Samsung Galaxy Unpacked live — Galaxy S26 Ultra and what else to expect

What about that Privacy display?

Okay, let's get into the Privacy display feature that Samsung is expected to unveil with the Galaxy S26 Ultra. It's not a secret. Samsung has been teasing it for weeks and recently released this short YouTube video that basically shows you how it will work.

In the clip, a subway rider is reading some spicy fiction, and other riders are reading over her shoulder, that is, until she enabled the Privacy screen. In the video, it looks like their view of the screen is now black. Samsung calls it "zero-peeking privacy" in the clip, and it's enabled with a virtual slider switch.

If that's how it works and it's really that effective, this built-in privacy screen could be a game-changer. Personally, I can't wait to try it.

We don’t scroll and tell | Samsung - YouTube

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Plugging the leaks

Earlier this week, X user @KaroulSahil revealed an early unboxing of an apparent Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra. He's since been posting photo captures with the device. However, one part of his leak has disappeared from his X stream: a reveal of one of the S26 Ultra's most anticipated features: a privacy screen. He showed it off in an X update, but now that the video in that post is blocked by a copyright holder.

In any case, it's not unusual to see these kinds of leaks, especially closer to a big reveal. Samsung is a global company with many global partners and, every once in a while, someone jumps the gun and hands over a pre-release gadget.

No idea if that's what happened here, but Karoul has quite a few images and videos comparing the Galaxy S25 Ultra with the potential upgrade.

If it's real, we like what we see.

Will we see the Edge?

I was at the last Galaxy Unpacked (held in January 2025), where the Samsung Galaxy 25 Edge upstaged the rest of the S25 lineup. The ultra-thin phone was positioned just beyond our reach. The S25 Edge eventually shipped in May, and while we didn't love it, this upcoming Unpacked seems like the perfect moment for Samsung to reveal a big (thin) upgrade.

Sadly, that is unlikely. Recent reports claim there will be no S26 Edge at Unpacked. In fact, rumored poor sales might mean we never see another Edge. Guess people want more in their smartphones and are willing to bear the weight of it.

Last chance

If there was any question that Samsung would reveal a collection of new hardware devices, that's eliminated by Samsung's ongoing (but expiring) offer for savings based on reserving the upcoming devices.

Sure, we don't know which devices, and even assuming it's the Galaxy S26 lineup, we don't know enough to assess if we even want them. No matter; if you are a big Galaxy device fan, a $30 credit for reserving one of the new, we're guessing, phones is nothing to sniff at.

Also, there's that much more enticing offer of a $900 savings based on a trade-in. Even without a trade-in, you can get $150 off when you pre-order said devices through Samsung.com.

Today, my friends, is the last day to realize any of these deals.

Samsung Galaxy: reserve your device and get $30 credit at Samsung
Interested in the next Galaxy series? You can already reserve a device over at the official Samsung Store. Not only will you secure yourself a device once pre-orders go live, but you'll also get $30 store credit in addition to any deals available, plus the chance to win $5,000 in a sweepstake. Signing up is free, and all you need is an email, so it's definitely worth considering this week.

You can also reserve at AT&T and Best Buy today

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The big picture

Samsung hasn't shared much about what it will unveil on Wednesday, February 25, but it has teased a little bit.

Last week, Samsung revealed a new camera system for its anticipated S26 lineup. According to a brief statement, Samsung will "unveil a new Galaxy camera experience designed to unify photo & video capturing, editing, and sharing into one intuitive system."

This means, in part, that some of the disparate AI capabilities will now reside inside the camera application and may offer a more seamless interaction between your photographic intentions and the final AI-influenced imagery.

Beyond that, we don't know much about the new devices. We expect a faster Qualcomm Snapdragon for Galaxy chip, minor camera upgrades, and not many (if any) design tweaks.

The biggest news will likely again revolve around AI. What that means for Samsung's plans for the already crowded on-board AI offerings (Galaxy AI, Gemini, Bixby) is anyone's guess – for now.