Samsung Galaxy S26 Vs S25 Ultra: Is This Agentic AI Phone Worth The Upgrade?

Samsung has finally revealed its flagship, the Galaxy S26 Ultra, at the Galaxy Unpacked event. It brings several upgrades over its predecessor, including a new Privacy display and the latest Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5, and more. But is it a major upgrade over last year’s S26 Ultra, and should you consider upgrading to this year’s S26 Ultra? Let’s find out in this detailed comparison of Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra Vs Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra.

Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra Vs S25 Ultra: What’s Different?

Design: Rounded Corners And Redesigned Camera Module

In terms of aesthetics, the S26 Ultra picks up right where the S25 Ultra left off, but with a few notable twists. While it retains the signature flat display and center punch-hole cutout, the sharp corners of the past have been softened into a more ergonomic, rounded design.

The most striking change is on the back. The four camera lenses are now housed within a massive camera island, reminiscent of the Galaxy Z Fold 7. This island protrudes significantly, adding to the phone’s thickness and causing it to wobble when placed on flat surfaces, so you will definitely want to invest in a high-quality case.

Another similarity that the S26 Ultra shares with its predecessor is the S-Pen. Just like the S25 Ultra, the S-Pen doesn’t have Bluetooth, so you cannot take selfies with the S-Pen or perform air gestures. For what it’s worth, the S-Pen also has rounded corners to match the design, bringing it in line with the phone’s design.

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In a surprising move, Samsung has ditched the Titanium frame in favor of an aluminium build, citing better thermal management. Despite the material shift, the S26 Ultra is slightly slimmer (7.9mm vs. 8.2mm) and 4 grams lighter than its predecessor. However, for those who prefer the premium weight of Titanium and a more stable design, the S25 Ultra might still feel like the sturdier winner.

Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra Vs S25 Ultra Design Winner: S25 Ultra

Display: New M14 OLED Panel With Privacy Display

One of the biggest changes you will notice when comparing the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra Vs S25 Ultra is the display. At first glance, the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra’s 6.9-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2x panel might look the same as last year’s S25 Ultra. It has the same 120Hz refresh rate with LTPO and 2K a sharp 2K resolution. But there’s a major change as Samsung is opting for a new panel this year.

Samsung has used a new M14 OLED panel here, the same one found in the iQOO 15. Not only is it brighter and more color-accurate, but it can also display upto 12-bit colors. The new panel also paves the way for the Privacy Display Feature, which tints your phone so others can’t see it. This innovative feature is pretty useful to prevent nosy uncles and aunties from staring at your phone in public.

Whether you are entering your bank details or sending a message to your crush, it’s certainly a useful feature. Samsung lets you hide certain parts of your screen, such as the notification centre. So even if someone sitting beside you tries to peek into your screen, they won’t see anything. Sadly, this won’t be coming to older Samsung phones since it relies on the new M14 panel.

Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra Vs S25 Ultra Display Winner: S26 Ultra

Processor: Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 Is Here

Another significant upgrade found in the S26 Ultra is the processor. It uses the new Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 for Galaxy. It offers 14 percent uplift in single-core and 29 percent in multi-core compared to last year’s S25 Ultra. And just like last year, the base variant starts with 256GB storage, going all the way to 1TB if you want it. With an AnTuTu score of 3.7 million, its future proof and powerful enough to satisfy all your gaming needs.

Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra Vs S25 Ultra Processor Winner: S26 Ultra

Software: Smarter Bixby And Agentic AI Features

The third upgrade, which is coming to older Samsung phones as well, is One UI 8.5. While it’s still based on Android 16, you get a smarter Bixby and a slew of AI features. Since the S26 Ultra ships with Android 16 out of the box and has 7 years of updates, you will get one extra OS update compared to the S25 Ultra.

The software experience is now heavily AI-driven. Photos and videos can be edited using simple prompts with Photo Assist. You can also summon Perplexity by saying “Hey Plex” and use it within apps like Notes, Reminders, Messages, Calendar, and more.

Bixby is back with a new look and runs in a sleek chatbar just like Gemini. With these changes, Bixby is no longer a laggard and is finally making a major comeback. There is a new Now Nudge in Pixel phones that can provide contextual information when messaging friends.

So if your friend asks what time the flight is landing, you can check your emails for the flight ticket and provide a contextual card for it. Another new feature is Storage Share in the My Files app, letting you access files across all your Galaxy devices for a proper ecosystem flex.

Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra Vs S25 Ultra Software Winner: Tie

Camera: No Changes This Year

If you were hoping for better cameras in the comparison between Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra Vs S25 Ultra, well, think again. Samsung is sticking with the same camera hardware as last year. This means you get the same 200MP Samsung HP2 sensor, 50MP periscope telephoto Sony IMX584 with 5x zoom, and 10MP telephoto with 3x zoom. However, Samsung has slightly tweaked the aperture on the 200MP sensor to f/1.4 aperture, while the 50MP telephoto lens now has f/2.9 aperture. This should help in low-light shots by letting in more light.

The South Korean giant is mostly relying on software magic and computational photography for improved results. You get a new 24MP mode for taking photos, but there’s no clarity if it’s coming to older models as well. Although the camera module has been redesigned, the sensors and hardware remain the same.

Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra Vs S25 Ultra Camera Winner: Tie

Battery: Same Capacity As S21 Ultra

Another disappointment is the 5,000mAh battery, which seems to be the staple for Samsung since the launch of the Galaxy S20 Ultra. While other companies are cramming 10,000mAh batteries in their phones, Samsung seems to be stuck in the past and reluctant to embrace emerging tech like Silicon Carbon batteries. Ever since the Note 7 fiasco, Samsung has been playing it safe and sticking with the same battery capacity.

The company claims it can offer 31 hours of battery backup, which is the same as last year’s S25 Ultra. One welcome change, however, is a bump in charging speeds: 60W wired charging and 25W wireless charging. This is a decent bump over the 45W wired and 15W wireless on the S25 Ultra.

Although you still don’t get an adapter in the box. You can now charge your phone in 30 minutes to reach 75 percent. Sadly, there are no built-in Qi2 magnets, so you can’t borrow your friend’s MagSafe accessories yet.

Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra Vs S25 Ultra Charging Winner: S26 Ultra

Pricing And Availability

The Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra is currently available for pre-order in multiple color options. It starts at a price of Rs. 1,39,999. Currently, you can grab the 512GB variant for the price of 256GB and even get Rs. 3,500 off on Galaxy Buds 4 and Buds 4 Pro. The phone will start shipping on March 6, 2026. Also, there is a 16GB variant on the S26 Ultra, while the S25 Ultra only offered 12GB RAM for all variants.

As seen in the table above, Samsung has hiked the prices of the S26 Ultra by Rs. 10,000 across all variants. Since you are more or less getting the same phone, it’s better to opt for the S25 Ultra unless you really care about the Privacy Display or the faster charging speeds.

Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra Vs S25 Ultra Price Winner: S25 Ultra