Samsung is currently selling three models of the Galaxy S26 series in Japan as its spring 2026 models.
While they had only sold two models for the past few years, this year they have a lineup of three models: Galaxy S26 Ultra, Galaxy S26+, and Galaxy S26.
Among them, the Galaxy S26 Ultra features a high-performance camera and the world's first privacy display.
It is a useful model for gamers as well.
Three High-Spec, High-Performance Models Now on Sale
All three models in the Galaxy S26 series are high-spec products that adopt Qualcomm's Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 for Galaxy as their chipset.
The display sizes are 6.9 inches for the Galaxy S26 Ultra, 6.7 inches for the Galaxy S26+, and 6.3 inches for the Galaxy S26.
The body shape of all three models is almost identical with a design featuring rounded corners, allowing users to choose based on "screen size," "camera performance," "battery capacity," and "price."
Only the top-tier model, the Galaxy S26 Ultra, has superior camera performance, featuring a 200-megapixel wide-angle lens, a 50-megapixel ultra-wide-angle lens, a 10-megapixel 3x telephoto lens, and a 50-megapixel 5x telephoto lens.
While we will introduce the camera performance later, the world's first privacy display, a feature exclusive to the Galaxy S26 Ultra, is incredibly useful.
Prevent Peeping with the Privacy Display
The privacy display is a feature that makes the screen invisible when viewed from the side.
While "anti-peeping screen protectors" are commercially available, this screen allows you to toggle the same effect directly on the display.
You can switch settings from the menu to options like "entire display," "specific apps," or "notifications only."
First, when you apply the setting to the entire display, it looks like this when viewed from the side: you cannot see anything.
If you set it to make only notifications invisible, people around you cannot see that part of the screen even when message notifications or OTA notifications for passwords arrive.
Furthermore, this does not just apply to the left and right directions; it also becomes invisible when someone tries to peek from above.
No One Can Peek at Your Gameplay Either
This comes in handy when you are immersed in a game.
When playing games on places like a train, you might find yourself self-conscious about the eyes around you.
In particular, someone sitting in the next seat might be staring at your screen before you know it.
By turning the privacy display ON, the screen is invisible even if a person next to you peeks in.
It can be said that this is a convenient feature when you want to focus on gaming.
Of course, you can get the same effect by applying an anti-peeping screen protector, but then you would have to peel the protector off when you want to look at the game screen together with people around you.
Also, during QR code payments, there are times when the reader cannot properly recognize the QR code displayed on the screen if an anti-peeping protector is applied.
With the privacy display, you can toggle the screen effect ON and OFF with a single touch.
Peace of Mind Regarding Heat Generation: Large Vapor Chamber Built-In
Samsung explains that the chipset, Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 for Galaxy, offers superior performance compared to the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 installed in other companies' smartphones.
Needless to say, it has excellent on-device AI processing performance, and you can play advanced games without stress.
Even so, the issue is internal heat generation during long gaming sessions.
To address this, a large vapor chamber is built into the interior of the Galaxy S26 Ultra.
Although the surface area is undisclosed, the heat dissipation effect has reportedly increased by 21% compared to the previous Galaxy S25 Ultra.
In fact, when playing games or recording videos in 4K for long periods, I felt that overheating was suppressed compared to the previous model.
Qi2 Compatible, Official Cases Also Updated
All models of the Galaxy S26 series are Qi2 compatible on the back.
Additionally, official cases—including silicone and carbon types—all feature a built-in magnetic ring.
While some past products lacked a ring, starting with the Galaxy S26 series, you can securely attach magnetic accessories as long as you buy an official case for now.
Note that the position of the magnet is slightly higher compared to the iPhone, and it is a shame that some MagSafe accessories made for iPhone interfere with the rear camera of the Galaxy S26 Ultra.
Since official wireless chargers and wallets sold for the Galaxy S26 series are designed to prevent camera interference, we recommend that you buy them after trying them on the actual device if possible.
The Power of the 200-Megapixel Camera Is Incredible
As mentioned earlier, the Galaxy S26 Ultra's camera offers high image quality with 200 megapixels for wide-angle shots, capturing fine details beautifully.
Also, because the 5x telephoto lens has 50 megapixels, you can capture quite beautiful images even with digital zoom of around 10x or 30x.
I tried using the Galaxy S26 Ultra's 200-megapixel wide-angle camera in Barcelona, Spain.
Even in slightly dark areas of the market, it captures details clearly.
What concerned me when walking and shooting in the streets was that the body size is somewhat large.
I felt it would be easier to use if a drop-prevention ring was attached to the back.
Incidentally, the body size is 163.6 x 78.1 x 7.9mm, and the weight is 214g.
The fact that it has become thinner and even lighter than the previous model is a point to be appreciated.
It also captures bright photos of meals in dimly lit rooms.
In this regard, AI processing is working moderately well.
Galaxy S26 Ultra Is the One Device Where "You Can't Go Wrong"
The Galaxy S26 Ultra is Samsung's flagship model.
Although we have not introduced them this time, the agent-style AI features have also been enhanced; for instance, you can turn on the camera in video mode simply by giving a voice instruction like "Launch camera in video mode."
Even when you are unsure which high-end smartphone to choose, this is a product about which you can say you can't go wrong as long as you choose it.
▼Photo & Written by Yasuhiro Yamane
Blog: http://www.hkyamane.com/
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