Samsung's New Phone: Privacy Display Trade-Offs

Summary

This new Samsung phone introduces an innovative Privacy Display that limits viewing angles to prevent snooping, a feature controllable on a per-app basis. However, this privacy comes at a cost: the display uses two types of pixels, and when the Privacy Display is active, it turns off half the pixels, effectively cutting the resolution in half and slightly reducing peak brightness. This means the display is subtly worse even during normal use, with slightly diminished viewing angles and a less effective anti-reflective coating. The phone also features a revised design, making it thinner and lighter but with a camera plateau that causes it to rock on tables and a modified S Pen slot. Performance is strong with the new Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 for Galaxy chip, offering around 20-30% CPU improvement and a focus on NPU for AI features. Battery life is slightly improved due to chip and software efficiency, with a 5,000 milliamp hour battery and faster 60-watt charging, though it lacks Qi2 magnets and silicon-carbon battery technology. Camera hardware remains largely similar with larger apertures on the main and 5X cameras, offering better light gathering and bokeh, but the main camera's minimum focus distance has worsened. Software innovations include APV log codec and a robust Horizon Lock stabilization feature for video. Numerous AI features are integrated, such as call screening, Audio Eraser for video, and Photo Assist for editing, though their utility is debatable, and some did not function as expected. The base S26 and S26 Plus models are considered poor value due to unchanged designs and cameras since the S23, removal of millimeter wave, and a higher entry price of $900.