Samsung somehow made the Galaxy S26 Ultra look pretty cool despite the outdated design
The returning camera island and the rounder edges had me worried that the Galaxy S26 Ultra would look very outdated, but it seems Samsung worked its magic in the end.
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A real-world look at the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra. | Image by Sahil Karoul
It’s here, folks, our first-ever look at the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra in in the flesh, or metal. And, despite the return of the camera bump on the rear to accommodate the new aperture, the phone still actually looks pretty modern.
When renders and dummy units of the S26 Ultra leaked some time back, I thought that the phone looked very outdated. The camera bump took me back years and its Pixel 10 and iPhone 17 Pro rivals started to look a lot more aesthetic.
Now that I’ve seen one in action, even if it is on video, I admit that Samsung still managed to deliver a decent-looking flagship phone.
Why is the camera bump back?
Apple made the camera bump bigger and Samsung brought it back from the dead. | Image by Sahil Karoul
But why is the camera bump back in the first place? The Galaxy S25 Ultra looked great with just the embedded cameras in its back, why would Samsung change that?
According to reports, the company made this decision so that it could introduce a wider aperture in the back while still slimming down the phone even more than the Galaxy S25 Ultra. This new aperture will allow more light to hit the camera, allowing it to work with more visual data and outputting much clearer photos, even in low-light environments.
The Galaxy S26 Ultra on the left has slightly rounder edges. | Image by Sahil Karoul
Apart from the camera bump, the Galaxy S26 Ultra continues a trend that its predecessor started, except the new phone takes it even further.
The Galaxy S25 Ultra ditched the boxy sharp edges that made Samsung’s flagship phones stand out in a crowd. I was pretty bummed about that too, but the S25 Ultra still managed to look very modern. Then reports came in about how the S26 Ultra would have even rounder edges.
And it does. In fact, Samsung has had to change the design of the S Pen so that it sits flush with the phone’s chassis. However, the phone still doesn’t look as round as the iPhone 17 series. Fortunately, the S26 Ultra still manages to cling onto its Galaxy identity, so that’s another point in its favor.
What do you think the Galaxy S26 Ultra does best?
That camera bump is done brilliantly
The Galaxy S26 Ultra can look really good. | Image by Sahil Karoul
But now we get to the most important factor because of which I no longer think that the phone looks outdated: how Samsung has implemented the new camera bump.
Renders did not do it justice, because the camera bump isn’t nearly as protrusive as it first appeared. Yes, it does jut out quite a fair bit, but it doesn’t look that unsightly. The fact that the bump isn’t as huge as the renders made it seem also helps matters greatly.
Reserve your Galaxy S26 at the official store
Samsung has launched its much-awaited Galaxy S26 reservations. Pre-securing a unit straight away gives you a $30 Samsung credit, a chance to win a $5,000 sweepstake, and pre-order savings of up to $900.
In fact, with the way that Samsung has placed the cameras inside the bump, with their silver edges barely sticking out, the S26 Ultra actually manages to look like a phone from this year. And that, to me, comes as a very welcome surprise.
Galaxy S26 Ultra has one letdown, though
Galaxy S26 Ultra with other phones. | Image by Sahil Karoul
It’s not all perfect, of course. But then again, nothing ever really is. If there’s one thing I found a bit disappointing in that hands-on video, it’s the color of the phone.
Multiple reports had claimed that the white color option this year for the Galaxy S26 series would be stunningly bright, but this doesn’t look any different to any other phone of the same color. Admittedly, you can’t really tell everything from just a video, but the phone was also pictured alongside other phones and it didn’t really stand out for its shade.
The leaked Galaxy S26 Ultra renders also show a very pretty white option for Samsung’s newest phones, but I just don’t see that here. And, given that Cobalt Violet already looks pretty dull just from the renders, I think that we can safely assume that Samsung isn’t doing anything particularly exciting this year with the colors. I mean, the Galaxy S26 Ultra only has two colors for online purchases. Fortunately, Apple is doing something exciting with a red color for the iPhone 18 Pro.
The privacy display also looked a bit underwhelming to me in the hands-on video, but that’s most definitely going to look better in person. I’m just glad that the Galaxy S26 Ultra doesn’t look like it’s from 2020 or something, but I’d still prefer it if Samsung ditched the camera island again. Especially if it’s considering bringing back the variable aperture on the Galaxy S27 Ultra.
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Abdullah loves smartphones, Virtual Reality, and audio gear. Though he covers a wide range of news his favorite is always when he gets to talk about the newest VR venture or when Apple sets the industry ablaze with another phenomenal release.
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