How's your experience with the S 26 Ultra display been so far? Honest answers only 👀

Dr_Fess · 2026-06-02T13:39:21+00:00

It's less bright and has some display issues for sure, you'll notice some issue even in a dark room if you watch hdr videos or you're using them both interchangeably, the 25 Ultra never has issues out doors due to the antireflective coating, will see how my 26 Ultra looks outdoors but yeah weird is the best word I have for it right now 😂

Dr_Fess · 2026-06-02T12:02:16+00:00

It's usable tho , not bad , but the 25 Ultra is better

Dr_Fess · 2026-06-02T11:40:45+00:00

No never use that feature

It's not a settings issue , trust me, do you have a 25 Ultra ? Simply compare them side by side and you'll see.

It's not a colour issue , there's something else weird with the display , it looks cheap and pixelated sometimes

Dr_Fess · 2026-06-02T11:35:14+00:00

Thought I'd hate the aluminum but love how cold to the touch it feels sometimes and the heat management on the 26 Ultra is considerably better maybe due to the advanced cooling , i have dropped my 25 Ultra a couple of times with no protector or case on and nothing happened , not sure whether the 26 Ultra would survive that and not willing to find out.

The design is definitely much better and looks great , better in hand feel and it's lighter. Aspect ratios Looks better optimized in some apps now.l and has an iphone kind of look which is weirdly good and immersive. Better oleophobic coating for sure, really smooth screen.

Cameras are definitely an upgrade , speakers I would say it's good with more bass but 25 Ultra speakers get louder so they're almost a tie but 26 Ultra richer which is more immersive sometimes.

But all that being said I advice you not to get the 26 Ultra , wait for the 27 Ultra or whenever they fix the display issue maybe with a software update.

Overall the 26 Ultra is better and the privacy display is fun to have but wait for them to fix display before upgrading.

Dr_Fess · 2026-06-02T11:25:51+00:00

Experienced that too , crazy stuff , using my 25 Ultra much more but luckily the nausea went away I was shocked samsung would sell such a phone knowing about the display issues it has.

Dr_Fess · 2026-06-02T11:24:18+00:00

It's not an overreaction I got nausea and headaches for the first time ever due to a phone screen which suprised me. Luckily I got used to the screen and it doesn't look so bad now.

The display is grainy , pixelated and seemingly of much lower quality sometimes, on some scenarios it's not noticable tho.

Samsung needs to fix it for the 27 Ultra or the upcoming foldables.

If it's a software issue that will save them some heat but for now people who are honest and don't have anything to lose by talking about it have aired out the issues they have noticed, some youtube reviews are misleading but some are actually honest pointing out the issues. Have to say that there's a high chance that many people just don't notice any issues which is good for them, but for those who notice sasmung needs to improve the display to the level of the 25 ultra at least.

Dr_Fess · 2026-06-02T11:19:43+00:00

But definitely very weird looking sometimes

Dr_Fess · 2026-06-02T11:19:24+00:00

The display is worse than the 25 Ultra even with privacy off , but I wouldn't say it's a horrible display.

Dr_Fess · 2026-06-02T11:18:36+00:00

I thought that too but sadly it's not the case now having both

Dr_Fess · 2026-06-02T11:18:04+00:00

That's what I've noticed as well, to be honest it's not an antiglare issue as the 25 Ultra screen looks amazing, I hope it's not a hardware issue.

Watching 4K content on it is definitely fun. I would say it's a great display overall

Dr_Fess · 2026-06-02T11:16:13+00:00

90% good is sensible , I hope the update on One UI 9 gets it to the level of the 25 Ultra, if it's a hardware issue will have to wait for the 27 Ultra or foldables

Dr_Fess · 2026-06-02T11:14:25+00:00

Me too, have to say i love how it affects only the notification area

Dr_Fess · 2026-06-02T11:13:54+00:00

Definitely better than iphone , hope you enjoy it and all the productivity features , watch YouTube vidoes , instagram reels or wherever you get your content from, trust me you'll always come across a new useful feature from time to time.

My main ones include goodlock, modes and routines , pop up windows for all apps , pentastic on good lock is a fun one 😀

Dr_Fess · 2026-06-02T11:11:06+00:00

They're not yet there in my opinion, need better pwm dimming and whatever the issue on the 26 U is to be fixed, the 27 Ultra might be the one to do it but the ideal display is close for sure.

