"Because a foldable phone uses a flexible display, it cannot apply a 'privacy display' in the same way as the Galaxy S26 Ultra. Still, we are keeping the possibility open and preparing to secure the technology."
Moon Seong-hun, vice president in charge of hardware at the MX Division of Samsung Electronics, introduced the privacy display first installed on the Galaxy S26 Ultra as a "hardware innovation that prevents information exposure in everyday life" at a press briefing in San Francisco on the 26th of last month (local time). Moon said the company would keep open the possibility of expanding it while considering both technical difficulty and supply conditions.
Moon divided the display structure of foldable phones into an external flat "sub-display" and an internal flexible "main display." He said, "Because the sub-display is a flat screen, there is relatively more room to apply it, but the flexible main display, which folds, is on a different level," adding, "It is difficult to apply the privacy display as-is in the same way."
The privacy display is designed to keep the screen clear when viewed head-on, while making it almost invisible from vertical and horizontal viewing angles. The idea is to reduce unintended information exposure from "shoulder surfing"—peeking over a user's shoulder at the operation of a smartphone or laptop—such as when people on public transit or in public places see messenger conversations or snoop on lock patterns. Citing internal survey results, Moon said, "Fifty-six percent of customers consider smartphone screen exposure a privacy invasion."
The key is control at the "pixel level." According to Samsung Electronics, the Galaxy S26 Ultra's display consists of two types of pixels: those that emit light narrowly forward and those that diffuse light widely. When privacy mode is turned on, the screen runs mainly on the narrowly emitting pixels to maintain head-on visibility, while minimizing the operation of the diffusing pixels so the screen is not visible from side and vertical angles. Moon said, "If image quality drops when privacy mode is on, it's no different from a film," adding, "We finely tuned it so there is little difference in experience from normal mode when viewed from the front."
User options were also broadened. Moon said, "You can set it to activate automatically in authentication sections such as lock patterns or password entry, or specify it to turn on only in certain apps such as messenger or finance apps," adding, "It's also possible to apply it only to certain areas, such as top notification pop-ups, instead of the entire screen." A "maximum privacy" option was also implemented for users who want stronger blocking.
On the possibility of rivals catching up, Moon said, "We have filed many related patents," adding, "It will be difficult to make a privacy display while avoiding the patents." He added, "Counting from the initial idea proposal, it took five years for this technology to come out," noting, "There were hurdles such as blotchy screens at the early prototype stage and degraded privacy performance due to durability issues."
On expanding to budget lineups, he drew a line, citing expense burdens from added processes, saying, "It is not easy to secure price competitiveness to the point of putting it in the Galaxy A series." Asked whether there are plans to sell the technology to other manufacturers, he said, "There are no plans at the moment," hinting that for the time being it is likely to be applied mainly to Galaxy.
He also emphasized that hardware changes continued for "Everyday Usability" in addition to the privacy display. Moon presented heat control, charging, and form factor improvements as another pillar of the Galaxy S26 Ultra. He said, "Since we first commercialized and applied a vapor chamber in 2019, we have improved its performance and structure over several years," adding, "The vapor chamber applied to this Ultra has a new internal structure, and we widened sections that acted as bottlenecks when heat circulated to boost cooling efficiency."
He said charging speed was improved to "Super Fast Charging 3.0." Moon said, "You can charge the battery from 0% to 75% in 30 minutes," adding, "There may be variations depending on the environment, but it will feel faster in real use."
He also mentioned improvements to the Galaxy S26 Ultra's thickness and weight. Moon said, "We have made tremendous efforts for years to make the Ultra thinner and lighter," adding, "For the first time, the Ultra has come into the 7 mm range (7.9 mm) in thickness, and it is lighter than the previous model." He added, "The USB-C port acts as a hurdle in designing it thinner. In the long term, if wireless charging and wireless data communication become commonplace, we are leaving open the possibility that ports could disappear, but we are not considering anything specific at the moment."