The Samsung Galaxy 26 and Galaxy S26 Ultra are polar opposites. Only a few things, such as the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chipset and One UI 8.5, tie the two models together. I’ve long been a fan of compact and thin phones; I spent my own cash on both the Galaxy S25 Edge and the iPhone Air, and I haven’t used an “Ultra,” “XL,” or “Pro Max” model as my daily driver in years. I’m not the target audience for the Galaxy S26 Ultra, but I can’t help but love it anyway.I used both the 6.3-inch Galaxy S26 and the 6.9-inch Galaxy S26 Ultra for weeks, and spent some time using the two models side-by-side. For the first time, the bigger Galaxy S26 Ultra offers enough upgrades over the base model to justify the larger footprint and higher price.