00:00For the last few years, choosing between Samsung and Apple has felt predictable.
00:03Want better battery? iPhone. Want better zoom? Samsung.
00:07Want a smoother ecosystem? Apple. Customization? Samsung.
00:11But this year, with the Galaxy S26 Ultra, something feels different.
00:15Today, I'm giving you my Galaxy S26 Ultra review, buy or skip style.
00:19But we're going to talk a lot about whether Apple should be worried about Samsung's new flagship,
00:24specifically when it comes to AI. Let's get into it.
00:30Let's start with getting a close-up look at the design.
00:33The Galaxy S26 Ultra copied the iPhone 17 Pro Max by ditching titanium for aluminum.
00:38But the S26 Ultra is more than 15 grams lighter than the 17 Pro Max.
00:42And this is with the included S Pen, which is just as handy as ever for taking notes,
00:47as well as sketching in AI apps like Creative Studio.
00:50I don't miss the titanium in phones pretty much at all.
00:53It still feels premium.
00:54The S26 Ultra also has more rounded corners versus last year's S25 Ultra,
00:58making it more like the rest of Samsung's phones.
01:01I don't know. I'd actually rather my $1,300 phone visually stand out.
01:05But we've got to talk about this camera bump.
01:07It's massive. It wobbles on a table like it's nervous.
01:10Meanwhile, Apple's camera plateau is even larger, but it stretches across the back.
01:14So, no wobble.
01:17Turning back to the display, this is where things get interesting.
01:20The Galaxy S26 Ultra has something Apple doesn't.
01:23Privacy display.
01:24Turn it on, adjust the intensity, and your screen literally disappears from side angles.
01:29It's not a cheap screen protector, not a gimmick.
01:31It's built into the pixels that make up the panel.
01:34You can set it up app by app.
01:36So, my banking and messaging apps?
01:38Privacy display is on automatically.
01:40You can even set it so just notifications are blacked out for others.
01:43It's pretty great, and I already hear the iPhone users asking Apple to copy it.
01:48But it does come with a trade-off.
01:49The S26 Ultra's display is slightly dimmer than last year's S25 Ultra.
01:53It's about 50 nits or so in our testing.
01:56So, you won't see it head-on, but I definitely noticed it off-angle.
01:59That said, in a world where the term shoulder-surfing is in our lexicon,
02:03the privacy display is the kind of innovation that makes a difference.
02:06And it's really no surprise that this is the S26 Ultra's feature everyone is talking about.
02:13Another new feature getting a lot of buzz is the horizontal lock.
02:16It locks your horizon no matter how much you wobble and twist the Galaxy S26 Ultra while filming.
02:21I tested it side-by-side with the iPhone 17 Pro Max,
02:24and I'll be honest, I didn't have high expectations.
02:26But you tell me.
02:27Here, the S26 Ultra footage looks like it's on a gimbal, right?
02:30The iPhone still looks very good, but it is noticeably shakier.
02:34At least, that's what I'm seeing.
02:36Low-light video is brighter on the Samsung this year, too.
02:39More on par with what the iPhone 17 Pro delivers.
02:42I will say daylight still slightly favors Apple in color consistency,
02:46but stabilization?
02:47Samsung wins.
02:50That's video.
02:51Let's talk cameras and photography.
02:53Low-light photography is clearly improved on the S26 Ultra,
02:56looking at fresh pictures I took side-by-side with the S25 Ultra.
03:00There's less noise now, and I love to see that.
03:02Zoom?
03:03There's not much new, but Samsung still dominates with up to 100x digital zoom.
03:08Although the iPhone 17 Pro Max improved on what was previously offered,
03:12it still can't truly compete when it comes to capturing long-range shots of this sign here at 10x and
03:1740x.
03:18For just basic photography, I do still prefer Apple's color reproduction.
03:22I'll throw up some comparisons on the screen, but to me, sometimes the S26 Ultra is oversaturating the colors.
03:28Not every photo, and some look incredible.
03:31The S26 Ultra is getting better at skin tones, too, as you can see in this selfie comparison.
03:35But for close-ups, I still prefer Apple's level of detail.
03:39I'd say it ultimately comes down to preference, so let me know which picks you like better.
03:46Okay, we need to talk about the things Samsung wants you to care about most, agentic AI.
03:51Here's what it actually means.
03:53Samsung wants this phone to anticipate what you're doing and take action for you,
03:57not just suggest things.
03:59Do things.
04:00For example, now nudge.
04:01So I get a text like,
04:02Lunch Tuesday at 1.
04:04As soon as I open the keyboard, a calendar shortcut pops up.
04:07I tap it, and it jumps me into my schedule.
04:09And then, there's automated app actions.
04:12This is the ambitious one.
04:14Galaxy AI can now act on your behalf in third-party apps, not just Google services.
04:18So, something like book me an Uber to the airport and order my usual DoorDash.
