# I can see what’s on this, you can’t - Samsung S26 Ultra Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7N8EniGdu2A Recap page: https://rapidrecap.app/video/7N8EniGdu2A Generated: 2026-03-11T23:04:08.72+00:00 --- ## 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. ![Screenshot at 00:17: The host describes the S26 Ultra's claim to have the world's first 'Privacy Display' feature, which is the central focus of the initial testing segment.](https://ss.rapidrecap.app/screens/7N8EniGdu2A/00-00-17.jpg) **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. ### Unboxing and Design - The host unboxes the S26 Ultra in Cobalt Violet, noting it is thinner than the S25 Ultra; the box contains only the phone and a USB-C cable, lacking a charger or accessories like magnetic rings. ### Privacy Display Feature - The feature successfully obscures the screen from side views, but it shifts the color palette to a noticeable gray tone and cannot be activated when using the front-facing camera. ### Performance Benchmarks (Geekbench 6) - Galaxy S26 Ultra scored 3754 (Single-Core) and 11313 (Multi-Core), outperforming the iPhone 17 Pro in multi-core performance. ### GPU Performance (3DMark) - The S26 Ultra scored 3102, outperforming the iPhone 17 Pro (2689) but slightly behind the OnePlus 15 (3093). ### Sustained Performance Testing - The S26 Ultra showed better sustained performance than the iPhone 17 Pro in the 3DMark Wild Life Extreme stress test, dropping less severely over 20 runs. ### Display Specifications - The phone features a 6.9-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X display with 1-120Hz refresh rate and up to 2600 nits peak brightness, although the Privacy Display feature washes out colors. ### Battery Life Test - The S26 Ultra lasted 28 hours and 45 minutes, beating the iPhone 17 Pro (26hr 45min) but losing to the OnePlus 15 (31hr 44min). Speakers were criticized for sounding like they had sand in them. ![Screenshot at 00:25: The host reveals the purple Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra next to the empty packaging tray during the unboxing.](https://ss.rapidrecap.app/screens/7N8EniGdu2A/00-00-25.jpg) ![Screenshot at 00:41: The host stretches the included USB-C cable, noting its length is only about 3 feet \(0.94m\).](https://ss.rapidrecap.app/screens/7N8EniGdu2A/00-00-41.jpg) ![Screenshot at 04:21: The host demonstrates the Privacy Display settings menu, showing the toggle for 'Maximum privacy protection' being activated.](https://ss.rapidrecap.app/screens/7N8EniGdu2A/00-04-21.jpg) ![Screenshot at 08:32: Side-by-side comparison of the S26 Ultra \(left\) with its native Android interface and the iPhone 17 Pro \(right\) with its iOS interface.](https://ss.rapidrecap.app/screens/7N8EniGdu2A/00-08-32.jpg)