The overall design of the Galaxy S26 Ultra is mostly familiar, but some subtle tweaks such as rounding the corners really make for a nice hardware upgrade.
At first glance, the Galaxy S26 Ultra looks like a Galaxy S25 Ultra wearing a Galaxy Z Fold 7 mask. And, going into my demo of the device, I really didn’t think I’d get much out of the experience. But, dang it, Samsung just continues to show that refining the same design over and over again somehow gets me every time.
There’s plenty to talk about with these phones, much of which you’ll find in our hands-on from Damien Wilde. But, here, I just want to focus in on the Galaxy S26 Ultra’s hardware alone.
The Galaxy S26 Ultra feels much better in the hand compared to the Galaxy S25 Ultra, which itself felt better than its predecessors. There are two main reasons for this.
Firstly, the rounded design.
When Samsung decided that its Ultra device would take on the legacy of the Galaxy Note, it also inherited that squared-off design. I get why that design has its fans, but I’ve been wanting Samsung to lean back into the Galaxy S look for a while now, and the Galaxy S26 Ultra is the most meet-in-the-middle release we’ve had. The rounded corners this year have a much wider radius that’s not quite the same as Galaxy S26 and S26+, but pretty darn close. Next to a Galaxy S25 Ultra, the difference is considerable.
Samsung also pointed out that the corner of the hardware and the display match.
The other notable change here is that the Galaxy S26 Ultra is noticeably thinner. This is Samsung’s first Ultra under 8mm, and while it’s only marginally thinner when compared side-by-side with S25 Ultra, it feels much nicer.
While the sheer size of the screen still makes the Galaxy S26 Ultra a little bit cumbersome at times, this no longer feels like a 6.9-inch behemoth, or at least it didn’t during first impressions. Putting it side-by-side with its predecessor, Samsung’s latest just feels nowhere near as big. It’s a really nice change of pace!
We’ll be reviewing the Galaxy S26 series, starting with the Ultra, as the full launch approaches, but needless to say, the hardware left a surprisingly nice first impression. I just wish I could say the same about the base Galaxy S26 and S26+, both of which feel like the most boring possible rehash – and that’s saying something in a post-Pixel 10a world.
The Galaxy S26 series is available for pre-order now, with Samsung’s usual pre-order perks in full swing. You’ll find boosted trade-in values and more available now through March 11, when these phones are available on store shelves.
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