3 reasons why I upgraded my Galaxy S23 to the S26 Ultra

Fewer and fewer people are upgrading to new phones every year, and honestly, I understand that. I have been using the Samsung Galaxy S23 since October 2023 and it has been a powerful experience. I’ve rarely felt it slow down, and while there are occasional hiccups, it’s not enough to make me dislike the phone.

I recently had a chance to try it though Galaxy S26 Ultraand the Samsung store offering a solid buy for my Galaxy S23, I finally decided to upgrade after about 2.5 years. I’ve been using the Galaxy S26 Ultra for the past few weeks, and there are three key changes that make the switch totally worth it.

Key feature of Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra new Privacy Screen. For those who don’t know, this feature helps prevent people around you from looking at your screen. You can technically get something similar with a privacy screen protector, but Samsung has integrated it right into the screen, which is something we’ve never seen before.

You can turn Privacy Screen on or off whenever you want. So if I’m watching something with someone next to me, like a video with my wife, I can turn it off and the screen goes back to the sides. But when I’m on the train and don’t want others looking at my screen, I can turn it on and limit the viewing angles.

In fact, Privacy Screen works really well. Of course, it’s not as effective as a dedicated privacy screen saver, as some content is still slightly visible from extreme angles, but the implementation is truly remarkable. You can keep the screen looking normal most of the time and activate the feature only for special situations.

For example, I set it to automatically activate for apps like WhatsApp and Messages, when entering a PIN or password, and for notification popups. Only these special elements are hidden, everything else appears as a normal display. This level of control made me really appreciate this feature.

Of course, Privacy Screen isn’t perfect. There’s still some leakage from certain angles, and the “maximum privacy mode” makes the screen really difficult to use. But for a first-gen app, Samsung did a great job. I’m already a fan of the hardware-level approach, and I’m sure it will only get better in future versions. But even now, the Privacy Screen is a huge improvement over my Galaxy S23.

While most Galaxy phones now come with long-term software support, Samsung only introduced this extended update policy starting with the Galaxy S24 series. This means that the Galaxy S23 I’m using is limited to four years of major updates, and Samsung has already delivered three of them. Only Android 17 update remains.

Moving to the Galaxy S26 Ultra means I now get longer support. Samsung promises seven years of major OS updates for this device, meaning it will stay current for longer than my Galaxy S23.

In addition, Samsung has added several new Galaxy AI features that are not available on the Galaxy S23 (and may not be coming soon). For example, one of the features I actively use is call screening. Similar to the ones available on Pixel devicesit asks unknown callers why they’re calling on your behalf and only alerts you when it’s worth calling. I get at least three unknown calls every day in my area and this has been a lifesaver.

Another feature that comes with the Galaxy S26 Ultra (or rather One UI 8.5) is notification summaries. As the name suggests, it converts long notifications into a more readable format. For example, if you get a lot of messages in a group chat or don’t have time to read, this feature makes it quick and digestible. From what I’ve seen, it takes a few minutes to get used to, but waking up to neatly summarized notifications is a really nice perk that I don’t have on my Galaxy S23.

Other than that, a few hardware upgrades made the switch from the Galaxy S23 to the Galaxy S26 Ultra feel worthwhile. The primary Galaxy S23 I used came with a 3,900 mAh battery. Moving up to the Galaxy S26 Ultra means I now get a bigger 5,000 mAh cell, although Samsung hasn’t increased the battery compared to previous Ultra models.

It may not match the large batteries in some Chinese competitors OnePlus 15 Over 7,000mAh, but it’s still a solid upgrade over the S23. In real life, I had to charge the Galaxy S23 at least twice a day. While some of this is due to battery degradation over time, the Galaxy S26 Ultra easily lasts a full day for me, even with heavy use.

Charging speed has also improved significantly. The Galaxy S23 is limited to charging up to 25W, while the Galaxy S26 Ultra supports up to 60W. In daily use it made a noticeable difference for me. My S26 Ultra only took 45 minutes to go from 0-100%, while the S23 took over an hour to fully charge.

And of course, there’s the chipset update. Galaxy S26 Ultra runs on Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5it’s more capable than the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 in the Galaxy S23. I don’t play a lot of games on my phone, but when you think long-term and consider the AI ​​features, along with tools like Samsung DeX, which I often use, the performance boost is definitely worth it.

So was it worth it for me to upgrade from the Galaxy S23 to the Galaxy S26 Ultra? Absolutely.

Of course, I miss the compact size of the Galaxy S23 and wish Samsung would make a mini-er version of the Ultra. But other than that, the Galaxy S26 Ultra was a breath of fresh air. A bigger battery, an improved chipset for long-lasting use, faster charging that you’ll really appreciate over time, and a clean, bug-free One UI 8.5 experience made the upgrade feel worthwhile.

In particular, there are still a few confusing options all Qi2 state and Samsung’s refusal to add an integrated magnet to its phones. But look past that and the Galaxy S26 Ultra was a great experience and a very worthwhile upgrade over the S23.