side by side with the iPhone 17 Pro Max, and I'll be honest, I didn't have high
2:25
expectations. But you tell me, here the S26 Ultra footage looks like it's on a gimbal, right
2:30
The iPhone still looks very good, but it is noticeably shakier. At least that's what I'm
2:35
seeing. Low light video is brighter on the Samsung this year too, more on par with what the iPhone 17
2:41
Pro delivers. I will say daylight still slightly favors Apple in color consistency, but stabilization
2:47
Samsung wins. That's video, let's talk cameras and photography. Low light photography is clearly
2:54
improved on the S26 Ultra looking at fresh pictures I took side by side with the S25 Ultra
3:00
There's less noise now, and I love to see that. Zoom? There's not much new, but Samsung still dominates with up to 100x digital zoom
3:08
Although the iPhone 17 Pro Max improved on what was previously offered, it still can't truly compete when it comes to capturing long-range shots of this sign here at 10x and 40x
3:18
For just basic photography, I do still prefer Apple's color reproduction. I'll throw up some comparisons on the screen, but to me, sometimes the S26 Ultra is oversaturating the colors
3:28
Not every photo, and some look incredible. The S26 Ultra is getting better at skin tones too, as you can see in this selfie comparison
3:35
But for close-ups, I still prefer Apple's level of detail. I'd say it ultimately comes down to preference, so let me know which picks you like better
3:46
Okay, we need to talk about the thing Samsung wants you to care about most, agentic AI
3:51
Here's what it actually means. Samsung wants this phone to anticipate what you're doing and take action for you
3:57
not just suggest things, do things. For example, now nudge. So I get a text like lunch Tuesday at
4:03
one. As soon as I open the keyboard, a calendar shortcut pops up. I tap it and it jumps me into
4:09
my schedule. And then there's automated app actions. This is the ambitious one. Galaxy AI
4:14
can now act on your behalf in third party apps, not just Google services. So something like book
4:19
me an Uber to the airport and order my usual DoorDash Gemini will handle it in the background That huge if it works consistently It in the early stages there going to be a live testing phase but this is where Samsung is ahead conceptually Apple is still integrating AI into its apps Samsung is
4:35
trying to let AI operate across apps. But there is some confusion, because we have multiple AIs
4:40
in action here. In addition to Gemini, with a long power button press, there's Bixby. Yes
4:45
Bixby can help you quickly get things done on your phone, and it now has perplexity baked in
4:50
and can summarize webpages or answer complex queries. Sometimes I genuinely don't know
4:54
which assistant I was supposed to be talking to and at 1299, powerful is good, confusing is not
5:00
And that's before getting into the murkiness of all the image manipulation you can do with this thing
5:04
You can prompt and edit a photo so far away from the original source, it's wild
5:09
Or just add other people, pets or things to your image that weren't there before
5:14
Let me know if we should do a video just on photo assist here on the channel. But going back to how this phone compares to the iPhone
5:19
I would say Apple's AI feels limited but cohesive, while Samsung feels ambitious and sprawling
5:25
Which is the better approach depends on who you ask, but for me personally, the S26 Ultra is more exciting
5:33
None of this is possible without brains to the operation. Inside the Galaxy S26 Ultra, we get the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 for Galaxy
5:41
In the description, there's a link to Tom's Guide.com that has all the in-depth benchmarks
5:45
Geekbench, 3DMark, etc. if you want to check it out. For the sake of this video, I'll give you the cliff notes
5:51
Samsung wins multi-core, Apple still edges out single-core, but an AI benchmark, Samsung's NPU, absolutely dominates, around a 70% advantage
6:00
That matters if you care about on-device AI processing. When it comes to gaming, the S26 Ultra is up for a challenge
6:07
I had multiple sessions with withering waves, over and over, and we're talking about graphically intense games, high frame rates
6:14
and the phone stayed sharp and surprisingly cool. Samsung's redesigned vapor chamber cooling system is larger, so that checks out
6:21
Beyond gaming, I had dozens of apps open at once, switch between the camera, Chrome, editing
6:27
No hiccups, and I'd certainly hope so, for the price. But look performance alone is not why you buy a phone in 2026 I come back to that idea in just a sec Last thing we have to talk about is battery life Coming soon to the channel if it not already out already by the time you seeing this
6:44
we have a Tom's Guide battery test video that talks about the S26 Ultra battery life comprehensively
6:50
Make sure to check it out. The iPhone 17 Pro Max was the premium flagship for the S26 Ultra to beat
6:55
and it lasts nearly 18 hours in our web-surfing-based battery test. Although the S26 Ultra is improved a lot from last year
7:01
at just over 16 hours, Apple still leads Endurance. A jump to silicon carbon batteries would have been nice
7:07
but maybe next year. Charging though, Samsung jumped to 60 watt for the S26 Ultra
7:12
My unit recharged from zero to 77% in 30 minutes, timed. The iPhone 17 Pro Max didn't crack 65% in that same period
7:20
Unfortunately, Samsung still doesn't include magnets on the S26 Ultra for Qi2 charging
7:24
You'll need to spring for a case to get that functionality. And personally, I'd like to have it built in
7:29
So to sum up, if you care about longevity, iPhone wins. But if you care about charging speeds, Samsung has an edge
7:37
But is it more than just an edge? Is Samsung truly growing the gap between Galaxy and iPhone
7:42
In some areas, yes. Samsung is pushing hardware innovation harder right now
7:47
Privacy display is a real innovation. Horizon lock, a game changer for mobile video
7:51
Zoom, still dominant. Apple still wins battery life, overall photo quality, and slightly more cohesive in terms of the user experience. But here's the thing
8:00
The Galaxy feels more ambitious than the iPhone. If you want the most innovative flagship right now
8:05
buy the S26 Ultra. It's only going to get smarter over time
8:09
I'm not saying the iPhone 17 Pro Max isn't an excellent phone in its own right, but I do think Apple needs a big response
8:14
for the iPhone 18 Pro more than just an iterative update if it wants to avoid playing catch-up
8:19
Let me know what you think about how Apple and Samsung smartphones are stacking up this year
8:23
And if you want other insights into the S26 Ultra, again, I'll have that full review in the description
8:28
as well as some deals to help you save. For Tom's Guide, this is Mark Spoonauer
8:49
I'm a grown man skipping
#Computers & Electronics