I tried Galaxy S26 and Buds4

I’m a little late with the news, but you almost certainly already know that on 25 February Samsung unveiled its next generation of smartphones — the Galaxy S26 series. These aren’t just phones; they’re genuine AI phones, arriving with the third generation of Galaxy AI features. Although standard smartphones seem to receive fewer and fewer innovations these days, Samsung always finds something to surprise us with.

Galaxy S26 Ultra — the privacy display

Let's start with the star of the series, the Galaxy S26 Ultra. You've probably already seen its headline display feature — an integrated Privacy Display. From now on there's no need to buy a separate dark screen protector with a privacy filter, because the technology is built into the display itself.

With the feature enabled, light diffusion is controlled at pixel level, so viewing from the side (at more than 45 degrees) shows nothing but black. The privacy display does require compromises, though. Turning it on visibly reduces both resolution and brightness, so I wouldn’t recommend leaving it on permanently. It’s an excellent tool specifically for protecting sensitive information — messages, banking details, email or work apps — in public places.

Camera upgrades — light and stability

The S26 Ultra's camera apertures let in even more light this year. The main F1.4 wide-angle lens delivers 47% more brightness, while the new F2.9 5x optical telephoto is 37% brighter. I compared it against the S25 Ultra, and when shooting in the dark with the main camera the difference is genuinely noticeable.

The popular Horizon Lock feature deserves a mention too. The new horizontal stabilisation holds the horizon perfectly level, so while filming it looks as though the phone’s camera isn’t moving at all. I haven’t yet had the chance to test it in extreme conditions myself, but judging by the first clips, the stabilisation works flawlessly.

Design and the return of Armor Aluminum

This year the S26 Ultra is thinner (just 7.9 mm) and lighter than its predecessor. Interestingly, Samsung decided to return to the Armor Aluminum alloy. Titanium is a stronger and more expensive metal, but Samsung says it was aluminium that let its engineers reach such a slim profile and better heat dissipation while keeping the structure rigid.

Despite becoming thinner, the device still fits a 5,000 mAh battery, which now supports 60 W fast charging (up to 75% in just 30 minutes). The S Pen is still here too, and has become even more elegant this year. Inside runs a Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 for Galaxy processor tuned specifically for this series. It’s considerably faster and more efficient, so AI operations complete more quickly and the battery should last longer.

An AI assistant in your pocket

Of the new Galaxy AI features, the one that surprised me most is Photo Assist, which lets you generate or extend images from your own description right inside the gallery. There's also Now Nudge, which understands the context of your conversations and suggests replies based on your calendar or photos (sadly there's no Lithuanian yet). And the updated Circle to Search now reads the whole screen and can look up several objects at once.

Galaxy S26 and S26+ — symmetry and power

Let's not forget the standard models: the 6.3-inch S26 and the 6.7-inch S26+. Their design features perfectly symmetrical bezels, and the shared design language has become so consistent that during the launch I occasionally had to double-check which model I was holding.

The camera sensors here are the same as in the S22 series, so don’t expect a revolution — all the heavy lifting is done by the new 2 nm Exynos 2600 processor. The S26 has a 4,300 mAh battery (up to 25 W wired charging) and the S26+ a 4,900 mAh one (up to 45 W wired). Both models, like the Ultra, get a full seven years of OS and security updates.

Galaxy Buds4 — a modern shape and sound

The Galaxy Buds4 and Buds4 Pro were announced alongside the phones. The refreshed, softer design with metal trim catches the eye immediately. The charging case has returned to a convenient "jewellery box" shape with a transparent lid, so you can see at a glance whether the earbuds are inside.

I tried the Buds4 Pro personally, and I can say that both sound quality and noise cancellation (ANC) are noticeably better than on the Buds3 Pro. A 19.8% wider two-way driver delivers deeper bass, and Ambient Sound mode sounds remarkably natural. It’s also interesting that you can now answer calls with head gestures (a nod). The earbuds let you summon Bixby, Gemini or Perplexity by voice, too.

Availability and prices

In Lithuania the devices go on sale from 11 March. You can buy the new devices through this link.

• Colours: Cobalt Violet, Black, Sky Blue and White, plus Rose Gold and Shadow Grey online only (at samsung.lt).
• Prices: S26 from €1,009, S26+ from €1,259, S26 Ultra from €1,459. Buds4 — €179, Buds4 Pro — €249.

I can’t wait to use these devices for longer and share more detailed impressions of living with them day to day!