Built-In Privacy Screen + More: Everything You Need to Know About Samsung's S26 Series

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(SPOT.ph) It's no secret that the whole world tunes in to South Korean tech giant Samsung's drops every year, whether you're a tech enthusiast or an avid Samsung user. It happens twice a year at their Unpacked events, and in case you were busy in dreamland at 2 a.m. on February 26, fret not: the first Unpacked event just wrapped up, but kept notes for you. Here's everything you need to keep you up to speed on the brand's latest innovations: the Galaxy S26 series and Galaxy Buds4 series.

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The spotlight of the first Unpacked event is always on the latest iteration of Samsung's flagship phone: the Galaxy S Series. The Galaxy S26 Ultra topbills this launch, along with the Galaxy S26 and S26+. For the earbuds, the Unpacked event also saw the unveiling of the Galaxy Buds4 Pro and Galaxy Buds4.

The Galaxy S26 series is said to be "powered by the most intuitive, proactive, and adaptive Galaxy AI experiences yet, " making everyday tasks simpler and more convenient, techie or not. They also did a cool new job at protecting your privacy, and we mean that literally with the Galaxy S26 Ultra's first built-in Privacy Display, which we'll dive into if you scroll on.

"We believe AI should be something people can depend on every day, designed to work consistently for everyone and without the need for expertise," said TM Roh, Chief Executive Officer, President, and Head of Device eXperience (DX) Division at Samsung Electronics. "With the Galaxy S26 series, we focused on making AI feel effortless, working quietly in the background so people can focus on what matters."

Let's talk about the look first. Like its predecessor—the Galaxy S25 Ultra—the S26 Ultra features rounded corners. It has the same screen display at 6.9", but the S26 Ultra is lighter at 216 grams (compared to the S25 Ultra's 218 grams). At the back, the most prominent difference from the S25 is the new glass camera island.

For the colorways, the S26 Series is available in four shades: White, Black, Sky Blue, and Cobalt Violet. If you get it from Samsung's website, there are online-exclusive colors like Silver Shadow and Pink Gold.

It's time for the most exciting part: specs. The Galaxy S26 Series is "built on the most powerful hardware on a Galaxy S Series." The Galaxy S26 Ultra, specifically, has a customized mobile processor: the Snapdragon® 8 Elite Gen 5 Mobile Platform for Galaxy. On the other hand, the Galaxy S26 and S26+ are powered by the Exynos 2600 customized for Galaxy.

You can expect a smoother, faster performance and richer, more fluid visuals and gameplay when using the Galaxy S26 Ultra, regardless of whether you're working on complex workloads or multiple tasks at once.

The S26 Ultra is packed with a 5,000mAh battery, which can get you up to almost a whole day depending on your use. It also features Super Fast Charging 3.0—which means you won't have to wait forever to juice up this phone. You can reach up to 75% in just 30 minutes.

The Galaxy S26+ and S26 have 4,900mAh and 4,300mAh, respectively.

Next up are the camera specs. The S26 Ultra boasts a 200-megapixel Wide Camera, with wider apertures for much brighter and clearer photos. Both the S26+ and S26 have 50MP. The S26 Ultra also has a 12MP front cam. Its Digital Zoom can go up to 100x, which can come in handy when you're miles away from the stage at a concert. You know Samsung's flagships don't play when it comes to shooting photos and videos.

One of the cool features of the new S26 Ultra is its first, built-in Privacy Display. No need to buy your own screen protector because this phone already has one—one that could also be customized, meaning you can choose which apps to conceal, like when you're enterng PINs, patterns, and passwords, even when you're accessing your mobile bank. The privacy levels can be adjusted.

Take, for example, the Partial Screen Privacy can limit visibility for notification pop-ups, while the Maximum Privacy Protection can shield your phone from side viewers more discreetly.

The Galaxy S26 Series also has the Call Screening feature, which identifies unknown callers. Hurrah for those of us who don't answer suspicious calls (or those who call first before asking or letting you know what the call is for).

You can watch the rest of the Galaxy Unpacked below:

Prices listed are according to Samsung's website.

Samsung Galaxy S26
256GB | 12GB: P58,990
512GB | 12GB: P72,990 

Samsung Galaxy S26+
256GB | 12GB: P74,990
512GB | 12GB: P88,990

Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra
256GB | 12GB: P86,990

512GB | 12GB: P100,990
1TB | 16GB: P121,990

Galaxy S26 Ultra, S26+, and S26 are now available for pre-order online through Samsung's website. We spotted the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra at P86,990 from P105,990 on Lazada.

You can also check more of Samsung's offerings online through their Shopee and Lazada pages. For more information and updates, check out Samsung Philippines' Facebook and Instagram pages.

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