The Privacy Display on the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra ($1,349 on Amazon) allows the display's viewing angles to be severely restricted, making it appear black from the side so that people nearby cannot see what is currently being shown on the screen. Cleverly, this feature does not necessarily have to be activated across the entire screen, but can also protect only sensitive data such as phone numbers, for example.
However, the Privacy Display has a major drawback, as our in-depth review of the Galaxy S26 Ultra shows. Activating this feature not only narrows the viewing angles but also reduces the contrast ratio and brightness. For example, if the Privacy Display is activated when the display is set to a brightness of 1,000 nits, the brightness drops to just 636 nits. Since the maximum full-screen brightness that can be set manually is a modest 1,380 nits, this loss of brightness can become a real problem in bright daylight.
According to the latest information from SamMobile, Samsung plans to improve the next-generation Privacy Display. The feature is expected to be supported by both the more compact Galaxy S27 Pro and the Galaxy S27 Ultra. In addition, the displays on both smartphones are expected to achieve significantly higher brightness with privacy protection enabled, which should greatly improve readability. Details on the brightness of these new displays are not yet available. According to SamMobile, the Galaxy S27 and Galaxy S27+ will not have a Privacy Display, contrary to what earlier rumors suggested.







