Phones · Scan SAMSUNG-GALA
Samsung
Galaxy S26 Ultra
The camera is the real upgrade. The $1,299 launch tag is not. Last year’s Ultra is already $899.
- Street price
- $1,299
- Comments
- 2,118
- Updated
- Aug 12, 2026
- Verdict
- Wait
Signal
Why this verdict
Launch-week 5-stars are sample photos. The 3-star cluster that formed in week six is heat during 4K/60 and sticker shock next to the S25 Ultra, which is now sitting at a $400 discount. Night telephoto is the only pattern that reads like a must-have rather than a nice-to-have.
Cluster · praise
What buyers repeat
Night telephoto is a step change
Low-light 5x and 10x shots are the most linked-to photos in 5-star reviews. Daylight samples look like last year.
S-Pen still unique in this price band
Note-takers and markup people are not leaving. If the pen is why you are in Samsung, that case still holds.
Cluster · complaints
Where the 1-stars cluster
Heat in 4K/60
A tight cluster after week six: throttling on long 4K clips, especially outdoors. Not a majority, but loud and specific.
Launch pricing vs. last year’s body
Reviewers keep pasting the S25 Ultra’s current street price into 3-star writeups. That comparison is winning.
Software processing still splits the room
The usual Samsung sharpening argument. Not new, and not a reason to Wait on its own — the price is.
Hold
What to wait for
The first real cut, usually October through Black Friday. A $200–$300 drop changes this to a Buy for people who want the telephoto.
Bottom line
Call
Wait unless night telephoto is the reason you are shopping a phone this month. The patterns do not say the S26 Ultra is a bad phone. They say August is a bad time to pay launch MSRP for it.
Affiliate link. Radar Review Tech may earn a commission if you buy, at no extra cost to you. This is a review-pattern scan, not a hands-on lab test.