I thought the Galaxy S26 Ultra would be modest just inside, not outside as well. My bad!

Galaxy S26 Ultra dummy models. | Image Credit - SaudiAndroid

I have to admit that I don't care that much about the color my phone comes in, as long as it's black (credit goes to Henry Ford). Also, I tend to prioritize practicality over design, but I still have some sense of aesthetics left in me.

For example, the OnePlus 15 is not what I'd call a premium-looking flagship by any means: that new camera island on its back screams mid-range. Here, take a look:



And now, compare that to the OnePlus 12 veteran in its glorious green color:



But we're not discussing OnePlus phones today: instead, it's Samsung time!

February 25 – the alleged Galaxy Unpacked event, when the Galaxy S26 trio would be presented – is approaching fast. With it, rumors start pouring in… heavily.

One of the recent leaks is about the Galaxy S26 Ultra colors. According to surgically precise leakster Evan Blass, these will be the colors for the maxed-out flagship:

• Black
• White
• Silver shadow
• Sky blue
• Cobalt violet
• Pink gold

This kind of corroborates earlier Galaxy S26 Ultra color rumors, courtesy of another well-known tipster, Ice Universe, who leaked four SIM tray color options:



Now, as we've pointed out, these might be the Black, White, Sky blue, and Cobalt violet options, which could mean the Silver shadow and Pink Gold hues might be online exclusive.

Notice anything big and bold missing from the picture?

Orange phone good

Yup, earlier renders included a cheeky, insolent orange hue – like the one Apple presented with the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max – for the Galaxy S26 Ultra:



The above option was widely expected by prominent tipsters, so I'm surprised to see it gone from the aforementioned list. Of course, some things can change in the coming weeks, but I don't expect a new, seventh color option to be added this late in the production cycle.

Also, given that it's not infrequently how Samsung takes the "monkey see, monkey do" approach with Apple, it's a bit puzzling to see the orange color option go. Why? Orange phone good.

It would be an exaggeration to claim that Apple's strong iPhone 17 performance in 2025 was driven by the orange color option alone, but consumer preferences can be unpredictable, and small design choices sometimes could resonate more than expected.

Samsung needs something bold

At the end of the day, it doesn't have to be the exact same orange hue that Samsung paints its flagship in. Hell, it doesn't even have to be any kind of orange in the first place.

But a bold, saturated hue is not a bad idea.

For example: I'm not an iPhone aficionado, but I can tell you that the spectacular Product Red hue will forever live rent-free in my head (or my heart, to be more precise).

I suppose it's true that flagships often come in subtle, muted hues because of who buys them: people who can afford such expensive gadgets often prefer something a bit more stealthy. It sounds logical. But Samsung doesn't need logic right now. It needs to come on top of Apple again.

But why?

The way I see it, a bold hue is much-needed, since the Galaxy S26 Ultra doesn't seem to be a revolutionary hardware upgrade over the Galaxy S25 Ultra (which, in turn, wasn't THAT much different from the S24 Ultra).

Early reports that the phone would upgrade to a slightly larger 5,200 mAh battery appear to have been replaced by indications it will retain the same 5,000 mAh capacity as before. Sad. While wired charging speed is expected to improve to 60 W, many other core specifications, such as RAM and megapixel counts on the cameras, are likely to remain similar to the S25 Ultra.

The high-end chipset (the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5) will surely provide faster performance, but the gains may feel incremental for many users, since the Snapdragon 8 Elite is already blazing fast.

Worst of all, the rumored display improvements, such as the new M14 OLED panel, could be focused more on power savings than visible enhancements (longer battery life instead of a brighter, punchier display).

If I have to be cynical about it, the Galaxy S26 Ultra boils down to three exclusive (rumored) features:

• A wider aperture on the main camera
• A Privacy Screen feature
• A bit thinner chassis

I'll finish with a comment from our Discussions (the topic is: "Will the Samsung Galaxy S26 series be awesome or same old?"), courtesy of user JewelyaZ:



How about you? Are the rumored colors too bland for your taste too?