Samsung has officially launched the Galaxy S26, Galaxy S26+, and Galaxy S26 Ultra smartphones with the One UI 8.5 at the Galaxy Unpacked event. It brings Privacy Display, AirDrop support, a new AI Perplexity agent, Creative Studio, and many more features. Galaxy S26 Ultra is the star of the night, receiving most of the latest features. It brings plenty of new features at its core, but the main highlights are its Galaxy AI features. The company has once again proven that it is ahead in the AI race with its exclusive AI tools.
First Privacy Display on Smartphone
Privacy Display on the Galaxy S26 Ultra is a new feature that everyone is talking about, and it is also the first of its kind on any mobile device. It allows users to activate privacy mode, so the display becomes invisible from side angles. Only users viewing it from a straight angle can see the screen; otherwise, it appears black. Samsung says that in public areas, it helps protect private documents, chats, personal photos, financial statements, and more.
One UI 8.5 Adds AirDrop Support
Next, in the One UI 8.5 update, users get the option to share content with Apple devices. The new feature in Quick Share allows users to send and receive content via Apple AirDrop. It is the first time both companies have supported cross-platform sharing by breaking barriers.
This means users of the Galaxy S25 Ultra can share files with the iPhone 17 Pro series. With the stable software release, this support will expand to more Apple and Samsung devices.
Further, One UI 8.5 introduces many new features that are currently exclusive to the Galaxy S26 series. Here is the list of new features:
Now Nudge
It is a newly added feature in the Galaxy AI tools. Like ChatGPT and Gemini, it provides smart suggestions to users on Galaxy phones. It can remind you about upcoming meetings by analyzing your previous chats or suggest images from the Gallery, so users don’t have to scroll through thousands of photos.
New AI Agent
Along with Bixby, users can now choose Google Gemini or Perplexity services on their Galaxy devices. Gemini is already part of the Samsung ecosystem, and this year Perplexity has been added.
ProScaler
The new camera function allows users to scale their images and videos with enhanced clarity by sharpening text and fine details. This feature is exclusive to the Galaxy S26+ and S26 Ultra devices. It does not support the base Galaxy S26 smartphone.
Enhanced Nightography & Super Steady Mode
These two features have been improved to deliver better results. Enhanced Nightography, with the help of AI, creates brighter and more detailed images and video footage in low-light conditions.
In video recording, Super Steady mode helps stabilize objects on the screen and generate smoother final footage. It also uses Galaxy AI technology to achieve this.
Photo Assist
With its upgraded version, it has become smarter in handling user requests. Just give it a command like remove an object, add a missing part, write something on the image, or change outfits, and it will provide the final result.
Creative Studio
Creating visuals from imagination is the purpose of the Creative Studio tool. With ideas and prompts, it becomes easy to bring creations to life in live visuals.
Document Scan
Samsung has improved the Document Scan feature to reduce noise and distortion in images. It scans important documents so users won’t get blurry results.
The Galaxy S26 series is now available for pre-order in the US, UK, India, and other major countries with a March 12 launch date. The starting price for the Galaxy S26 Ultra is $1099 for the 12GB and 256GB variant.
Furthermore, the One UI 8.5 stable version for other devices is expected to be released in the second week of March, starting with the Galaxy S25 series.
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