The Galaxy Ultra already had a scandalous screen. The Galaxy S26 Ultra directly changes the rules of the game

I don’t want to waste my time talking about seniority, but I’ve been dedicating myself to current technology and video games for more than a decade and I can say that, at this point, few things surprise me.

There are evolutions and functions that are cool, but on very few occasions it is something groundbreaking. Then Samsung arrived with the screen of the Galaxy S26 Ultra and its privacy mode.

And I tell you what it is one of those things that you have to see to believe.

In the first impressions of all Samsung Galaxy S26 We have already told you the essentials. The South Korean company has put a lot of effort into providing its new models with artificial intelligence functions.

According to their estimates, more than 80% of users see value in the features of AI and we have a call assistant to avoid the SPAM, agents who perform actions for usa photo editor to which we give commands with prompts and other functions that make more or less intense use of AI.

However, what I have noticed the most is something done so that you do not ‘focus’ on the screen of the one next to you: the new privacy screen. It is a mix between software and software that is explained simply.

Have you seen one of those tempered panels that are tinted so that they can only be seen from the front so that curious people can’t see anything? Well, that’s what the Galaxy S26 Ultra screen does. Yes with him S24 Ultra they introduced an anti-glare screen that worked very, very wellthey have now added another layer of technology and functionality.

The operation is simple and has to do with the pixel matrix of the OLED panel. We have pixels that emit in a narrow spectrum and those that emit light in a wide spectrum. When privacy mode is not activated, the screen lights up all the pixels, allowing it to look great both from the front and at any angle.

But, when we activate the new privacy mode, pixels that emit light in the wide spectrum are turned off. And that’s the trick.

When that happens, as users, we notice that the brightness drops a little, but also that we can only see the screen if we are completely perpendicular. If we start to tilt the phone, we quickly lose the angle of vision to the point that at 30 degrees it is very difficult to see anything.

In practice, whoever is next to you on the couch, on the train or on the bus, will not see anything at all on your screen. And this is great in terms of privacy, but also in terms of security.

Because let’s see, you may be thinking that it is ideal so that no one sees your conversations. Telegram or a mischievous eye that tries to take a look at the gallery or the bank app. And yes, it’s useful for that, but also so that your PIN or important notifications don’t get caught.

Because There are three ways to activate this mode:

• Activated at will in full screen.
• Activated when we run certain apps in full screen.
• Notifications only.

For example, I don’t care if they see my Telegram, but I don’t care if they take a look at my photo gallery. So I can set it to turn on when I open the gallery and turn off when I exit.

But, also, I can add another condition: When there is an app that asks for my PIN, it is automatically activated to hide the process.

And the truth is that it works like a charm: it’s fast, transparent for the user once we configure it for the first time and… you don’t see anything, really. I know it sounds very “source: believe me”but in the photos and video above you can see it in operation.

In addition, it is not tied to Samsung apps, but to anyone. And it also works with notifications, hiding only the notification bar at the top.

Now, it has a catch. You may have noticed that I said “the screen of the Samsung Galaxy S26”, and there is a reason: It is a technology reserved for the most expensive model. We already saw this with the anti-reflective finish of the S24 Ultra and it is a decision that I understood. It is logical that manufacturers save exclusives for their most ambitious models.

However, here we are no longer talking about a function to keep gossip away: we are talking about something focused on improving privacy and security. I think that little brothers should have it. What’s more, I think all brands should step up and copy this function.

It’s going to make cell phones go up in price, yes, but the truth is that I prefer something like this to cell phones that are increasingly more and more powerful and with more and more –very expensive– RAM for AI functions. From now on, this Samsung ‘invention’ has become something to which I am going to pay close attention.

And surely there is someone who doesn’t like anything: to manufacturers of tempered glass with privacy function. Because I have one from a very well-known brand and it works well, but it is a pain in many circumstances and, in addition, it interferes too much with the brightness sensor.

That does not happen in this Samsung implementation.

Photos | Xataka

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