This article may contain personal views and opinion from the author.
The Galaxy S26 series is allegedly launching at the end of February, and even though I'm quite excited about the new S26 Ultra, there are three mandatory features that I would need to even consider getting one.
Now, the Galaxy S26 Ultra is expected to bring some interesting upgrades on board, such as the built-in privacy layer over the screen and the new larger aperture camera lenses. Nevertheless, there are much more important features that are still missing.
This is my list of the top three features that will make me instantly buy the Galaxy S26 Ultra.
Bigger battery
The Honor Power 2 launched in China with a 10,080 mAh battery | Image by Honor
Granted, rumor has it that the new Galaxy S26 Ultra will have faster charging speeds—supporting up to 60W of power and charging the battery from zero to 50% in just 15 minutes. But here's the catch. This number looks impressive because the Galaxy S26 Ultra is expected to have the same 5,000 mAh battery as its predecessor. And the model before. And the one before that.
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In this smartphone day and age, 5,000 mAh doesn’t cut it anymore. It’s not the huge capacity it used to be, and of course, this battery will charge faster with 60W charging support, having stayed the same for years and years.
It seems that Samsung is stuck in the past when it comes to battery tech, while Chinese brands are pumping out silicon-carbon batteries with capacities pushing 10,000 mAh. Samsung is working on its solid-state batteries and may or may not get them into wearables by the end of 2026 (most optimistic prognosis), but there's no hope for the Galaxy S26 Ultra to feature a solid-state battery.
My daily driver at the moment is a phone with a 7,500 mAh battery, and I'm spoiled with two-day battery life as a standard. For the Galaxy S26 Ultra to catch my eye, the phone has to sport at least a 6,000 mAh silicon-carbon cell. Sadly, that’s highly unlikely.
Better camera system
The camera system of the Galaxy S26 Ultra could use some tweaking | Image by PhoneArena
Bear with me on this one. I know that the Galaxy Ultra series are up there with the best camera phones, but there's a better way to do it, in my opinion. The 3X dedicated telephoto camera is a bit redundant on the Ultra, and the phone would be a much better device with a 200MP periscope zoom camera.
The Galaxy S26 Ultra is expected to sport the same sensors as its predecessor—a 200MP main camera, a 50MP periscope telephoto with 5X optical zoom, a 50MP ultrawide, and a 10MP 3X non-periscope telephoto.
Do we really need a separate 3X telephoto lens? You can already get good 2X crops from the huge 200MP main sensor, and removing the smallish 10MP telephoto would make room for a larger sensor for the big periscope camera.
Other camera phones, such as the Vivo X200 Ultra and Xiaomi 15 Ultra, already sport 200MP telephoto cameras. Not only does it result in better detail on the 5X optical zoom shots, but it also allows for 10X optical-like hybrid crop shots.
The 10MP 3X telephoto seems like a remnant from the past, and it has no place on the Galaxy S26 Ultra, in my opinion. Give me a 200MP main camera and a 200MP periscope telephoto, and I'll be happy.
Better software/One UI is a mess
I would prefer a cleaner UI on the Galaxy S26 Ultra | Image by PixaBay"
Another fringe opinion here, but I've never ever liked One UI (even before it became One UI). To me it's a needlessly complex, clunky, odd, and sometimes plain glitchy interface. To be frank, One UI is the biggest reason to avoid Samsung phones.
Samsung is always tinkering with One UI, and even if you get used to the sometimes strange way things work, it completely changes in the next iteration.
The Notifications and Quick Panel have changed in One UI 7, and they are separate by default. The widgets and icon design have changed, and it all looks to me like Samsung is trying to make Android look like iOS.
It might be just me (although there are users complaining on Reddit), but I find it very annoying, and the execution is far from perfect. I wish the Galaxy S26 Ultra would bring a much cleaner and simpler interface prioritizing efficiency and not eye candy. After all, the Galaxy Ultra was always the "business" model that was tailored toward maximum productivity.
I know this one is down to personal preference—I enjoy cleaner, less convoluted and graphic-heavy interfaces. I think a device such as the Galaxy S26 Ultra would benefit from a more minimalistic and clean UI.
Conclusion
Samsung needs to up its game in order to return to the top | Image by Steve H.McFly
The Galaxy S26 Ultra launch is just around the corner, and this article is more of a "what would've been" piece. I'm pretty sure I won't get a 200MP telephoto and a 6,000 mAh battery on this model, let alone a separate, cleaner UI.
Mariyan, a tech enthusiast with a background in Nuclear Physics and Journalism, brings a unique perspective to PhoneArena. His childhood curiosity for gadgets evolved into a professional passion for technology, leading him to the role of Editor-in-Chief at PCWorld Bulgaria before joining PhoneArena. Mariyan's interests range from mainstream Android and iPhone debates to fringe technologies like graphene batteries and nanotechnology. Off-duty, he enjoys playing his electric guitar, practicing Japanese, and revisiting his love for video games and Haruki Murakami's works.
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