The Galaxy S26 Ultra is absurdly capable and absurdly priced

Samsung is nothing if not consistent. Every year, like clockwork, we get a new batch of Galaxy S phones. This time around, the lineup hasn’t been shuffled—there’s still the base S26, the S26 Plus, and the Ultra. The Ultra is the one that matters for Samsung’s bottom line, even though you could buy a perfectly capable phone for a third of its $1,300 asking price.

Let’s be real: the S26 Ultra is not for people who ask “is this a good value?” It’s for people who want the biggest, fastest, most feature-packed slab of glass and metal money can buy. And by that measure, it delivers.

The hardware is predictably top-tier. The screen is gorgeous, the build quality is immaculate, and the camera system is overkill in the best possible way. Samsung has been refining this formula for years, and it shows. The S Pen is still there, tucked away in its silo, ready for the handful of times you’ll actually use it.

But here’s where things get complicated: the AI. Samsung has gone all-in on on-device AI features, and the S26 Ultra is the company’s most aggressive push yet. Some of it is genuinely useful—real-time translation, smart photo editing, that sort of thing. A lot of it feels like features looking for a problem. If you’re the kind of person who ignores AI features on your phone, you’re going to be annoyed by how much of the setup and marketing revolves around them.

And that’s the thing. The S26 Ultra is overflowing with features, but it can be a bit much. It’s a phone that demands you engage with it on its own terms. If you just want a phone that makes calls, sends texts, and takes good pictures, you’re going to feel like you’re paying for a lot of stuff you don’t want.

Still, there’s an argument to be made that this phone is actually a good value in the long run. Component prices are going up across the board, and other manufacturers are starting to scale back on features or raise prices. Samsung offers long software support, and the hardware is built to last. In a few years, when the $800 phone of today is struggling to keep up, the S26 Ultra will still be humming along.

But that’s a bet on the future, not a recommendation for today. Today, the S26 Ultra is a fantastic phone for people who want the absolute best and don’t mind paying for it. For everyone else, the S26 or S26 Plus is probably the smarter buy.

Honestly, I’m torn. I respect what Samsung has built here. It’s a technical achievement. But I can’t help feeling like the phone is trying too hard. It’s like a Swiss Army knife with fifty tools when you only need a bottle opener. It’s impressive, but also exhausting.