The Privacy Display on the Galaxy S26 Ultra is arguably the most talked-about hardware feature Samsung has introduced in years. What most people don’t know is that it nearly arrived on the Galaxy S25 Ultra instead.
Samsung’s MX division COO Won-Joon Choi confirmed to Bloomberg that the company had fully intended to ship Privacy Display with last year’s Ultra flagship. The plan fell apart at the last minute because Samsung still needed to “solve a couple of the last challenges,” pushing the timeline back by another full year.
The feature itself has been in development far longer than most would expect. Choi noted that a Samsung engineer originally proposed the concept three to four years ago, and the company has been quietly working toward it ever since. The fact that virtually nothing leaked until close to the Galaxy S26 Ultra’s launch is, frankly, impressive for a project that long in the making.
For now, Privacy Display stays exclusive to the S26 Ultra. But Choi left the door open for broader availability, telling Bloomberg that Samsung will consider rolling it out to other models “if we believe it’s time to propagate it.” That suggests Samsung is watching how consumers actually use the feature before committing to anything wider.
Competition is already stirring. Several Chinese smartphone makers are reportedly looking at ways to replicate the functionality on their own flagship devices, either by developing it independently or by sourcing compatible displays elsewhere.
Choi’s interview also touched on Samsung’s hesitation around experimental form factors and its commitment to keeping the S Pen alive in future Galaxy devices, signaling that not everything at Samsung is up for debate.
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