STACK #257 March 2026

LATEST SMARTPHONES

TECH FEATURE

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Samsung has unpacked the latest S-series smartphones – the flagship Galaxy S26 Ultra, the Galaxy S26 base model, and the Galaxy S26+. Get ready for even more intuitive Galaxy AI, brighter cameras, greater privacy, and supercharged performance. Words Scott Hocking THE SAMSUNG GALAXY S26 GALAXY S26 ULTRA IS THE FLAGSHIP PHONE YOU’VE BEEN WAITING FOR!

More personalised assistance

crowded train, there’s always the chance that stickybeaks will attempt to check out what’s on your phone’s screen. But if you have the Galaxy S26 Ultra, its exclusive new Privacy Display can keep your screen hidden from any prying eyes. How does it work? A fusion of hardware, One UI 8.5 software and Samsung Display’s Flex Magic Pixel tech, the screen can adjust visibility, limit what others can see from various angles, or make the screen invisible to everyone but you. Even better, it can be set to auto activate based on location, notification alerts, or when using certain apps, such as banking. As they say on Star Trek , “Shields up!” Brighter camera While packing the same precision 200MP wide main camera as the Galaxy S25 Ultra, the S26 Ultra offers some notable refinements, including improved aperture and an upgraded ProVisual engine – the suite of AI-powered photography tools that offer plenty of creative freedom. This is also the brightest Galaxy camera to date, promising exceptional performance day or night, with Samsung’s high-resolution

Nightography mode for optimising after-dark shots and video noise reduction. High-resolution photos and video can be enhanced and stabilised by a super steady horizontal lock function for cinematic results, while the updated Photo Assist brings intuitive photo editing, enhanced image generation, and the ability to instantly search, add, or remove objects from an image, change styles, and even reimagine your photos using prompts from your gallery. The Galaxy S26 Ultra quad camera system also features a 50MP ultra-wide, two telephoto lenses at 50MP and 10MP, plus a front 12MP selfie camera with a wide field of view. The base Galaxy S26 and Galaxy S26+ models both pack a 50MP wide main camera, with high-res Nightography and many of the photo editing tools found on the S26 Ultra. Supercharged performance The latest Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 processor – an upgrade over the S25 Ultra – brings an improved NPU to the Galaxy S26 Ultra, supercharging processing speeds and delivering smarter assistance, giving you a phone that feels faster and more intuitive than ever.

Samsung’s Galaxy AI assistant continues to evolve to better adapt to your needs. Where the Galaxy S25 series ushered in the handy Now Brief feature, which delivers at-a-glance updates based on the time of day, the S26 series introduces another cool and proactive feature called Now Nudge – powered by One UI 8.5. Building on the Smart Suggestions widget, Now Nudge can intuitively deliver help and info on the fly, based on what’s currently on your screen as well as learned routines and regular usage. For example, if you get a text message from a friend asking when you’re free for a catch up, your calendar schedule is scanned and a suitable time suggested – all without you needing to ask, or lift a finger! The new Creative Studio unlocks even more possibilities, such as creating stickers for socials or personalised party invitations using a photo or text prompt. Boosted privacy When you’re stuck waiting in line or on a

FEBRUARY 2025

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*Fees may apply to certain AI features at the end of 2026.