I can see what’s on this, you can’t - Samsung S26 Ultra

Quick Overview

The Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra's much-hyped Privacy Display is functional and effective at obscuring the screen from side angles when engaged, but its implementation causes the colors to shift to a noticeable gray tone, and the feature is locked when using the front-facing camera.

Key Points: The Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra features a "Privacy Display" that successfully restricts viewing angles when active, even at maximum protection settings. When the Privacy Display is active, the screen color tone shifts, appearing noticeably washed out or gray compared to normal viewing. The Privacy Display feature is unavailable when using the front-facing (selfie) camera, only allowing use with the rear cameras. The phone utilizes the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 for Galaxy processor, clocked up to 4.74 GHz, paired with 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage (in the tested model). In the 3DMark Wild Life Extreme stress test, the S26 Ultra sustained performance better than the iPhone 17 Pro, with less throttling over 20 runs. The phone's battery lasted 28 hours and 45 minutes in video playback testing, outlasting the iPhone 17 Pro (26hr 45min) but falling short of the OnePlus 15 (31hr 44min). The screen achieves 2600 nits peak brightness (confirmed by labs) and features an adaptive 1-120 Hz refresh rate on its 6.9-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X display.

Context: This video reviews the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra, focusing specifically on its new 'Privacy Display' feature, which is designed to limit viewing angles to prevent shoulder surfing. The host, Elijah Horner, unboxes the device, examines its physical design (noting its thinner profile than the S25 Ultra), tests the new privacy feature, and compares its performance and battery life against competitors like the iPhone 17 Pro and OnePlus 15 using benchmarks and real-world testing.

Detailed Analysis

The video begins with an unboxing of the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra, noting the device is thinner than its predecessor and comes in the color 'Cobalt Violet'. The host immediately expresses excitement about testing the new 'Privacy Display' feature, which restricts side viewing angles. During testing, the host confirms the feature works well, even at maximum protection, but notes that it washes out the screen colors, giving them a gray tone. A significant limitation is that the Privacy Display only works with the rear cameras, not the 12MP front camera. The phone is powered by the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 for Galaxy, clocked up to 4.74 GHz, and the tested unit had 12GB RAM and 256GB storage. Benchmark results show the S26 Ultra scoring 3754 in Geekbench 6 single-core and 11313 in multi-core, outperforming the iPhone 17 Pro in multi-core (10220) but slightly behind in single-core (3913). In the 3DMark Wild Life Extreme stress test, the S26 Ultra demonstrated superior sustained performance compared to the iPhone 17 Pro, showing less severe throttling over 20 runs. Display tests revealed the screen hits 2600 nits peak brightness (as confirmed by labs) and has a 1-120Hz refresh rate. Battery testing showed the S26 Ultra lasting 28 hours and 45 minutes, beating the iPhone 17 Pro (26hr 45min) but losing to the OnePlus 15 (31hr 44min). The host also noted that the speakers sound like they have sand in them, particularly the bottom speaker, and that the device ran very hot during sustained gaming sessions.