Samsung released a video showing off the privacy display technology that will be installed on the Galaxy S26 Ultra. This feature can darken certain parts of the screen, such as notification pop-ups, as well as dim the entire display when someone is looking at it from a certain angle.
Rumors have been circulating since August last year that Samsung's next-generation Galaxy S26 Ultra may feature built-in privacy screen protection. At the end of January this year, Samsung confirmed these reports and announced that it would launch a new privacy protection layer to prevent others from "peeping over the shoulder" to view the screen content.
Currently, there are two trailers showcasing this technology. The first clip is an official commercial played on YouTube. In the video, a woman is reading a provocative-sounding novel on the subway. The man next to her seems interested, so she activates the zero-peeping privacy switch. The video ends by asking "Can your phone do it?" and reveals the launch date of February 25, when the Galaxy S26 series will take center stage.
Another video posted to Platform X by tipster Ice Universe shows off the feature's ability to hide specific parts of the screen from a side angle. In this demo, what is hidden is the pop-up notification that shows part of the message content. The tipster revealed that the Galaxy S26 Ultra’s privacy screen goes far beyond the global privacy mode. It also supports partial and localized privacy controls, which can apply privacy protection only to specific parts of the screen (such as message notifications).
Privacy filters are nothing new—third-party screen protectors that perform this function have been around for a long time, and HP also has Sure View, an integrated, button-activated screen filter that darkens the screen for people viewing from the side.
Samsung's approach is slightly different. In addition to the advantages of being integrated into a phone, it uses what Samsung Display calls a Flex Magic Pixel OLED panel. This allows the viewing angle to be adjusted on a pixel-by-pixel basis, so only part of the screen appears black.
Samsung Display previously said that the Flex Magic Pixel can sync with artificial intelligence to adjust security levels based on open apps, so if it recognizes that a banking app is being used in a public place, security features will be automatically enabled.
As a high-end feature, Flex Magic may be exclusive to the S26 Ultra. The phone is expected to improve upon the specs of the current Ultra series, with a larger 6.9-inch screen, slimmer bezels, and a slimmer body, while maintaining a familiar design.
Samsung's next-generation flagship may be powered by the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 processor, equipped with up to 16GB of memory, and equipped with a 200-megapixel main camera with an upgraded telephoto zoom and high-resolution ultra-wide-angle lens. Battery capacity is expected to remain around 5,000 mAh, but there are rumors of faster wired charging and improved wireless charging. The phone will run Android 16 with One UI 8.5 and is expected to emphasize AI features, performance improvements, and camera improvements rather than a major redesign.