The Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra could have a privacy-boosting AI trick built into its screen – here’s how it works

• The Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra could use a new technology called Flex Magic Pixel
• This would allow AI to control the pixels in the screen, leaving the contents hidden at certain angles
• So could allow you to view things you'd rather keep private, even while other people are around

The Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra could be the first phone to ship with a new privacy-protecting feature that uses AI to stop people snooping on your screen.

According to DealSite (via @Jukanlosreve) citing “industry sources”, Samsung plans to equip the Galaxy S26 Ultra’s screen with a new technology called ‘Flex Magic Pixel’. This feature would use AI to control the pixels in the screen so that the display is only visible from specific angles.

The result would be something a bit like the privacy-protecting screen protectors you can already apply to phones, which keep the content of your screen hidden from people who aren’t viewing it straight on. However, Flex Magic Pixel apparently wouldn’t have the same drawbacks as these screen protectors, which can often reduce the image quality or brightness.

So with Flex Magic Pixel you could keep sensitive and personal data to yourself, without sacrificing screen quality. This could be particularly useful for anyone who relies on public transport, as otherwise the people around you may well snoop on your screen. But it could be a reassuring feature for anyone.

And while we’d take the claim of this coming to the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra with a pinch of salt, this is actually a tech that Samsung has already shown off, so it exists and it would make sense for Samsung to bring it to a phone.

Multiple tech on multiple phones

In any case, these sources claim that the Galaxy S26 Ultra will be the only member of the Samsung Galaxy S26 line to get Flex Magic Pixel, but they add that it’s likely the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 and the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 8 will also get it.

In the same report, they add that the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra is likely to also have CoE (Color Filter on Encapsulation). This would mean removing its OLED screen’s polarizer and replacing it with a color filter – a change that could make the screen slimmer while improving color reproduction and reducing power consumption.

Samsung already uses this tech in its foldable phones, but so far it hasn’t yet been used in a non-foldable phone. So if the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra does have both of these screen upgrades then it could have some significant advantages over rival handsets.

We’ll probably find out for sure whether it has these in January or February, as that’s likely when the Samsung Galaxy S26 line will launch.

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