(Credit: Eric Zeman)
A week after Unpacked, where Samsung unveiled the Galaxy S26 series, the brand has now confirmed that a previously touted screen upgrade on the Galaxy S26 Ultra isn’t on its next-gen smartphone.
Samsung told select press and media outlets ahead of its Galaxy S26 Ultra launch that it would use a 10-bit panel for improved color depth, but it has since confirmed that isn’t the case. In comments to SamMobile and Android Authority, Samsung confirmed every Galaxy S26 device uses an 8-bit panel.
Samsung also told YouTuber MrWhoseTheBoss that it would use tech designed to "simulate 10 bit" without any further information. That may be the brand using Frame Rate Control (FRC) features to simulate 10-bit color depth, but Samsung has yet to confirm how this works on the Galaxy S26 Ultra.
If you're not aware of color depth, a difference between 8-bit and 10-bit may not sound like much. However, 10-bit color depth provides over a billion colors per pixel, while 8-bit is limited to 16 million.
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You’re unlikely to see a huge difference, but it may mean that shades transitioning to other colors may not look as smooth.
Samsung didn’t comment on the mistakenly claimed 10-bit spec, but many US-focused media outlets have said it was provided during briefings, suggesting it was a widely discussed mistake on Samsung's part. There was no mention of the feature in Samsung UK's briefings, which PCMag attended.
Could this mistake be a sign that Samsung had been considering an upgrade to a 10-bit panel but ultimately decided against it? We may hear more from the brand in the future, but only time will tell, and it may be the Galaxy S27 series before we see similar tech come to Samsung devices.