What was the biggest news at Samsung’s launch?
It was probably Privacy Display, a completely new screen technology that is therefore only available on the Galaxy S26 Ultra and not on the other models. With the function turned off, the screen works as usual, but if you turn it on, the content can only be seen from the front and not by someone sitting to the side glancing at the screen.
The function works both if you have the screen in portrait and landscape mode. It works well in practice, although some of the screen’s brightness is lost for the user when the function is active.
What was the biggest news at Samsung’s launch?
It was probably Privacy Display, a completely new screen technology that is therefore only available on the Galaxy S26 Ultra and not on the other models. With the function turned off, the screen works as usual, but if you turn it on, the content can only be seen from the front and not by someone sitting to the side glancing at the screen.
The function works both if you have the screen in portrait and landscape mode. It works well in practice, although some of the screen’s brightness is lost for the user when the function is active.
So how does privacy display work?
Well, it is based on both hardware and software at the pixel level. It can be activated on the whole or only parts of the screen, such as notifications or particularly sensitive information. Privacy is automatically activated on the part of the screen that shows the password, pin code and pattern for login. You can also activate the function yourself manually in the quick settings and you can choose so that selected apps are always started with the privacy display active.
Technically, it works because the screen has alternating pixels with wide and narrow light distribution. In normal screen mode both are used, when the privacy mode is activated only the pixels with narrow light beam are used.
Will there be any price increase for the mobiles compared to last year’s Galaxy S25 series?
It was rumored before launch that Samsung was struggling with pricing. The AI fever has led to a shortage of memory chips for mobile phones, which in turn has driven up prices. With the price increases, it ended up being both.
If we start with the Galaxy S26, it has a price that starts at SEK 12,000 (rounded), compared to SEK 11,500 for the Galaxy S25. SEK 500 more, then. But at the same time, the S26 is sold in 256 and 512 GB storage configurations, compared to 128 and 256 GB for the S25. If you compare the Galaxy S26 with the S25 with 256 GB storage, the new Galaxy S26 is actually SEK 300 cheaper than the Galaxy S25 was at launch.
For the other models, they have the same memory configurations as before and there the prices differ both upwards and downwards depending on the memory configuration. The Galaxy S26 Plus starts at the same price as its predecessor, SEK 14,500, while the S26 Ultra, which starts at SEK 17,000, is actually cheaper than its predecessor.
We therefore did not see any general price increase.
Then of course you can get hold of the S25 models significantly cheaper now than when they were newly launched.
What are the main differences between the S26 series and the S25 series?
The differences are quite small. Samsung highlights a lot of software news, but we can count on them also coming to the S25. The mobile phones have of course received faster chipsets, Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 for Galaxy in the Galaxy S26 Ultra, Exynos 2600 in the other two. The Galaxy S26 has a slightly larger screen, but the entire phone has also become larger then, and the question is whether it does not thereby risk losing one of its advantages as a compact mobile. The Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra has in turn become 0.3 mm thinner. All three models have received a clear camera island. As for the cameras, the mobiles have roughly the same camera setup as before and it is unclear if any of the mobiles have received new camera sensors. The most obvious difference here is that the Galaxy S26 Ultra has received larger apertures in the main camera and the one telephoto camera, which gives slightly better images in the dark.
How should I rate Snapdragon vs Exynos?
Yes, it has been a lengthy discussion. For a long time, Korea and the US got Snapdragon, while we in Europe got Exynos. In this year’s edition for us in the Swedish market, the S26 Ultra comes with Snapdragon and the S26 and S26 Plus with Exynos. The very fact that Ultra gets Snapdragon can be seen as Samsung themselves seeing it as superior. At the same time, the S26 and S26 Plus with Snapdragon are released in markets other than the European one. Exynos is the first system chip with a 2 nanometer manufacturing process, while Snapdragon remains at simpler 3 nanometers. It will simply be interesting to see which one performs the best. The outcome is not obvious.
What didn’t we get to see?
Before the launch, there was pretty accurate information about what was to come, so we weren’t particularly surprised when it came. If we look at the phones compared to its main competitors, the S26 series mainly lacks the greatly increased battery capacity and fast charging that manufacturers such as Xiaomi, Oneplus, Oppo, Honor and more offer. Samsung has not jumped on that technology, even if the S26 Ultra got a little more fast charging, 60 watts is significantly lower than the 90-100 watts that several competitors have.
Samsung introduces filter for unwanted calls?
Yes, call screening can answer calls, ask the caller to describe their case and then it appears on the screen so you can choose whether you want to take the call or not. However, this does not support Swedish as a language, but about ten other languages, for example English.
Any new functions that are not available in Swedish?
Yes, apart from Call Screening above, Bixby does not support Swedish.
What is the difference between the AI assistants offered in the S26 series?
Google Gemini which was in the S25 series has now also been joined by Perplexity and Bixby. Samsung’s own Bixby works mainly locally and can manage settings, so for example if you say your eyes are tired, Bixby can help you find a setting for the screen that is more restful. All three services have their own phrases you can say to wake up the service but the side button holding can only be linked to one service at a time, initially the side button is linked to Gemini.
The very question of what the difference is between the assistants, for example how should I know if Perplexity or Gemini is the best at answering a given question is difficult to say, it is up to the user to try and gain experience. Samsung can also guide to simplify the choice.
Do Gemini, Bixby and Perplexity work together?
Well. Basically, the three are independent services and you choose which of the three is best for what you are looking for at the moment. Prior to the launch of the S26, there was information from a press release that shortly after it was published on samsung.com then deleted. It said that Perplexity was integrated into Bixby. When Samsung officially announced the new Bixby the other day, Perplexity was not mentioned at all, instead being announced a few days later in a separate press release. Now during the launch, we have received confirmation from Samsung that Perplexity does manage answers in Bixby after all when it comes to questions that require a web search.
First Now brief and now Now Nudge?
Yes, partly Now brief must be improved. You must enter there yourself to get an updated overview. Now Nudge is new and should instead work in the background and peck at your attention when it notices something. For example, if you receive a message with a meeting proposal, Now Nudge should check if the time is already booked in your calendar and alert you if this is the case.
Galaxy AI has been given the ability to generate content in images, has it had that before?
Yes. Previously, Galaxy AI could generate what needs to be created when you remove something from an image and it could create content from drawing to photorealistic image. The new thing now is that you can describe in text what you want changed or added to an image. Good, for example, if you are not very good at drawing so that the AI understands.
Did the headset offer any news?
The design of the Galaxy Buds 4 and Buds 4 Pro has changed, and it’s more than just cosmetic. The triangular stick was always rather impractical to press, now the pressure surface has been improved. The drive elements have been redesigned so that the sound will be even better. Otherwise, the main news was what Samsung calls Super Clear Call. When you make a phone call with the headset, it should be able to use UWB technology for the transmission instead of Bluetooth, thus achieving significantly better sound quality. It will be interesting to see how big that effect will be in practice.