I used the Galaxy S26 Ultra every day: Here are the real battery life numbers

By Victor Hristov · Review Content Lead

Published: Mar 11, 2026, 9:05 AM

Add us as a preferred source on Google Search

Follow us on Google Discover

This article may contain personal views and opinion from the author.

We may earn a commission if you make a purchase from the links on this page.

The Galaxy S26 Ultra sticks with the same battery size as in previous years | Image by PhoneArena

4

The new Galaxy S26 Ultra is slightly thinner and lighter, and I love this new design, but at the same time, I'm a bit disappointed that Samsung once again hasn't touched the battery. The company has used the same 5,000 mAh battery size in the last few years, while the competition has really stepped it up with sizes north of 7,000 mAh, nearly 50% larger.

But could it be that Samsung tweaked the efficiency of the software to improve the battery life? On its website, it says that the "Galaxy S26 Ultra is optimized to provide a long battery life for all-day use", and quotes the same 31 hours of video playback as the S25 Ultra.

But nobody watches offline video on their phone, so I decided to show you the real-world numbers with my SIM card in and just my typical use. That involves a bit too much social media, some texting, a bit of browsing and some photos. I don't game on my phone and in this period I did not use it as a hotspot. What I found was... well, read on to find out.

$579 ⁹⁹

$1299 ⁹⁹

$720 off (55%)

The Galaxy S26 Ultra has been announced, bringing a Privacy Screen feature, insanely fast processor, and multiple Galaxy AI enhancements. Right now, you can save up to $720 at the Samsung Store with eligible trade-ins. Alternatively, you can save $200 with Samsung Instant Savings.

Buy at Samsung

$649 ⁹⁹

$1099 ⁹⁹

$450 off (41%)

The Galaxy S26+ is here, bringing improved software and a more powerful processor. The device can now be yours for up to $450 off with eligible device trade-ins. Alternatively, you can get it with a $200 discount, no trade-in required.

Buy at Samsung

$499 ⁹⁹

$899 ⁹⁹

$400 off (44%)

The Galaxy S26 is currently available at the Samsung Store with an exciting trade-in discount. Right now, you can buy the model with a $400 maximum price cut. If you don't have a suitable trade-in device, you can get the model at $100 off.

Buy at Samsung

My Galaxy S26 Ultra Battery Diary

Day	Drain	Screen time	Mins per 1%
Saturday	54%	3h 46m	4.19 mins
Sunday	32%	2h 15m	4.22 mins
Monday	29%	1h 21m	2.79 mins
Tuesday	49%	4h 0m	4.9 mins
Wednesday	36%	2h 34m	4.28 mins
Thursday	40%	2h 39m	3.98 mins

*At the time of recording the data, the phone was at 100% battery health and 5 battery cycles.

First, you can see that I did not use my phone a ton during these five days. I only hit four hours of screen time twice, and both days the phone used around 50% of its battery. On other days, my use was even lighter, but interestingly, with that lighter use - the phone drained at a higher rate. Notice that on Monday I only had 1 hour and 20 minutes of screen time, yet the phone was draining at a much faster pace than the other days. It gave me just 2.8 minutes per 1%, while on other days it was around 4.5 minutes per 1%.

Four days of my Galaxy S26 Ultra usage in numbers

My S26 Ultra Battery Diary | Images by PhoneArena

And here is a breakdown of my usage. Instagram was my most used app, as I have an unhealthy addiction with Reels, but also I use the app for texting with friends.

Keep in mind that I used the phone mostly at home and at automatic brightness. Using it more outdoors with higher brightness now that days are longer would result in even lower battery life.

Average Screen Time: What the numbers say

When I average out my usage over these days, here are the numbers that I get:

Average screen time per 100%: 7 hours and 3 minutes
Average screen time per 80%: 5 hours and 38 minutes
42 minutes of screen time per 10% battery

In comparison, the iPhone 17 Pro Max that I used earlier scored over 9 hours of screen time, or nearly 25% longer battery life. Samsung definitely has a lot of catching up to do here.

And here is how the battery sizes have evolved over the years for context.