I used to be excited to make use of the Galaxy S26 Extremely; I believed this might be the yr Samsung rolled out significant upgrades to make the telephone maintain its personal towards Chinese language options just like the Vivo X300 Professional and OPPO Discover X9 Professional.
Annoyingly, that is not the case. Whereas the S26 Extremely has a couple of cool new options, the underlying basis hasn’t modified a lot in any respect from earlier years, and also you get a telephone that is not fairly pretty much as good as different Android flagships relating to the cameras and battery tech.
Nonetheless, that does not imply the Galaxy S26 Extremely is a nasty telephone — not by any measure. It is simply that you do not get any noteworthy digicam upgrades, and that in the end limits its potential. I used the Galaxy S26 Extremely as my day by day driver for simply over three weeks, and that is what I discovered.
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Privateness Show is nice, however the precise AMOLED is lacking a couple of fundamentals
(Picture credit score: Harish Jonnalagadda / Android Central)
The defining characteristic on the S26 Extremely is Privateness Show, a hardware-assisted mode that is designed to curb shoulder browsing by limiting display screen visibility at facet angles. This implies nobody can view what’s in your display screen whereas in public, and it really works rather well — it is one thing that I would like different Android producers to “borrow” on their very own gadgets.
Privateness Show works by altering the pixel substructure of the panel itself, and Samsung calls this Flex Magic Pixel tech. Mainly, the large pixels that emit mild at a broader angle are dimmed, and this ensures nobody can see your display screen at a facet angle, though you possibly can simply make out the contents of the display screen. There’s a noticeable lower in brightness ranges due to how the tech works, however I did not have any points utilizing the mode outside underneath harsh daylight.
(Picture credit score: Harish Jonnalagadda / Android Central)
I like the flexibility as effectively; the flexibility to toggle the mode on or off is novel, and Samsung did an incredible job general. That stated, the AMOLED panel itself misses out in a couple of areas; it would not get as shiny because the Xiaomi 17 Extremely, Discover X9 Professional, Pixel 10 Professional XL, or the Vivo X300 Professional, and that is with out Privateness Show activated.
You miss out on different mainstays like high-frequency PWM dimming, and that is one thing that Samsung actually wants to deal with on its gadgets. Oddly sufficient, the S26 Extremely misses out on Dolby Imaginative and prescient as effectively, and solely has HDR10+.
The brand new design is healthier to carry — nevertheless it wobbles like no different telephone
(Picture credit score: Harish Jonnalagadda / Android Central)
Though the Galaxy S26 Extremely is somewhat taller and wider than its predecessor, I just like the in-hand really feel higher. Samsung rounded the corners and made the gadget somewhat thinner, and that could be a noticeable distinction. The rounded design specifically is a welcome transfer, and it means the telephone not digs into your palm when utilizing it one-handed.
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(Picture credit score: Harish Jonnalagadda / Android Central)(Picture credit score: Harish Jonnalagadda / Android Central)(Picture credit score: Harish Jonnalagadda / Android Central)
Nonetheless, the most important problem with the design is the brand new digicam island; the modules jut out somewhat greater than earlier years, and as they’re positioned on the left, this makes the S26 Extremely wobble quite a bit while you’re utilizing it on a desk. The wobble is excessive sufficient that you will want to make use of a case if you wish to use the telephone this manner.
The construct high quality continues to be among the many finest on Android, with Samsung utilizing an aluminum mid-frame with even higher sturdiness, and utilizing Gorilla Armor 2 on the entrance and Gorilla Glass Victus 2 on the glass rear. The colours choices are fairly good this time as effectively, and I actually just like the Cobalt Violet mannequin I am utilizing.
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The cameras simply aren’t adequate on a 2026 flagship
(Picture credit score: Harish Jonnalagadda / Android Central)
Samsung wanted to ship sizeable upgrades to its cameras this yr, nevertheless it failed to take action. The result’s that the Galaxy S26 Extremely lags behind its Android rivals to a noticeable extent. The gulf is large sufficient that it’s not simply the Vivo X300 Professional, Discover X9 Professional, and the Xiaomi 17 Extremely that take higher photographs and movies, however even final yr’s X200 Professional and Discover X8 Professional outshine the S26 Extremely to a significant diploma.
