Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra looks set to sit out the brightness race

Samsung has typically used brighter OLED panels with every generation of its flagship Galaxy phone. Starting with the Galaxy S24 Ultra, the company has stuck to the same OLED panel, which can hit a peak brightness of 2,600 nits. For next year’s Galaxy S26, rumors suggest Samsung will move to a newer M14-series OLED panel, but don’t expect it to get any brighter.

The Galaxy S24 and S25 series use Samsung’s M13 OLED panels. While excellent, Apple’s iPhone 17 lineup and Google’s Pixel 10 have already pulled ahead of Samsung by using the newer M14-generation displays. Besides being more power-efficient, the new-gen panel allows the displays on the latest iPhones and Pixels to go as high as 3,000 nits.

Leaks indicate that Samsung will also finally switch to an M14-based OLED panel for the Galaxy S26. Unfortunately, leaker @UniverseIce says this upgrade won’t come with a jump in screen brightness. Instead, the entire Galaxy S26 family, including the Ultra model, will still be limited to a peak brightness of 2,600 nits.

That’s not necessarily bad, as 2,600 nits itself is already plenty bright. Plus, unlike the Pixel 10 and other Android phones, the Galaxy S26 Ultra will use Corning’s Gorilla Armor 2 or its newer version with an anti-reflective coating.

That is a bigger deal than an additional 400 nits of peak brightness, as it helps significantly cut down on reflections, leading to a better viewing experience.

Galaxy S26’s display will get other meaningful upgrades

Rumors also claim that Samsung will debut a new Privacy display technology on the Galaxy S26 Ultra. The feature will supposedly make the screen dimmer than usual when you’re in a crowded place to hide important information, such as in banking apps, hidden from prying eyes. It will apparently automatically enable itself depending on the content you’re viewing.

If the feature works as reported so far, it will be a far bigger upgrade than a brighter screen.

There’s another benefit of Samsung switching to M13 OLED panels. Since it consumes less energy, this will indirectly help improve the Galaxy S26’s battery life. With Samsung allegedly still sticking to a 5,000mAh cell on the S26 Ultra for another year, a more power-efficient display would be a welcome way to squeeze out extra battery life.