Some people will tell you that every modern phone looks like a glass rectangle with camera bulges. You can’t blame them for taking that approach in some cases, but some lineups have to stand out from the crowd. Samsung Galaxy Ultra phones have long been one of those phones that come with a big screen for Android, the S Pen, and a design that should stand out across the room. But is there becoming too much of a mix in the Ultra series? We recently made that case, and we want to know if you agree.
We expressed your feelings through a poll in an article by Shimul Sood, who argued that the Galaxy S24 Ultra may be Samsung’s last true Galaxy Ultra to date. His main point was about identity: the S24 Ultra still had that sharp, boxy, Note-like silhouette that made it instantly recognizable and clearly distinguishable from the regular Galaxy S line. He argued that the new Galaxy S25 Ultra and Galaxy S26 Ultra have softened the design and made the Ultra feel less like a true standapart model in the series. As he said, the latest S26 models “look less like siblings, more like triplets that differ only in size.” He also points out the lack of Bluetooth features on the S Pen and Samsung’s continued use of a 5,000mAh battery, but his main point is that the Ultra line will no longer feel as ultra as it once did.
Thousands of you voted in the poll and as it turns out, you agree.
As the pie chart above shows, more than three-fourths of you seem to agree with Shimul’s view. Nearly 79% of respondents said the S26 series now looks the same, with only 13.5% believing the Ultra line is evolving. Just under 8% of people think the Galaxy S Ultra phones never had a strong identity to begin with – is that you, Tim Cook?
Samsung’s design team is unlikely to read this article, and even if they did, they would probably shrug. The Galaxy S26 series reportedly broke preorder records in South Korea, with 1.35 million units ordered in a week, and 70% of those preorders were accounted for by the Ultra. Just recently, we learned that Samsung had reportedly moved up its production plans for the S26 Ultra in May. We may be missing the old Ultra swagger, but Samsung isn’t really being punished on the bottom line, so there’s little incentive for the brand to change course.
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Comments largely support the survey results, with most of the pushback aimed at downgrading the S Pen and making Samsung’s new Ultra design feel less distinctive. Many readers said they stuck with older models like the S23 Ultra, S24 Ultra, or even the Note 20 Ultra for this very reason. Reader davidac88 summed up the S Pen issue simply: “The loss of Bluetooth on the S Pen is a deal breaker.” Another reader said they stuck with the S23 Ultra after trying the S25 Ultra because of “the Bluetooth stylus and size,” adding that they wouldn’t be interested in it until the Bluetooth stylus came back.
The design came across almost identically, especially from readers who miss the wider, boxier Note-style shape. Some argued that the new phone was easier to hold, but this was not universally seen as a win. Reader GusFiguerola was particularly candid, saying: “Is the new model easy to get hold of? I don’t care.” Others raised a broader issue that Samsung’s Ultra phones no longer feel like the most ambitious Android phones, with Lamar arguing that Samsung used to offer the best cameras and battery life, but now “all Chinese Android phones have better cameras and bigger batteries.”
Are the new models easy to get hold of? I don’t care. – Comment by GasFiguerola
There was some disagreement. Some readers felt that the S25 Ultra or the newer models are better overall, with Gianluca Daniele Di Maggio calling the S25 Ultra “much better” apart from the loss of Bluetooth S Pen support and arguing that “refinement is the name of the game.” Another reader said they were likely upgrading to the S26 Ultra anyway because the camera was the only thing they really cared about. Nevertheless, the dissenting comments were more from readers who either felt attached to the old Ultra identity or did not see enough reason to move on from the S23 or S24 Ultra.
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