Survey confirms: Galaxy Ultra fans want the old swagger back

Some people will tell you every modern phone looks like a glass rectangle with camera bumps. You can’t blame them for holding that view in some respects, but a few lineups are supposed to stand apart from the crowd. Samsung Galaxy Ultra phones have long been among those that have carried that torch for Android, with big screens, the S Pen, and a design that should stand out from across the room. But has the Ultra series started to blend in a little too much? We recently made that case, and we wanted to know if you agreed.

We garnered your feelings via a poll in an article by Shimul Sood, who argued that the Galaxy S24 Ultra may be the last true Galaxy Ultra Samsung ever made. Her main point was about identity: the S24 Ultra still had that sharp, boxy, Note-like silhouette that made it instantly recognizable and clearly separate from the regular Galaxy S line. She argued that the newer Galaxy S25 Ultra and Galaxy S26 Ultra have softened the design and made the Ultra feel less like a real standapart model in the series. As she put it, the latest S26 models look “less like siblings, more like triplets that are only different in size.” She also pointed to the loss of Bluetooth features on the S Pen and Samsung’s continued use of a 5,000mAh battery, but her main point is that the Ultra line may no longer feel as ultra as it once did.

Thousands of you voted in the poll, and as it turns out, you happen to agree.

As the pie chart above shows, well over three-quarters of you seem to agree with Shimul’s take. Almost 79% of respondents said the S26 series all look the same now, with just 13.5% believing the Ultra line is evolving. Just under 8% think that the Galaxy S Ultra phones never had a strong identity to begin with — is that you, Tim Cook?

Samsung’s design team isn’t likely to read this article, and even if they did, they’d probably just shrug. The Galaxy S26 series reportedly broke preorder records in South Korea, with 1.35 million units ordered in one week, and the Ultra accounted for 70% of those preorders. More recently, we learned that Samsung reportedly raised its production plans for the S26 Ultra in May. As much as we may miss the old Ultra swagger, Samsung isn’t exactly being punished on the bottom line, so there’s little incentive for the brand to change course.

The comments broadly back up the poll results, with most of the pushback aimed at the S Pen downgrade and Samsung’s newer Ultra designs feeling less distinctive. Many readers said they’re sticking with older models such as the S23 Ultra, S24 Ultra, or even the Note 20 Ultra for that reason. Reader davidach88 summed up the S Pen issue directly: “Bluetooth loss on the S Pen is a deal breaker.” Another reader said they had stuck with the S23 Ultra after trying the S25 Ultra because of “the Bluetooth stylus and shape,” adding that they won’t be interested again until the Bluetooth stylus is back.

Design came up almost as often, especially from readers who miss the wider, boxier Note-style shape. Some argued the newer phones are easier to hold, but that wasn’t universally seen as a win. Reader Gusfiguerola was especially blunt, saying: “The newer models are easy to hold? I don’t give a damn.” Others made a broader point that Samsung’s Ultra phones no longer feel like the most ambitious Android phones around, with Lamar arguing that Samsung used to offer the best cameras and battery life, but now “Chinese Android phones all have better cameras and bigger batteries.”

The newer models are easy to hold? I don’t give a damn. — comment from Gusfiguerola

There was some disagreement. A few readers felt the S25 Ultra or newer models are simply better overall, with Gianluca Daniele Di Maggio calling the S25 Ultra “so much better” aside from the loss of Bluetooth S Pen support and arguing that “refinement is the name of the game.” Another reader said they were likely to upgrade to the S26 Ultra anyway because the camera was the only thing they really cared about. Still, the dissenting comments were outnumbered by readers who either felt attached to the older Ultra identity or didn’t see enough reason to move on from the S23 or S24 Ultra.