Samsung’s midweek Unpacked event revealed three new phones and two pairs of headphones, but the real highlight, as usual, is the Galaxy S26 Ultra. This year, the Ultra actually features a bit of real technological innovation – and no, we don’t mean it folds.
Let’s talk about its new privacy display. This isn’t a glittery, hard-to-read holographic screen protector that constantly peels off at the corners; this technology is integrated directly into the OLED screen of the S26 Ultra.
Samsung Display unveiled its Flex Magic Pixel technology returning in 2024. The privacy screen of the S26 Ultra is built from this. It controls the direction of light emitted by the AMOLED at the pixel level, integrating wide-angle and narrow-angle pixel arrays so that the screen can switch between a wide-angle viewing experience and more private direct views.
While HP’s SureView technology is similar, the amount of customization possible is incredible – and we all have our phones out in public way more than our… HP laptops. It could be perfect for keeping prying eyes out of your banking apps, messaging apps, and even dating apps.
Otherwise, the rest of the S26 series offers incremental updates with better cameras and newer processors. This makes the base S26 and S26+ harder to sell, unless your current Galaxy phone is several years old. Plus, following the 2026 trend, they are all more expensive this year.
Be sure to check out our first impressions (S26 Ultra, S26, Galaxy Buds 4); reviews are coming soon.
—Mat Smith
The other big stories (and deals) this morning
Ambient Dreamie Bedside Companion Review
How much for a good night’s sleep? $250?
Ambient’s dedicated alarm clock offers many of the conveniences of your smartphone alarms: highly customizable alarm programs, a library of soundscapes and noise masks, and even Bluetooth so you can connect headphones. There’s no subscription, it sounds great, and sleep information is supposed to come. However, $250 is a lot. Check out our full review.
An AI-generated review of Resident Evil Requiem was briefly posted on Metacritic
By a video game news site owned by ClickOut Media.
Review aggregator Metacritic removed a review from Resident Evil Requiem because it was generated by AI. My city explained that the review was posted by a British gaming site Video playerbut appears to have been “written” by a fake AI journalist rather than a real person. “Brian Merrygold” does not appear to exist.
Author profile on Video player is just as clumsily written as the review, and the account’s profile picture also appears to be AI-generated. Literally, the file name includes “ChatGPT-Image”.
ClickOut Media, the owner company Video player and a raft of other publications, reportedly laid off staff at their gaming sites earlier this month to shift to AI-generated content. It’s here.
This article was originally published on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/general/the-morning-after-engadget-newsletter-144951777.html?src=rss
