Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra’s Privacy Display Is Giving Users Headaches

Samsung debuted its new Privacy Display on the Galaxy S26 Ultra last month, and it’s a really cool feature to have. Especially since you can turn it on and off at will, but it seems to have some unintended consequences.

To include this Privacy Display feature, Samsung had to make some trade offs. Like getting rid of the anti-glare display and lowering the resolution when Privacy Display is turned on. And this is causing some issues for some users, who are reporting eye strain issues and headaches.

Part of this is due to the low PWM that Samsung insists on keeping on their displays. We’re talking about 480Hz for PWM dimming, which is extremely low. Especially considering some Chinese brands like HONOR with its Magic 8 Pro is doing 4,320Hz for PWM dimming. Which really helps with headaches for those that are affected.

When you hold the Galaxy S26 Ultra display next to the Galaxy S25 Ultra display, you can definitely tell the difference, and it is a clear downgrade. All in the name of adding Privacy Display. Which is a cool feature, but it’s clear it needs a bit more time in the oven.

Why is Privacy Display causing these issues?

The reason why the Privacy Display is causing these issues is that it is effectively turning off around a quarter of the pixels, and also changing them from wide-angle pixels to more narrow pixels. Which affects the viewing angles – kinda the whole point of Privacy Display.

Even with Privacy Display turned off, there is still quite a few issues with the display. Particularly, the sharpness of the display. Of course, most people aren’t going to zoom in at 10x on their display to see this, but even to the naked eye, it’s quite visible. And all of this I mentioned in my Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra review.

All of this is why I’m excited to see how Samsung improves it in gen 2 next year.

The post Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra’s Privacy Display Is Giving Users Headaches appeared first on Android Headlines.

​