Samsung is not prepared to make any adjustments to the cameras as a result of it would not should. Whereas Chinese language manufacturers are dominating on this space, they do not have a presence in North America, so all Samsung must do is guarantee its cameras are on par with the Pixel 10 Professional XL and iPhone 17 Professional. The S26 Extremely holds up somewhat higher in that context, nevertheless it simply is not adequate while you have a look at the broader Android ecosystem.
With Chinese language producers increasing international availability — each the Vivo X300 Extremely and Discover X9 Extremely are launching globally — Samsung must tackle its digicam deficiency earlier than later.
Fortunately, the software program is among the many finest round
(Picture credit score: Harish Jonnalagadda / Android Central)
One UI 8.5 is not too completely different to what we acquired final yr, nevertheless it has a contemporary design, and loads of options that see a variety of utilization. If something, it is the software program that makes Samsung customers unwilling to modify to different Android skins, and I can perceive that very effectively.
As somebody who a lot prefers utilizing Pixels, I am not the audience for One UI, however I will admit that Samsung continues to do an incredible job with its software program efforts. The Android 16-based interface has the whole lot you want, and Samsung’s personal tackle the telephone dialer, browser, gallery, and messages has sufficient differentiation that they stand out meaningfully towards Google’s options. I am nonetheless somewhat aggravated in regards to the quantity of Microsoft bloatware on these gadgets, nevertheless it’s straightforward sufficient to disable or uninstall.
Battery life would not measure as much as Chinese language rivals
(Picture credit score: Harish Jonnalagadda / Android Central)
Samsung hasn’t modified the battery dimension on its Extremely mannequin in six years, so the S26 Extremely will get the identical 5,000mAh battery because the S20 Extremely, and that is simply not adequate in 2026. With Chinese language manufacturers rolling out large batteries on their telephones and leveraging silicon-carbon tech to nice impact, Samsung is basically left behind on this space.
Whereas the S26 Extremely nonetheless lasts a day on common, with heavy sufficient use, you will must plug within the telephone earlier than the tip of the evening. That is simply not the case with the Vivo X300 Professional, Xiaomi 17 Extremely, or the Discover X9 Professional, and utilizing the S26 Extremely after day by day driving Chinese language telephones looks like a transparent downgrade.
One other annoyance is Qi 2 integration; whereas the telephone is Qi 2 prepared, it would not have built-in magnets, so you will have to make use of a case if you wish to use the S26 Extremely with a Qi 2 charger. With Google managing to combine Qi 2 within the Pixel 10 vary, I figured Samsung would comply with swimsuit, however that simply hasn’t materialized. Whereas this wasn’t a difficulty in earlier years, I began utilizing Qi 2 chargers on my desk simply due to how handy it’s, and having to make use of a case to have the ability to use the tech is irritating.
Fortunately, Samsung made welcome tweaks to common charging, with the telephone going as much as 60W over the USB PD protocol. With a normal 100W USB PD charger, I used to be capable of cost the S26 Extremely totally in simply over 46 minutes, and that is a significantly better time than its predecessors.
You get significant AI options
(Picture credit score: Harish Jonnalagadda / Android Central)
With Galaxy AI, Samsung has one of many strongest AI-assisted utilities of any producer. Whether or not you wish to translate calls in real-time, generate summaries, get real-time translations whereas touring, edit photographs and movies utilizing AI, or use generative options to create sketches, there’s sufficient options obtainable on the S26 Extremely to swimsuit everybody’s wants.
That stated, if you happen to do not wish to use any AI options, you need not, and that is what I like about how Samsung arrange Galaxy AI typically. It is there must you want it, however you are not consistently bombarded by push notifications to make use of AI in each app, and that is good to see.
(Picture credit score: Harish Jonnalagadda / Android Central)
I get that the Galaxy S26 Extremely is not for me; it simply would not do sufficient for a flagship in 2026, and having used the Discover X9 Professional, Vivo X300 Professional, and Xiaomi 17 Extremely within the final six months, the S26 Extremely by some means feels stale. Whereas I am not denying that it’s a good telephone, it would not have groundbreaking cameras just like the Vivo X300 Professional, or the multi-day battery lifetime of the Discover X9 Professional.
However I do know that as a result of I used all the opposite Chinese language options; Samsung is not pitting the Galaxy S26 Extremely towards these telephones, and is as an alternative concentrating on the iPhone 17 Professional and Pixel 10 Professional XL — that is why Samsung can get away with iterative upgrades. The tip result’s that the Galaxy S26 Extremely is an honest selection if you happen to’re on an older Samsung telephone, nevertheless it might not be as thrilling as you imagined.
