Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra vs Galaxy S24 Ultra: Expected differences

The Galaxy S24 Ultra marked a major pivot for Samsung’s flagships. It introduced a titanium frame, a fully flat display, and a revised zoom setup that replaced the 10x camera with a sharper 5x. While no longer sold new, it remains widely available refurbished at lower prices.

Samsung is expected to unveil the Galaxy S26 Ultra on February 25, which means we have about a month until we see the first big flagship phone release for 2026. This generation is rumored to deliver several long-awaited upgrades to Samsung’s top-tier flagship.

Leaks point to a brighter and more efficient OLED panel, Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chip, and faster upgrades speeds. Samsung is also rumored to add a “Privacy Display” feature and refine the camera system with wider apertures and improved processing.

This comparison explores what that two-generation leap could look like in practice. Will the S26 Ultra’s improvements truly add up to a big enough difference to elicit an upgrade for S24 Ultra owners?

Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra

6.8-inch

Quad camera

5000 mAh

12GB

$575 at Amazon

The Galaxy S24 Ultra modernized the Ultra look with a titanium frame and a flatter front glass, dialing down the Edge curve without sacrificing that boxy, Note-style silhouette. This year, Samsung made further adjustments by thinning down and reducing the weight with the S25 Ultra.

One important change that recent leaks have clarified is the frame material. Unlike the Galaxy S24 Ultra’s titanium build, the Galaxy S26 Ultra is expected to return to Armor Aluminum 2.0. This appears to be a strategic move to reduce cost and weight and improve thermal behavior, rather than a step back in durability.

The S26 Ultra isn’t expected to introduce any drastic changes. Rumors point to a body that’s slightly thinner than the current generation (about 0.4 mm), but the overall design of the body will probably stay the same. There were rumors saying that the S Pen won't make an appearance this time around, but that was quickly debunked.

Leaks also point to a redesigned camera housing with metal camera rings and a pill-shaped camera bar, moving away from the separated “floating lens” look of recent Ultras.

Materials and durability should remain flagship-grade, with Samsung relying on its updated Armor Aluminum 2.0 frame and IP68 protection.

Samsung’s OLED panels have been excellent for years, and the Galaxy S24 Ultra’s 6.8-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X was already strong thanks to its high brightness and overall image quality.

The Galaxy S26 Ultra is expected to move to a 6.9-inch display, matching the current model’s size, but switching to a new M14 material and CoE stack. This should reduce internal reflections, improve efficiency, and push peak brightness to around 3,000 nits.

I also expect Samsung to further improve the anti-reflective Gorilla Armor introduced with the S25 Ultra. If that happens, outdoor visibility should be even better, reinforcing the Ultra’s position as one of the most readable smartphone displays available.

One of the most interesting rumored changes is Samsung’s new Flex Magic Pixel system—a hardware-level privacy feature that narrows viewing angles using AI-controlled pixels. While this feature sounds impressive, recent leaks suggest it will not be exclusive to the Ultra model, as Samsung plans to bring the Privacy Display to the entire Galaxy S26 lineup.

The S24 Ultra's Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 had great performance for its time, but it was vastly outpaced by the Snapdragon 8 Elite this year. With that in mind, we only expect the upcoming Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 on the S26 Ultra to create an even larger gap.

Earlier rumors suggested that Exynos might return to the Ultra in some regions, but new FCC filings now strongly indicate that the S26 Ultra will use the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 everywhere. The documents reference Qualcomm-specific features and connectivity, which makes a global Snapdragon-only Ultra far more likely, while any Exynos 2600 action is expected to be reserved for the non-Ultra models in the S26 lineup.

The Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 is built on a refined 3 nm process with GPU (~30%) and NPU (~40%) performance improvements over the current latest Qualcomm chipset.

Compared to the S25 Ultra, this is shaping up to be an incremental improvement, but for S24 Ultra owners, the generational jump in CPU, GPU, and AI performance should be much more noticeable.

Some reports also claim that Samsung will be adding a new 5G modem, the Qualcomm X85. If so, we expect it to bring faster data transfers, better battery efficiency, and enhancements enabled by AI. The reports list peak download speeds of 12.5 Gbps and upload speeds of 3.7 Gbps.

Certification listings in China also confirm support for emergency satellite messaging on at least the Chinese variant of the Galaxy S26 Ultra, bringing Samsung closer to Apple in this area. It is still unclear whether this feature will be enabled globally, though.

Interestingly, new Galaxy AI features are expected to debut first on the Galaxy S26 Ultra, with older flagships like the S24 Ultra receiving them months later. This marks a change from Samsung’s more simultaneous update approach we've seen in previous years.