04:23Gemini will handle it in the background.
04:25That's huge if it works consistently.
04:27It's in the early stages, there's going to be a live testing phase,
04:30but this is where Samsung is ahead conceptually.
04:32Apple is still integrating AI into its apps.
04:35Samsung is trying to let AI operate across apps.
04:38But there is some confusion.
04:39Because we have multiple AIs in action here.
04:41In addition to Gemini, with a long power button press, there's Bixby.
04:45Yes, Bixby can help you quickly get things done on your phone.
04:48And it now has perplexity baked in and can summarize web pages or answer complex queries.
04:53Sometimes, I genuinely don't know which assistant I was supposed to be talking to.
04:57And at $12.99, power flow is good.
04:59Confusing is not.
05:00And that's before getting into the murkiness of all the image manipulation you can do with this thing.
05:04You can prompt and edit a photo so far away from the original source, it's wild.
05:09Or just add other people, pets, or things to your image that weren't there before.
05:13Let me know if we should do a video just on photo assist here on the channel.
05:17But going back to how this phone compares to the iPhone,
05:20I would say Apple's AI feels limited but cohesive, while Samsung feels ambitious and sprawling.
05:25Which is the better approach depends on who you ask.
05:27But for me personally, the S26 Ultra is more exciting.
05:34None of this is possible without brains to the operation.
05:37Inside the Galaxy S26 Ultra, we get the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 for Galaxy.
05:41In the description, there's a link to tomsguide.com that has all the in-depth benchmarks.
05:45Geekbench, 3DMark, etc.
05:47If you want to check it out.
05:48For the sake of this video, I'll give you the cliff notes.
05:51Samsung wins multi-core.
05:53Apple still edges out single-core.
05:54But an AI benchmark, Samsung's NPU, absolutely dominates.
05:58Around a 70% advantage.
06:00That matters if you care about on-device AI processing.
06:04When it comes to gaming, the S26 Ultra is up for a challenge.
06:07I had multiple sessions with withering waves, over and over.
06:11And we're talking about graphically intense games.
06:13High frame rates.
06:14And the phone stayed sharp and surprisingly cool.
06:17Samsung's redesigned vapor chamber cooling system is larger, so that checks out.
06:22Beyond gaming, I had dozens of apps open at once.
06:24Switched between the camera, chrome, editing.
06:27No hiccups, and I'd certainly hope so, for the price.
06:30But look, performance alone is not why you buy a $1,300 phone in 2026.
06:35I'll come back to that idea in just a sec.
06:38Last thing we have to talk about is battery life.
06:41Coming soon to the channel, if it's not already out already by the time you're seeing this,
06:44we have a Tom's Guide battery test video that talks about the S26 Ultra battery life comprehensively.
06:50Make sure to check it out.
06:51The iPhone 17 Pro Max was the premium flagship for the S26 Ultra to beat,
06:55and it lasts nearly 18 hours in our web surfing-based battery test.
06:59Although the S26 Ultra is improved a lot from last year, at just over 16 hours, Apple still leads endurance.
07:05A jump to silicon carbon batteries would have been nice, but maybe next year.
07:09Charging though?
07:09Samsung jumped to 60W for the S26 Ultra.
07:12My unit recharged from 0% to 77% in 30 minutes, timed.
07:16The iPhone 17 Pro Max didn't crack 65% in that same period.
07:20Unfortunately, Samsung still doesn't include magnets on the S26 Ultra for Qi2 charging.
07:25You'll need to spring for a case to get that functionality, and personally, I'd like to have it built in.
07:29So to sum up, if you care about longevity, iPhone wins.
07:32But if you care about charging speeds, Samsung has an edge.
07:37But is it more than just an edge?
07:39Is Samsung truly growing the gap between Galaxy and iPhone?
07:43In some areas, yes.
07:44Samsung is pushing hardware innovation harder right now.
07:47Privacy display is a real innovation.
07:49Horizon lock, a game changer for mobile video.
07:52Zoom, still dominant.
07:53Apple still wins battery life, overall photo quality, and slightly more cohesive in terms of the user experience.
07:59But here's the thing.
08:00The Galaxy feels more ambitious than the iPhone.
08:03If you want the most innovative flagship right now, buy the S26 Ultra.
08:06It's only going to get smarter over time.
08:09I'm not saying the iPhone 17 Pro Max isn't an excellent phone in its own right,
08:12but I do think Apple needs a big response for the iPhone 18 Pro more than just an iterative update
08:17if it wants to avoid playing catch-up.
08:19Let me know what you think about how Apple and Samsung smartphones are stacking up this year.
08:23And if you want other insights into the S26 Ultra, again, I'll have that full review in the description
08:28as well as some deals to help you save.
08:31For Tom's Guide, this is Mark Spoonhour.
08:49I'm a grown man skipping.
08:50I'm a grown man skipping.
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