3 Reasons Samsung’s new Galaxy S26 Ultra is the perfect phone for city living

If you’re techy, the news of Samsung’s new Galaxy S26 series will come as no surprise. If your technical prowess halts abruptly at turning things off and on again when they go wrong, then it’s probably less high up on your radar. It’s also easy - technophile or technophobe - to get lost in the minutiae of chip processing upgrades, gigabytes, and aperture increases (no not the Harry Styles song), without being sure of the impact the upgraded features will have on daily life and usage.

After a couple of weeks of testing out and about on the mean streets of the capital, our Galaxy S26 Ultra is now a certified Londoner by proxy – it has been crushed by rush hour tube crowds, it has overtaken slow-walking people, and it has tutted at people who stand on the left on escalators. Sure, it’s slick, it’s smart, it boasts something called agentic AI, but in terms of day-to-day usage, these are hands-down its best features which make it perfect for the fast pace of city living.

1. Inbuilt privacy screen

Much like how Olivia Dean was the talk of the Brits, the new inbuilt privacy screen is getting most of the buzz on the streets – and in both cases, rightly so.

You might remember privacy screens as the thick, slightly orange looking slides people would stick over phones and slip over computer screens to stop nosy onlookers, but this isn't the case here. In a fairly groundbreaking piece of engineering, Samsung boffins have manipulated the inbuilt pixels to emit different light frequencies which means only someone looking directly at the screen can see what's happening. Anyone off to the side or looking over the top will just see a a black / darkened screen. So yes, someone next to you on the tube may think you're a bit weird for being engrossed in a blank screen if they're unaware of the feature, but it's worth it.

Because of how Samsung has developed the engineering with the pixels, it allows you to switch on and switch off the privacy screen whenever you want. A click of a button and it's activated. Boom. Wax on, wax off. Snooping, foiled.

Also instead of a pick-it-when-you-buy-the-phone level stuck-with-it feature, not only can it be flicked on and off easily, you can toggle it so it only kicks in for certain apps. Think: banking information, work emails, Hinge messaging –essentially all the stuff you want to keep just for you stays that way, but it means your friends can still easily see an Instagram reel you’re trying to show them if you want. Not content with stopping there, the best thing about the privacy screen is that you can tailor the privacy screen settings so that it works for certain notifications.

So, if – for example – you wanted to make sure your partner doesn't see messages from a certain other person, that can be easily achieved. And by that we obviously mean so they don't see any word about a birthday present, a surprise birthday present. Obviously...

2. Document scanner

Samsung Galaxy S26 / S26 Ultra - How to SCAN Documents as PDF - YouTube

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With zero scientific or social survey research to back it up, I’d happily (and confidently) wager that more homes have air fryers than printers in 2026 – at least for anyone under 35. The whole printer recession isn’t really surprising either given the increased adaptability of phones which pretty much eradicate the need for one. The days where you had to print out a contract, sign it, scan it back in, then email it back would make someone from gen alpha laugh. Now we can just drop an e-signature whilst the document auto-sends itself back to the original sender. However, the new document scanner from Samsung is a game changer.

There are inevitably a couple of occasions where you’ll find yourself whipping out your phone to snap a pic of some paper documents, be it a receipt you need to expense or a copy of a form. Samsung's new document scanner means you can create a digital version from a picture. Maybe it’s a sign that I’m leaving my carefree youth behind and heading to the sensible years on my mid-late twenties, but being able to upload a document, editing and annotating it just via the camera is ridiculously exciting (and useful).

The best part is that the Galaxy 26 Ultra uses AI to remove any thumbs or fingers in the picture holding the document in place, so the result is a fully digital version of your chosen papers without any of the background, fuzziness, or body parts that often get in the way. Also, the inbuilt AI sharpens any blurry text to make sure the document looks as professional as you'd need.

3. Horizontal tilt

Raise your hand if you think you’re a much better videographer than you actually are (reluctantly raises hand…). Samsung has made some pretty impressive waves with their Horizontal Lock feature already, but the Galaxy S26 Ultra is a serious upgrade. The Super Steady with Horizontal Lock on video mode is basically an inbuilt gimbal. This feature allows you to lock your video to a horizontal plane even if you’re moving around all over the place – including turning your camera 360 degrees.

You can wave the phone around like you’re doing a one-man macarena and the video won’t be sliding all over the place. Don’t get me wrong, it will move a little, sort of bouncing from side to side. Also, like most things with Samsung, it’s not a clunky feature that takes loads of set up and post-production editing reminiscent of Mission Impossible level CGI, it’s just one button that you switch on before you start filming and voila.

Personally, it really came into its own trying to film at a gig — when you’re getting jostled around by the crowd it manages to keep the video steady and focused so you don’t get vertigo trying to watch it back.

Honestly, if you were going to freak out about one thing (other than the privacy display) with Samsung’s new S26 range, it’s the cameras. They’re next level with features like variable aperture, nightography, and even new ocean mode, meaning you're essentially getting a proper professional camera and editing software jobbie in one slick little phone.

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