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The Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra could make display nerds very happy
- A new rumor says the Galaxy S26 Ultra could come with a 10-bit display.
- This would make the phone capable of natively displaying roughly 1.07 billion discrete colors.
- Last year’s Galaxy S25 Ultra features an 8-bit display that uses a software technique to simulate 10-bit color.
Samsung Galaxy S26 rumors have been heating up lately. In recent weeks, we’ve seen credible rumors about color options, storage configurations, materials, and more. Today, a new rumor says we should expect a fairly significant display upgrade.
Samsung’s 2025 Galaxy S lineup uses display panels with 8-bit color depth, which are capable of reproducing about 16.7 million discrete colors. Prolific leaker Ice Universe tweeted this morning that the Galaxy S26 Ultra will feature a 10-bit panel, drastically increasing the number of colors the phone’s screen can display.
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An 8-bit panel is capable of reproducing a total of 256 shades each of red, green, and blue, making for a combined total of just over 16.7 million possible colors. Some devices with 8-bit panels (like last year’s Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra) use a technology called frame rate control to rapidly cycle 8-bit colors in specific sequences, effectively simulating greater color depth.
Samsung S26 Ultra
10 bit screen confirmed!
100% accurate— Ice Universe (@UniverseIce) January 27, 2026
A native 10-bit panel, meanwhile, is capable of displaying 1,024 different shades each of red, green, and blue, which makes it possible to reproduce more than a billion individual colors. This increased color range should mean that color gradients on the S26 Ultra’s screen will exhibit less banding — they’ll look smoother, with a more gradual transition between colors.
It’s not the type of upgrade more casual users are likely to notice, and whether there’s any difference at all moment to moment depends on the specific content the panel is displaying. But it does bring Samsung’s highest-end non-folding phone more in line with competition from the likes of Apple and Oppo, both of which offer 10-bit displays in some models.
We’re expecting to hear more about the Galaxy S26 series, plus other new devices like the Galaxy Buds 4, at a Galaxy Unpacked event in February.
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