Some early Galaxy S26 Ultra buyers returning device due to grainy, dimmer display despite Privacy Display being off

After Galaxy Unpacked, people were fairly excited about the improved display of the S26 Ultra. However, some who have pre-ordered the phone are now cancelling it because they found the screen quality to be below their expectations. The ones returning it were already aware of the downgrade in viewing angles, which the privacy display caused. The drop in resolution and brightness in the Privacy Mode didn’t bother them either.

The main issues with the screen became apparent after checking out a demo unit in real life. Several netizens echo the sentiment that there are hazy elements and that the overall display quality is now worse. The way text appears is also worse. There is a lot of proof online as well that claims the screen quality is inferior. You can read about that here.

While people did not have a problem with the reproduction of colors, many took issue with the sharpness of pictures and the text. The issue is not about 8-bit color or the anti-reflective screen, since the previous generation S25 Ultra did not have such issues. The person originally making this claim also reported that his brother had checked out the phone at another place and returned the same overall views about the screen.

People who have switched from phones such as the OnePlus 15 are reporting that the S26 Ultra screen causes discomfort, which is likely a result of needing to strain the eyes more. Discussions on Reddit claim that the older S25 Ultra screen is brighter and sharper, though some argue that it’s like that because of the pixels that the privacy display takes up.

Another post on the Samsung Community claims that the overall screen feels over-sharpened, and there are some jagged edges around the fonts and icons. The person who made the post also links to the direct images as proof.

It’s worth noting that not everyone has faced this problem. A few people claim that the new display is slightly warmer, but no notable loss in quality. This discrepancy suggests there might be unit variance, which isn’t that rare in the tech industry.

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