Samsung unveiled new phones and earbuds at its Samsung Galaxy Unpacked 2026 event, and the start of the show was the Galaxy S26 Ultra — which Samsung announced is the first smartphone to have a bespoke privacy display.
Over the past few weeks we’ve seen a bunch of leaks and rumors about the new Privacy Display feature, starting with a UI 8.5 leak earlier this year. Now that Samsung has officially unveiled the Galaxy S26 Ultra we can put all the speculation to bed — but we still have a few questions about Privacy Display, and we’re sure you do too.
We attended a pre-Unpacked event earlier this week at which Executive VP and Head of Smartphone R&D team, Moon Sung-Hoon, took to the stage to give us the lowdown on one of Samsung’s biggest smartphone upgrades in recent years. During the session, he answered five of our biggest Privacy Display questions — here’s what we learned.
1. It’s a feature users genuinely want
With Privacy Display, Samsung brings one of the biggest user requests to the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra. During the pre-Unpacked event, Moon revealed that “Research shows that 56% of our users perceive screen disability as a form of privacy invasion, especially when they are logging into banking accounts or chatting with others.”
2. It works using clever pixel-level tech
When Privacy Display is enabled, your phone’s display will appear as normal from the front, but becomes more difficult to read from a side perspective. So how is this achieved?
The technology uses two different types of pixels: ‘narrow’ pixels that emit light forwards, and ‘wide’ pixels that also emit light to the sides at an angle.
“If we turn the Privacy Display on, narrow pixels are primarily activated, while wide pixels are operated at a minimum level, limiting side-angle visibility while keeping front facing clarity,” Moon explained.
3. It doesn’t affect screen brightness
This all makes sense — but does this technology affect the screen’s overall brightness?
In short, the answer is no. Even when you’re viewing the Galaxy S26 Ultra with privacy display enabled, your screen’s forward-facing brightness remains unchanged.
4. Privacy display can save you from notification fails
One of the other perks of Privacy Display is that it’s not an all-or-nothing feature — it can be enabled for certain apps and not others. For example, you can enable privacy display for when you’re entering a password, or apply it to specific apps such as online banking or messages.
Moon explained that it can also be applied just to notifications: “When we watch YouTube together with our family or friends, if a private message pops up, it’s a disaster, isn’t it?” he said. “But the privacy display will protect only that notification area so others can’t read it. So our users can enjoy the best viewing experience without any concern.”
5. Privacy display will be the default setting
Rather than you having to rummage through your phone settings to find the toggle to enable Privacy Display, the feature will automatically be enabled in the Galaxy S26 Ultra. This way, you’re immediately protected from notification alerts being exposed. You can then change settings fro the feature to suit how and where you use your phone.
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rowan.davies@futurenet.com (Rowan Davies)
