Key Takeaways:
- The Samsung S26 Ultra runs a customised flagship chip with a 39% NPU performance gain, 24% GPU improvement and 19% CPU lift measured against previous Galaxy AI smartphones.
- On-device processing means most Samsung Galaxy AI features work without sending data to external servers, with reduced latency.
- Galaxy AI threads through the entire operating system, from lock-screen briefings (Now Brief, Now Bar) to camera tools (Photo Assist [1], Creative Studio [2]) to call handling (Call Screening) and on-screen privacy (Privacy Display [3]).
These days, artificial intelligence is everywhere. But somehow, your three-year-old smartphone still has you fumbling through menus and downloading multiple apps for simple tasks like editing photos or streamlining your to-do list.
Not on the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra. The Galaxy AI [4] features built into the S26 Ultra run across the entire operating system rather than sitting in a separate app you have to remember to open. (A network connection and a Samsung account is required to use Galaxy AI features.) What’s more, most of those features run on the device itself, so less of your data is sent to external servers and responses come back faster.
Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra
Here’s an in-depth look at the Galaxy AI features that you’ll get real use out of, and what makes the S26 Ultra’s approach to AI different.
A processor built for on-device AI
The Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 for Galaxy handles most Galaxy AI tasks on-device. That means AI and utility features respond quicker (since there’s no round trip to the cloud), and less of your personal data leaves the phone.
A powerful Neural Processing Unit (NPU) on the Galaxy S26 Ultra also handles on-device machine learning workloads. It’s a technical step-up, with a 39% NPU performance boost, 24% better GPU performance and a 19% CPU lift, as measured against previous Samsung Galaxy smartphones.
Battery efficiency improves as a knock-on effect, since on-device inference avoids the constant data transfer of a cloud-first model: the 5,000mAh battery goes from 0 to 75% in around 30 minutes using a 60W adapter [5].
Photo Assist and Creative Studio: generative editing at the source
Photo Assist lives inside the Gallery app and lets you alter images using text or voice prompts. You can transport a subject to a different location, change the mood of a scene, add new elements or blend two photos into one.
To use the feature, open an image, tap the middle icon (a starburst) on the bottom toolbar and either type the edit or describe what you want to do aloud. You can keep refining until the result is just right; the original will be preserved alongside the AI-polished version in your Gallery.
Creative Studio, accessed via the Edge panel, lets you choose from different AI-driven styles to turn your existing photos into professional-looking assets including invitations, stickers and greeting cards.
Now Brief and Now Bar: your day, surfaced on the lock screen
Now Brief pulls together contextual summaries from connected apps to showcase all the most critical information for your day: meeting schedules, travel updates, reminders, wellness information, weather forecasts, etc. It’s available in three versions: morning, afternoon and tonight’s brief.
The Now Bar pairs with this feature by showing live notifications for ongoing activities — like a sports score, an active recording or directions in Maps — on the lock screen and in the status bar. It’s most useful in moments when you’d otherwise be unlocking the phone over and over for the same bit of information (like a football match score, a recording timer or route updates as you navigate to a new destination).
Bixby and Automation: faster ways to ask (and act)
On the S26, Bixby has been retooled with stronger natural language understanding, so you can describe what you want in plain language rather than navigating menus.
Automation, found in Modes and Routines, lets you string conditions and actions together so the phone behaves the way you want without manual toggling. A few examples: set the device to switch to a low-distraction mode when it detects you’re at the gym, have the phone switch to driving mode the moment your car’s Bluetooth connects or drop into battery saver automatically when you fall below 20%.
Call Screening: filter the noise before picking up
That unknown number flashing on your screen is always a little suspect: it could be a recruiter calling with a job offer you’ve been waiting weeks to hear about, or a scammer doing a passable impression of your bank’s fraud team.
Call Screening uses AI to evaluate calls from unknown numbers and supply a live transcription of the caller’s intent before you decide whether to pick up. It works across more than a dozen languages and can auto-screen all unknown calls if you’d rather not see them ring through at all. Calls flagged as spam or scams are blocked automatically.
Privacy Display: a hardware-level privacy shield
When you’re on a packed bus and the passenger next to you keeps sneaking peeks at your screen, the S26 Ultra has a built-in defence mechanism: Privacy Display is a manual hardware setting for when you’d rather keep your screen private from prying eyes. (Privacy Display requires manual activation in your phone’s settings.)
The feature is triggered via the Quick panel or a custom side-button shortcut. When activated, it narrows the viewing angle of the screen so the people around you can’t easily read it. You can configure it to activate automatically when entering a PIN, when specific apps open, or only for notification pop-ups via Partial Screen Privacy.
The whole point of AI is to make things easier. On the Galaxy S26 Ultra, AI features are built into the device and straightforward to switch on, so you spend less time setting up and more time actually using them.
The Galaxy S26 Ultra is available now at samsung.com.
Disclosures:
[1] Requires network connection and Samsung account login. A visible watermark is overlaid on the saved image to indicate it was generated by Galaxy AI. Accuracy of output not guaranteed.
[2] Requires network connection and Samsung account login. Accuracy of output not guaranteed.
[3] Requires manual activation in settings to function. Privacy Display feature is not AI-powered.
[4] Samsung account login is required for certain AI features. Galaxy AI features are provided for free. Future releases may include additional advanced features that are offered as part of a paid subscription plan. Different terms may apply for AI features provided by third parties.
[5] Typical value tested under third party laboratory conditions. Rated minimum capacity of the Galaxy S26 Ultra is 4,855mAh. Typical value tested under third party laboratory conditions. Rated minimum capacity of Galaxy S26 is 4175mAh. Typical value tested under third party laboratory conditions. Rated minimum capacity of Galaxy S26+ is 4755mAh. 60W adaptor sold separately.
