Samsung’s latest Galaxy S26 Ultra introduces enhanced customisation options, a privacy-focused display mode, and improved accessory flexibility, positioning itself as a more adaptable alternative to Apple’s iPhone 18 Pro Max.
Samsung’s Galaxy S26 Ultra is presented as a phone built for people who want more than a standard flagship experience. In Android Authority’s comparison with Apple’s iPhone 18 Pro Max, the key argument is not that Samsung wins on raw hardware alone, but that it offers a wider set of practical tools that change how the device behaves in daily use. That includes deeper customisation, a privacy-focused display mode, the S Pen, DeX desktop mode and a charging system that is less dependent on a narrow set of accessories.
The clearest example is Good Lock, Samsung’s modular customisation suite, which goes well beyond theme changes. As Android Central explains, it gives users detailed control over elements such as the lock screen, notifications, gestures, multitasking and audio settings, with modules like LockStar, One Hand Operation+ and Sound Assistant. Samsung’s own support material and newsroom posts also show that the app is designed to extend One UI rather than merely restyle it, letting owners tune the interface to their habits.
The new Privacy Display is another feature aimed at everyday convenience rather than spectacle. SamMobile reports that Samsung is building the screen protection directly into the panel, limiting side-angle visibility to reduce shoulder surfing in public places. Samsung’s support guidance for existing Galaxy privacy-screen functions shows how such modes can be enabled from display settings and adjusted for strength, underlining that this is meant to be a quick, situational privacy tool rather than a permanent filter.
The S Pen remains one of the Ultra line’s most distinctive advantages. It is useful for jotting notes without waking the phone, sketching, marking up documents and making precise edits where a finger is too blunt an instrument. Android Authority notes that Samsung has already removed Bluetooth-based features from newer S Pen setups, which reduces the accessory’s remote-control tricks, but the core writing and annotation functions still set the Ultra apart from Apple’s Pro Max line.
Samsung DeX reinforces that positioning. DeX turns the handset into a desktop-style workstation when connected to a display, with support for multi-window use, copy and paste, and multiple desktops, while keeping files and apps on the phone itself. Samsung’s charging setup also appears more flexible in practice: Android Authority says both phones can reach roughly 60W-class speeds, but the Galaxy is less demanding about which charger or power bank it will use at top speed, whereas Apple’s fastest results depend on more specific USB Power Delivery hardware.
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