Galaxy S25 Ultra vs Galaxy S26 Ultra: Should You Upgrade?

The S26 Ultra is an update, not a redesign. Both phones have a 6.9-inch QHD+ Dynamic AMOLED 2X screen at up to 120Hz, a 5000 mAh battery, a built-in S Pen, IP68 and the same four rear cameras: 200MP main, 50MP ultra wide, 10MP 3x telephoto and 50MP 5x telephoto.

What changed: the S26 Ultra has Samsung's new Privacy Display, which hides your screen from people beside you. It charges much faster, at up to 75% in about 30 minutes with a 60W adapter. Its main and 5x cameras have wider apertures to let in more light. It runs the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 for Galaxy with a redesigned vapor chamber. And it is thinner and a little lighter.

When you turn it on, people looking from the side see a dim, hard-to-read screen while you still see it clearly. When it is off, the screen looks normal from every angle.

You can set it to turn on by itself when you enter a PIN or password or open certain apps, and you can limit it to notification pop-ups only. It is great on the bus, in a café or at work. It does the job of a stick-on privacy film, and Samsung says the screen stays clear and bright for you. The S25 Ultra does not have this feature.

The difference is the glass in front of the sensors. Samsung widened the main camera aperture from f/1.7 to f/1.4 and the 5x telephoto from f/3.4 to f/2.9. Wider apertures let in more light, which helps most at night, indoors and when you zoom in low light.

The S26 Ultra also adds a horizontal lock option to Super Steady video and is the first Galaxy to record in the APV pro video codec. In daylight, both phones take excellent photos and it will be hard to tell them apart. If you shoot a lot at night or at concerts, the S26 Ultra has the edge.

Charging is where the S26 Ultra pulls ahead. With a 60W adapter it reaches up to 75% in about 30 minutes. The S25 Ultra tops out at 45W wired.

Wireless charging is faster on the S26 Ultra too, at up to 25W against 15W on the S25 Ultra. Both can charge earbuds or a watch with Wireless PowerShare. Adapters are sold separately.

Samsung says it brings up to 19% faster CPU, 24% faster GPU and 39% faster NPU performance than the S25 Ultra, with a redesigned vapor chamber to keep it cool.

The Snapdragon 8 Elite in the S25 Ultra is still one of the fastest Android chips around. For apps, photos and most games, you won't feel slowdowns on either phone. The difference shows in long gaming sessions and heavy AI tasks.

The S25 Ultra is 8.2 mm and 218 g. The S25 Ultra has a titanium frame, while the S26 Ultra uses aluminum. Both have Corning Gorilla Armor 2 with an anti-reflective coating on the front.

Both have a built-in S Pen for notes, sketching and precise editing. Both get Galaxy AI. Samsung promises up to seven major Android updates on both. The S26 Ultra launched a year later on Android 16, so its support runs about a year longer.

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