Memory and storage should feel familiar: 12 GB LPDDR5X is expected again (with faster, more efficient modules), and the 256 GB / 512 GB / 1 TB tiers should return. Keep in mind that Samsung often offers a “free storage upgrade” at launch.

On software, the S26 Ultra should debut One UI 8 on Android 16 and come with Samsung’s seven-year OS/security commitment, which is the same promise that keeps the S24 Ultra relevant deep into the 2030s.

There has been conflicting information regarding the 3x telephoto. Some leaks suggested Samsung would swap the 10 MP sensor for a larger 12 MP unit, but Ice Universe—one of the most reliable Samsung leakers—has debunked this. According to him, the 3x sensor actually becomes slightly smaller this year, not larger, as the slimmer 7.9 mm chassis leaves no room for a bigger module.

In addition to the main camera, leaks suggest Samsung is also widening the aperture on the 5x telephoto lens. This should help with low-light zoom shots, flare control, and more natural skin tones, enabled by the thicker camera bump.

Samsung made a smart move with the S24 Ultra by going for a high-res 5x zoom and relying on processing for longer ranges, while dialing back aggressive sharpening across the board. For the S26 Ultra, rumors state that we might finally see an upgrade to the camera hardware.

We’re expecting either a larger ~1/1.1-inch 200 MP Sony sensor or Samsung’s HP2 retained with a wider f/1.4 lens. Either route should improve low-light performance of the main camera and its high dynamic range. Plus, we would get the added benefit of a more natural background blur without turning the Portrait mode on.

Several software features are also expected: an Adaptive Pixel mode that reduces noise by merging multiple low-resolution frames, a new 24 MP default shooting option, a focus-speed slider for adjusting how quickly the camera racks focus, and a new APV video format with high-quality and low-quality variants aimed at improving detail while giving users control over file size.

The rest of the camera setup should stay the same: a 50 MP ultra-wide, a 5x telephoto, and a 3x telephoto camera. Samsung will likely keep the more natural color tuning it introduced with the S25 Ultra, favoring realistic tones instead of the overly vibrant look of older models.

The selfie camera will likely remain 12 MP but gain a wider 85-degree lens, which requires a noticeably larger 4 mm punch hole—the biggest on any Ultra so far. While the wider view is useful for group shots, it may introduce mild distortion when shooting at arm’s length.

One UI 8.5 code also reveals new video controls, including adjustable autofocus transition speed and video softness tuning. These tools could give users more control over the cinematic look of their footage and may remain Ultra-exclusive at launch.

Despite earlier rumors of a capacity increase, recent certification documents suggest Samsung is sticking with a 5,000 mAh battery for the Galaxy S26 Ultra. Any battery life gains are therefore expected to come from improved efficiency rather than a larger cell.

Faster charging now looks far more certain than a larger battery. Samsung has already listed a 60W PD 3.1 charger in its documentation, strongly pointing to a serious wired charging upgrade for the Galaxy S26 Ultra.

A new report claims the S26 Ultra may finally receive a major wireless-charging upgrade: up to 25 W Qi2.2 charging with full magnetic alignment. This brings Samsung in line with Apple and Google and would be its first wireless-charging improvement in more than five years.

Here's a quick overview of the expected Galaxy S26 Ultra vs Galaxy S24 Ultra specs:

If you’re considering an upgrade from the Galaxy S24 Ultra, the S26 Ultra should offer a compelling reason to do so. Even if it’s only a small improvement over the S25 Ultra, the jump from the S24 Ultra should feel substantial. You'd get a thinner and lighter body, a better anti-reflective display, a much faster chip, a more flexible camera system, and upgraded wired and wireless charging.

That said, the pricing still remains uncertain. Some leaks suggest Samsung will hold the S26 Ultra at around $1,299, arguing that the upgrades over the S25 Ultra don’t justify a higher price.

In fact,  Samsung has effectively confirmed that rising component costs, especially for semiconductors and memory, may force it to raise Galaxy S26 prices, with a senior executive openly acknowledging that repricing is becoming unavoidable; while the US market could be spared to protect sales volume, other regions are increasingly likely to see higher prices as memory costs surge and internal cost-cutting reaches its limits.

The Galaxy S24 Ultra is still an excellent phone today, so if the S26 Ultra does come with a price hike, holding onto your S24 Ultra might not be a bad idea. It comes with that titanium build, still has a great display, dependable battery life, and a versatile camera system. With Samsung’s seven-year support policy, it should remain secure and fully supported for several more years.