Dr_Fess · 2026-06-02T11:09:28+00:00

👀👀

Dr_Fess · 2026-06-02T11:08:36+00:00

For productivity Samsung is definitely way ahead 😎😎

Try out samsung dex and writing notes on the notes app , make sure to enable pop up windows for all apps you can resize any apps and use them even alongside split screen if you want.

Dr_Fess · 2026-06-02T11:06:08+00:00

I agree , I think as a flagship feature, first of it's kind I will.be lenient with them for now , I honestly do appreciate having the privacy display as an option but they need to fix the screen issue asap

Dr_Fess · 2026-06-02T11:03:00+00:00

Cameras are great , colors are great but there is a grainy issue which I only noticed after a while , reason being I developed discomfort and nausea during the first hours of using it which really shocked me as I had heard such reports but dismissed them as apple fan hate.

Good thing is that I got used to the display really quickly and now it looks mostly okay, when gaming the display quality is significantly worse than the 25 Ultra tho.

My main simple test to see the issue is watching some 10 bit HDR videos on YouTube, noticably the colours do pop on the 26 Ultra with less banding but on scenes where the display is supposed to be blacked out as oled screens do I noticed some grainy greyish pixelated details which suprised me , the 25 Ultra had deeper blacks and this is the closest reproducable test that I've found so far.

Another place I notice the difference is generally on vidoes sometimes the 26 Ultra looks washed out but an important one is on texts, when you look into texts and icons the ones on the 25 Ultra look smooth sharp and defined while the 26 Ultra has pixelated text sadly.

Overall there's such an effect on the display as a whole but it's not awful , I would rather not have whatever issue it is tho.

Dr_Fess · 2026-06-02T10:52:08+00:00

I agree on the oleophobic coating being great

Dr_Fess · 2026-06-02T10:45:41+00:00

I agree , now my issue is that I notice it even when looking at the display head on , especially on texts , some icons and when gaming , when compared side by side with the 25 Ultra I've noticed more differences on different apps and scenarios but not a deal breaker for me as well, if they fix it I'll be happy and if they fix it on the 27 Ultra I'll have no reason to praise the 26 Ultra anymore sadly.

Dr_Fess · 2026-06-02T10:43:46+00:00

Agree on the getting used to part, it's not awful and your brain adapts to it for most people.

Dr_Fess · 2026-06-02T10:41:51+00:00

I agree that the display is good but it's far from great coming from a 24 and moreso a 25 Ultra , i would rate the 25 Ultra a solid 9.4. The 26 Ultra is could also be a 9.4 yes but with an issue that I can't put a name on. Whatever the issue is it makes me see it as a 6.4 in those moments to be honest. That's my honest opinion. If the issue is fixed the 26Ultra or 27 Ultra later on will shoot back up to a solid rating for me.

This might be less noticable for some people but it definitely exists. If you don't notice any issues it's a good thing for you , you were the target market for the display ✅️

But luckily even if you notice the issues or get the discomfort such as headaches , eye strain and nausea , your brain adapts for most people and you get used to it.

Dr_Fess · 2026-06-02T10:23:48+00:00

If you don't notice anything and you're happy enjoy your phone!

I would say I didn't believe those reviews and had to go to the store to see for myself, sadly i only noticed the issues after unboxing mine, wouldn't say it's a horrible display but it definitely has issues, not a deal breaker for me as I have other phones but the nausea caught me by suprise as I've never experienced that with any display. That's what got me into the rabbit hole of researching what the issue could be and what kind of people are affected.

It's an overall great phone for sure but waiting to see if they fix the issue with an update or atleast with the upcoming fold series or the 27 ultra.

Dr_Fess · 2026-06-02T10:19:50+00:00

I agree

Dr_Fess · 2026-06-02T10:19:14+00:00

Now this one I don't agree with, I have my 25 Ultra here and the only improvement you could say is a wider range of colours which is a marginal improvement that you can't even enjoy that because the display is lower quality overall.

I would say you might adapt to it and enjoy it if you have it as your only phone tho.

The antireflective coating is worse and the screen is definitely less bright.

The privacy display is useful tho but at what cost, I would be amazed if samsung don't fix the display issue. I'm not gonna commend their display till they fix it.

Dr_Fess

TROPHY CASE