There Are No Bad Seats at a Concert With the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra
It even has a built-in privacy display—the first for any phone ever.
by Louise Lizan
Published on Mar 23, 2026
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(SPOT.ph) When it comes to your fave artist or group's concerts, there are no bad seats—so long as you're there and breathing the same air, that should be enough. The right phone will heighten the experience and make you feel as if you're in a much closer seat, too. Case in point: the Samsung Galaxy S Series.
Every year, the South Korean tech giant continues to take its customers' concert experiences to the next level. We already know that they don't play when it comes to shooting fancams with the insane zooming (up to a whopping 100x), stable mode, and yes, even its audio erasing features that do wonders for your fancams (a.k.a hide the fact that you bark during a bias' set. IYKYK)—among other stuff.
This time around, tried and tested at SEVENTEEN's NEW_ World Tour Philippine stop at the Philippine Stadium this weekend, the new Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra made shooting fancams better than ever. It's less of a battlefield and more of a solid experience focusing on one of the most unforgettable moments of our lives and having something more stable (as stable as you can be when you're jumping to "Aju NICE!") to look back on.
What is the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra?
The Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra led Samsung's first Unpacked event of the year, alongside the Galaxy S26 and S26+ as well as the Galaxy Buds4Pro and Galaxy Buds 4. The S26 Ultra is powered by the Snapdragon® 8 Elite Gen 5 Mobile Platform for Galaxy and is packed with a 5,000mAh battery, which got us through a full concert day and a half.
When it comes to camera specs, the S26 Ultra has a 200-megapixel Wide Camera for those brighter and clearer shots. Digital Zoom can go up to 100x if you're miles away from the stage.
The newest and coolest thing that the S26 Ultra has is its first built-in Privacy Display, which users can also customize, so you can freely use your phone without anyone beside you seeing what you're up to. Another concert essential feature, which I got to see in action during a concert where it's so hard not to shake from absolute fun, is the Super Steady with Horizontal Lock.
Thoughts on the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra
Having reviewed its predecessors—S24 Ultra and S25 Ultra—the S26 Ultra has gone through cool appearance changes. From 24 Ultra's pointy edges, the S25 Ultra and S26 Ultra have gone more rounded.
The S26 Ultra is lighter and features a new glass camera island; it protrudes from the main body, which gives it a slight bump and wobble when put, with the back of the phone facing down. It had us worried if it has an effect on the camera. But even then, the Armor Aluminum frame with the Corning Gorilla Glass makes it a much tougher phone than it looks and feels—if the phone can go in and out of my tote bag unscathed, it can be anywhere and still be okay.
It's still sleek, and the cool Cobalt Violet colorway adds to the premium aesthetic of the phone.
The Privacy Display is such a lifesaver, especially for someone who reads, err, spicy webtoons or manhwas (the ones that get it, get it) in broad daylight as I do. I'm also one to read fanfics and watch anime on the train, but am always scared of other people looking over—and, well, judging.
But in a more practical... general sense, it helps for when you're entering PINs, patterns, and passwords, as well as accessing your mobile bank. There's absolutely no need for me to twist my whole body just to hide my personal information. Arguing with your significant other? Your long messages won't be exposed to anybody you're with. Not based on personal experience, of course...
The privacy levels can be adjusted. I limit visibility on my OTP or Messenger notifications. But if I want to just cover my screen completely, there's the Maximum Privacy Protection option. If you're someone who doesn't want everyone else seeing who you're taking photos and videos of at a concert, say, your bias wrecker rather than your bias (which isn't really a crime), this can also come in handy.
Next up is the Super Steady with Horizontal Lock, which is your very reliable concert buddy. It will make sure your fancams are not so intensely shaking that you can't make out the person you're taking a picture with (which is a regular occurrence when you're faced with your favorite artists, in my case, SEVENTEEN).
However, the only thing I noticed about the Super Steady with Horizontal Lock is that it can only go up to 2x zoom, which can be a bit of a bummer when you're miles away from the stage—though being a bit far from your artist lessens the chances of shaking so much from excitement, so you won't need it that much, we hope. For reference, I was seated in Zone C, which is really far from the main stage. There are literally hundreds of heads between my seat and the stage.
Back to the Horizontal Lock. You can set it on whichever orientation you need first: portrait or landscape, then lock it by pressing record. Even if you twist your hands, arms... from vertical to horizontal, or even diagonal, the orientation will stay as you locked it in. It came in handy when I got tired of holding the phone in a certain way and wanted to switch in the middle of filming. It stays as is and is as stable and consistent when it comes to framing. Still, no stability feature can stabilize the chaos brough about by jumping to "Aju NICE!" though. You want to go all out or else.
The Nightography is no joke, too. There were low-light, changing background screens—in colorful and neon designs that can get a little blinding, no less—and yet my shots are vivid as they can be. I didn't have to use the 100x zoom so as not to compromise the quality. My shots look like I'm only 300 heads away from the stage, though it can only do so much. You can easily adjust the exposure as you shoot—you really don't have to be super tech-savvy to do that, either. But the Pro and LOG modes are there if you want to get really into color grading.
Speaking of the Pro Video mode, we get to choose which sound to focus on: the ones coming toward the front, back, or in all directions. We got clear videos, but also clear audio. Yes, there's an option to reduce and even erase other noise, say, you screeching like an animal in the background. But don't worry, there's still Audio Eraser for post-edit concert fancams!
The concert is about three hours long. The S26 Ultra was a little around 80% when I used it—around 5:30 p.m., a little less than an hour before the actual concert started. I used the S26 throughout the concert and still had 40% at the end of it. I even had the battery to go through all the videos that night (still on a post-concert high) and didn't charge until the next morning—it still had around 20%.
With the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra's zooming powers plus stable shooting capabilities, your concert fancams are going to be much more insane. It wouldn't matter if you're miles away from the stage or at the barricade, there would be no bad seats with the right group, the right phone, and the right settings!
Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra price in the PH:
Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra
256GB | 12GB: P86,990
512GB | 12GB: P100,990
1TB | 16GB: P121,990
Where to order the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra
The Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra is available online through Samsung's website as well as its official flagship stores on Lazada and Shopee, where you can also check out more of the brand's offerings. There are also online-exclusive colors (Pink Gold and Silver Shadow) available if you buy the unit on the website.
You can even get the unit in its 512GB + 12 GB for P81,990 from P105,990 on Lazada. On Shopee, the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra is up for grabs at P86,990.
Also read:
Bigger Cover Screen, Great Battery Life: All the Things We Love About the Z Flip7
Spot Reviews: Samsung Galaxy Z Flip6 Is a Content Powerhouse
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Louise is your resident "go, buy it" friend. When she's not dying her hair all colors of the rainbow, she's either playing horror games or taking mirror pics.