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You might think that with the number of leaks and early reveals of Samsung’s new Galaxy S26 lineup, the truth is… Samsung Galaxy unlocked The event will be just a formality. But seeing official announcements is different from deconstructing and analyzing rumors. Today’s event had its share of big news and some surprises.
Watch this: Samsung Unpacked 2026: The future of artificial intelligence has arrived (highlights)
Galaxy S26 Ultra
One of the expected announcements was the unveiling of the flagship Galaxy S26 Ultra. In fact, Samsung barely mentioned the other two phones launched today: the Galaxy S26 and Galaxy S26 Plus.
The Galaxy S26 Ultra is slightly lighter and thinner than the S25 Ultra, features the new Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 processor for Galaxy, has an aluminum frame instead of titanium, and includes new display technology, including a Privacy Screen.
The S26 Ultra became almost the hook of the announcement at the event, from the AI features to the camera technology.
CNET’s Abrar Al-Hiti wrote about it First hands-on experience with the Galaxy S26 UltraWe’ll follow up with full reviews of it and other S26 phones as we have more time to test them.
The S26’s ultra-private screen
Phone display news usually focuses on brightness and resolution, but Samsung Unpacked has revealed new technology that looks really useful in everyday situations.
Snoopy’s co-workers? The privacy display feature can thwart their nosy efforts.
“See” might be the wrong word, because the Privacy View feature lets you hide sensitive information on your screen. It’s like a sheet of privacy film that can be turned on or off and applied to specific apps and content.
When you turn on Privacy Screen, people who peek at your phone from the sides will only see a dark screen. Or you can choose to enable it, for example, when you use your banking app or send text messages. This technology isn’t just limited to a full-screen app, turning it on or off: You can configure it so that only incoming notifications get privacy treatment.
Narrow pixels focus light to reduce the field of view.
All of this is accomplished using a smart technology that Samsung calls Black Matrix. A screen’s pixels are usually designed to shine light at the widest possible angle for better visibility. With Black Matrix, some display pixels have physical rings that can narrow the range of light output and disrupt sideways viewing.
CNET’s Katie Collins thinks the privacy offer is the solution One of the features that sets the S26 Ultra apart Of every other phone out there right now, Missy Mayer looks forward to it Scroll in peace Away from the “surfers”.
Galaxy S26 and S26 Plus
The S26 phones that most people will buy have only gotten a few mentions, but a few things about them stand out, as CNET’s Patrick Holland explains in his article Direct look.
Samsung Galaxy S26 and Galaxy S26 Plus
The Galaxy S26 has a larger screen than the S25 it replaces, which means it’s a little taller and a little wider. However, it retains the same 7.8mm thickness, which Holland says makes it feel thinner overall. This design also includes a larger 4,300 mAh battery, which is welcome news; The S26 Plus includes the same 4,900 mAh battery as its predecessor.
Not welcome? Both phones are now $100 more expensive than the phones they replace, at $900 and $1,100 for the 256GB models. (The Galaxy S26 Ultra, however, maintains its $1,300 price tag.)
All new Samsung browser, including Perplexity
I know this comes as a shock, but Artificial intelligence featured heavily in Samsung’s presentation. Although much of the language is still couched in the future tense “you’ll be able to,” Samsung has shown off some practical applications for AI.
Samsung has introduced a new browser that has its core tied to AI resource Perplexity. Using the Ask AI tool, the browser can search for queries across all your browser tabs, and even your search history, to display the answers you are looking for.
Patrick Holland got more details about Samsung and Perplexity relationship.
Now push
Another AI tool announced at the event is Now Nudge, a feature that aims to feel like a simple personal assistant but not one that’s trying to micromanage your life.
Now Nudge is envisioned as a less intrusive personal assistant.
In the example provided by Samsung, when a friend mentions photos they’ve shared in a chat, Now Nudge can display those photos so they’re ready to share, instead of digging through your photo library to find them.
Or it can display calendar events related to a conversation: When a friend asks if you’re free on a specific date to go out to dinner, Now Nudge can display that day without leaving the chat app. According to Samsung, “It helps you stay in your flow.”
It’s certainly interesting to see at least partial acknowledgment of this Not everyone wants AI to handle every task.
Galaxy Buds Series 4
Not all phones were present at the Galaxy Unpacked event. Samsung introduced the Galaxy Buds 4 earbuds, which feature a new look and several internal changes. The tweeter design is wider, with 20% more vibration area for deeper, richer sound.
The Galaxy Buds 4 Pro come in four color options, including the new rose gold color.
CNET’s David Carnoy, on Review itThe $250 Galaxy Buds 4 Pro says it delivers premium sound with upgraded drivers, updated noise cancellation, voice calling mode, and top-notch transparency.
It’s available for pre-order on February 26th and begins shipping on March 11th.
A smarter circuit for searching
It seems like Samsung and Google really want you to shop for clothes using AI. The Circle to Search feature, which lets you select an item in an image and get more information about it, has been updated to allow you to select multiple items within the circle.
Use Circle to search to view all items of a person’s clothing.
In the Samsung example, you could circle someone’s entire outfit and it would select all the pieces… shirt, jacket, pants, shoes, etc. Do clothing stores see an uptick in sales with features like this, or is it just a good demo? We’ll have to see for ourselves.
Galaxy AI photo editing
Cameras are always a big part of new phone announcements, and while the Galaxy S26’s camera hardware remains largely unchanged (the S26 Ultra has wider apertures to allow more light on its main and ultra-wide cameras), the AI features continue to move forward.
Tell Galaxy AI how you want to edit the photo.
One thing that stood out was the ability to use AI to edit photos by providing voice or text prompts. This is what the company mentioned before the event when it teased the upcoming new “Galaxy Camera Experience”. In one example, the presenter showed how a cupcake could be fixed after a bite (with a not-so-subtle rebuke to an unnamed friend who dared to take a chomp before the photo was taken).
The upside is that people who don’t know how to edit photos or who feel intimidated by the different controls can request a result and let the AI engine create it for them.
Google offered similar features when it was introduced Pixel 10 Pro last year.
See Andrew Lanxon’s look What has changed in the S26 camera systems.