Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra was launched in India with a price tag higher than its predecessor. The phone brings upgrades in almost all departments, including the privacy display feature, a hardware install to prevent shoulder surfing. We have done a full-blown comparison of the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra with its predecessor Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra to understand how big of an upgrade the latest model is and whether it is worth the increased price tag.
Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra vs Galaxy S25 Ultra: Price in India
The Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra is priced in India at Rs. 1,29,999 for the 12GB/256GB variant, Rs. 1,41,999 for 12GB/512GB, and Rs. 1,65,999 for the 12GB/1TB model.
The Galaxy S26 Ultra, which launched last night, starts at Rs. 1,39,999 for the 12GB/256GB configuration, steps up to Rs. 1,59,999 for 12GB/512GB, and reaches Rs. 1,89,999 for the 16GB/1TB top-end variant.
Across the board, the S26 Ultra asks for Rs. 10,000 to Rs. 24,000 more than the S25 Ultra's launch prices for equivalent storage tiers, though the S25 Ultra is currently unavailable in 1TB and other options.
Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra vs Galaxy S25 Ultra: Design
The Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra introduced a meaningful design shift from the S24 Ultra by adopting slightly rounded corners and a titanium frame in place of the older sharply squared silhouette. The Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra takes the redesign further by adopting a pill-shaped vertical camera island borrowed from the Galaxy Z Fold 7, and features even more rounded corners that Samsung says offer a better palm-friendly experience. Display bezels are thinner than the previous generation.
At just 7.9mm, it is also the slimmest Ultra model Samsung has ever made, shedding nearly 0.3mm of thickness compared to the S25 Ultra.
Both phones retain the signature S Pen slot and IP68 dust and water resistance. Both use a brushed aluminium frame with volume and power keys on the right side. The S26 Ultra feels like a more mature, slightly more ergonomic interpretation of the same design language.
Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra vs Galaxy S25 Ultra: Colour Options
The Galaxy S25 Ultra came in five standard colours - Titanium Black, Titanium Gray, Titanium Silverblue, and Titanium WhiteSilver - with additional Samsung.com-exclusive options including Titanium Jade Green and Titanium Pink Gold.
The S26 Ultra is available in Black, White, Sky Blue, and Cobalt Violet as standard options, with Pink Gold and Silver Shadow available exclusively on Samsung.com.
Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra vs Galaxy S25 Ultra: Display
Both phones share the same 6.9-inch Dynamic LTPO AMOLED 2X screen with a QHD+ resolution of 3120x1440 pixels and an adaptive refresh rate that goes up to 120Hz. Peak brightness on the S25 Ultra tops out at around 2,600 nits. The Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra pushes this to 3,000 nits, a meaningful improvement for outdoor visibility in Indian sunlight. The S26 Ultra also gains Corning Gorilla Armor 2 protection, the same as on the S25 Ultra, so durability is on par. The headline display upgrade on the S26 Ultra, however, is something the S25 Ultra simply does not have: a built-in Privacy Display, implemented at the hardware level, that shields screen contents from side-angle viewing. Once activated, it prevents shoulder-surfing from both the sides and the top and bottom. This is a first for any smartphone and adds a genuinely practical feature for commuters and professionals.
Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra vs Galaxy S25 Ultra: Processor
The Galaxy S25 Ultra is powered by the Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy, built on a 3nm process and featuring an octa-core CPU with two high-performance Oryon cores clocked up to 4.47 GHz. It was a generational leap at launch and remains extremely capable. The S26 Ultra moves to the next generation: the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 for Galaxy, also on a 3nm GAA (Gate-All-Around) process, reportedly delivering a 19 percent CPU performance gain, a 24 percent faster Adreno GPU with ray tracing hardware, and a 39 percent more powerful neural processor running at 65 TOPS for on-device AI tasks. Thermal management is also redesigned, with a new vapor chamber that improves heat dissipation by 40 percent. Both phones use UFS 4.0 storage and LPDDR5X RAM.
Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra vs Galaxy S25 Ultra: Camera
Camera is where the upgrade seems lacking. Both phones carry the same quad-camera configuration on paper - a 200-megapixel main sensor (f/1.7–f/1.9 aperture), a 50-megapixel ultrawide (f/1.9), a 10-megapixel 3x telephoto (f/2.4), and a 50-megapixel 5x periscope telephoto (f/2.9).
The Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra's main camera aperture is f/1.4, slightly wider than its predecessor, and the front camera on both models is 12-megapixel. The broader aperture on the S26 Ultra's primary sensor allows more light in, which should translate to improved low-light photography.
On the video front, the S26 Ultra is the first Galaxy phone to support the Advanced Professional Video standard, enabling visually lossless 8K recording at 30fps with efficient compression. Both phones support 8K video, but the S26 Ultra's APV support puts it in a different class for professional video work. The S26 Ultra also adds AI-powered camera features like Generative Restoration, Environmental Alteration, and Image Merging through One UI 8.5.
Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra vs Galaxy S25 Ultra: Battery and Charging
The battery does not see and upgrade as well. Both phones carry a 5,000mAh battery. Where they differ significantly is in charging speeds. The S25 Ultra supports 45W wired fast charging and 15W wireless charging. The S26 Ultra upgrades this considerably to 60W Super-Fast Charging 3.0, which claims to reach 75 percent charge in 30 minutes — a first for Samsung's Ultra lineup, which had been stuck at 45W for years. Wireless charging also sees an improvement, going up to 25W on the S26 Ultra. This is one of the most meaningful day-to-day upgrades between the two phones. S25 Ultra owners who wanted faster top-ups finally have a reason to upgrade.
Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra vs Galaxy S25 Ultra: Software and AI
The S25 Ultra launched with Android 15 and One UI 7, with Samsung promising seven years of OS and security updates. The S26 Ultra debuts with Android 16 and One UI 8.5, also backed by seven years of software support. In terms of Galaxy AI, the S26 Ultra brings the more expansive One UI 8.5 suite, including features like Now Nudge (context-aware photo suggestions), Now Brief (morning and evening summaries drawn from your calendar and messages), and an upgraded Bixby powered by Perplexity AI with multi-modal capabilities and a "Hey, Plex!" trigger. The S25 Ultra has received and will continue to receive Galaxy AI updates, but the S26 Ultra ships with the most recent iteration of Samsung's AI stack from day one.
Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra vs Galaxy S25 Ultra: Final Verdict
The Galaxy S26 Ultra is an upgrade over the S25 Ultra in virtually every meaningful category: a slimmer, more ergonomic design with a redesigned camera island, a brighter display with the world's first built-in hardware privacy screen, a faster next-generation processor with significantly improved AI performance, a wider-aperture main camera with APV-standard 8K video recording, 60W fast charging replacing the long-overdue 45W ceiling, and a newer software platform. It is the better flagship of the two.
That said, the S25 Ultra is no slouch. With post-launch price drops, it now sits below Rs. 1,20,000 on many platforms, making it a substantially better value proposition for those who do not need the privacy display, don't shoot 8K video professionally, or can live with slightly slower charging. The S25 Ultra's camera system, display, and day-to-day performance still hold up against most 2026 competition.
If you are buying new and the price difference does not concern you, the S26 Ultra is the phone to get. As a new purchase at full price, the S26 Ultra is the better buy.
