Samsung should drop the Galaxy Plus and make a smaller Ultra instead

Wouldn’t it be better for buyers to have the Galaxy Ultra’s benefits be more accessible? My take is that a $1,200 smaller Galaxy Ultra would be much more desireable.

What does that give you? Here are the main benefits of the Galaxy Ultra:


Now, with a smaller Ultra, you’d get a smaller display and likely less battery life than the Galaxy Plus, but the benefits outweigh the downsides by a landslide. Even if one or two of these upgrades don't tickle your fancy, then the rest probably will.

Apple and Google have moved on

The iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max offer virtually the same experience. Apple has not compromised the smaller Pro by any means compared to the larger one. It has the same processor, the same telephoto camera, the same cooling and just as much RAM.

Google recently did the same with its Pixel phones and introduced a smaller Pixel Pro model next to a Pixel Pro XL. The high-end models are already the most popular ones among buyers, so I think it makes sense to have more choices when it comes to the Pros and Ultras out there.

Unfortunately, in Samsung’s case things are still as they were ages ago. If you want the full Galaxy experience you must buy the largest phone in the lineup. Ultra equals big, but that seems like an outdated approach in 2026.

With the price hikes, a smaller Ultra makes even more sense

There has been a major shift in the business of manufacturing phones. Component costs have jumped—largely due to AI—and even companies like Samsung can’t (or don’t want to) protect the current prices.

Samsung kept the Galaxy S26 Ultra at the same price but raised the Galaxy S26 and S26 Plus by $100. That shift makes the lineup feel even more skewed toward the Ultra, especially when the Plus now sits at $1,100.

At that price, I find it harder to justify the value of the Galaxy Plus. Heck, it was hard for me to justify it when it was $1,000. If I am already spending four figures, I would much rather pay $1,200 for a smaller Ultra than $1,100 for a Plus model that lacks most of the meaningful upgrades.

Samsung appears to be steering buyers in that direction. This year, the company devoted far less stage time to the standard and Plus variants, while nearly all headline features were reserved for the Ultra (more so than in previous years).

At the end of the day…

A 6.3-inch Galaxy S Ultra would give buyers the opportunity to fall in love with all the benefits that come with the cutting-edge tech Samsung has to offer.

One of my favorite features on the new Ultra model is the Privacy Display, as well as the Gorilla Glass Armor 2 and its anti-reflective properties that came with the previous generation. If I want that feature, however, I am forced to get a large phone, even though I prefer regular-sized ones. This applies to all other Ultra-related benefits I mentioned earlier.

The Galaxy Plus used to be acceptable because it offered that lengthy battery life and big screen experience at a lower price, but it was at the edge of being too expensive. Now that it has hit the $1,100 mark, it just seems like a poor decision. Replacing it with a slightly more expensive phone that offers a lot more in return would be better both for Samsung and for buyers.