Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra First Look: Priced at Rs 3 Lakhs Ahead of Official Launch

In a development that has sent the smartphone community into overdrive, a retail unit of the upcoming Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra has surfaced online, ahead of its official release. This is not your usual rendering, dummy units, or prototypes, but a fully functional retail device, courtesy of YouTube channel Sahil Karoul, who claims to have acquired it in Dubai for over Rs 3 lakhs.

The video gives us a detailed look at the device, its architecture, software features, as well as benchmarks and other improvements. Here’s everything you’ll find with the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra, and what’s changed from its predecessor.

Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra Leak is available in Dubai

As per Sahil Karoul’s video, this Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra unit was already available in the gray market in Dubai. It appears to be an African market unit. Sahil says that the device was bought for around Rs 3 lakhs in the gray market, but that is not the official price. He also added that retail prices are expected to be close to the launch price of the Galaxy S25 Ultra, which was priced at Rs 1,29,999.

The unboxing video confirms that Samsung has continued the practice of removing the charger from the box. You only get a SIM ejector tool and a charging cable. Interestingly, the box mentions a 24-month warranty, suggesting that Samsung might offer an extended warranty on its upcoming flagship compared to its one-year warranty plan.

Design Evolution: Simple Frame, Rounded Edges

One of the most noticeable changes this year is the change in materials. Samsung seems to have moved away from the titanium frame used on the Galaxy S25 Ultra and returned to it aluminum of the S26 Ultra. On paper, that might sound like a step back, but the practical result is a lighter device at 215 grams, down from 221 grams previously.

The edges are also more rounded, softening the sharp, industrial feel defined by previous Ultra models. For some users, titanium carried a certain dignity, but ergonomically, shaving to reduce weight is often more important in everyday life than equipment bragging rights.

The IS Pen, however, is where things get controversial. To match the new round phone design, Samsung has also redesigned the font style. The result is a more targeted input method. The button side should face up so that the pen stays flush with the frame. Although technically it slides either way, putting it on incorrectly leaves a subtle misalignment that disrupts the seamless finish. It’s a small change, but long-time Ultra users will notice quickly.

In addition to that, the S Pen of the leaked unit is reported to lack Bluetooth support, which means that features such as air touch and remote camera control continue to be unavailable, despite many users asking for it behind the Galaxy S25 Ultra.

Privacy Screening Technology

The innovation that stands out in the Galaxy S26 Ultra is easily the new privacy display. On top, the phone carries what you’d expect from an Ultra panel, a large 6.89-inch 2K Dynamic LTPO AMOLED 2X display that brings the best of Samsung’s display capabilities.

But the real improvement lies in the way the screen behaves when viewed from different angles. Once the Privacy Screen activated, the content remains visible when viewed directly. However, it appears completely black on the sides. It is designed to prevent people from looking at your phone when you are on the train, bus, or any other public place. The concept is like having a privacy screen protectorbut with better implementation.

Samsung has also made the privacy display feature incredibly flexible. Users can enable full privacy mode to protect the entire display from side angles, limit the effect to sensitive notifications like OTPs, or even use it selectively in certain apps like the gallery. That means private photos or private information remain invisible to onlookers even if the phone is held in the open. If the feature consistently performs externally controlled demos, it could easily be the most effective and sensible display innovation introduced on a flagship smartphone in recent years.

Cameras: Telephoto Gets an Upgrade

Instead of separate camera rings, Samsung introduced a more integrated housing. The biggest noticeable change is new round telephoto moduleinstead of a rectangular shape, which suggests an improvement in zooming power.

This setup includes:

• 200MP Main Sensor
• 50MP Telephoto (5x & 10x optical zoom)
• 10MP secondary Telephoto
• 50MP Ultrawide

The first samples shared by Sahil suggest a shift to a more natural color tone, away from over-saturated processing. However, the 10x low-light zoom is reportedly where things get wild. AI processing kicks in immediately after capture, dramatically improving clarity and detail. As with Sahil, AI is completely changing the image in post-processing.

Performance: No Surprises

Under the hood, the Galaxy S26 Ultra is reportedly powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chipset based on TSMC’s 3nm process. It’s paired with LPDDR5X RAM and UFS 4.1 storage, a combination that puts it firmly in the top tier. In the benchmark test, the 12GB RAM variant won all round 3.7 million on AnTuTuwhich represents a huge leap in raw performance over its predecessor. To recall, the Galaxy S25 Ultra gets about 3 million.

Temperature readings from the video suggest that the device stays cool during normal use, hovering around 30°C, while extended stress testing pushes temperatures to around 44°C. Sahil also demonstrated a PUBG Mobile game, which was reportedly running on Ultra Extreme settings with 120FPS enabled. The Galaxy S26 Ultra has been delivering smooth gameplay without noticeable frame drops or stutters, says the developer.

Charging is Finally Fast

The battery capacity on the Galaxy S26 Ultra is reportedly unchanged at 5000mAh, but the real improvement comes in charging speed. Samsung has finally pushed wireless charging to 60W, up from the previous generation’s 45W limit. It may not sound like a change on paper, but in everyday use, the quick increase makes a noticeable difference.

Samsung claims the device can go from 0-75% in just 30 minutes, which significantly reduces downtime for heavy users. In a system that has historically been careful about charging speed, this feels like Samsung admitting that convenience is now as important as durability.

Galaxy S26 Ultra vs S25 Ultra: Changes Summarized

Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra: Launch Date, Expected Price

Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra will be officially launched worldwide Galaxy Unpacked 2026 edited by February 25. The device is expected to be priced between Rs 1.3 – 1.4 lakhs in India, considering the global chip and memory shortage. Samsung did not share any official specifications, hence many details are unknown, apart from the video in use shared by Sahil Karoul.

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