6 reasons I'd still buy the Galaxy S26 Ultra instead of the Motorola Signature 27

On paper, the Motorola Signature 27 looks like an almost unbeatable flagship. With a massive 7,000mAh silicon-carbon battery, an eye-catching 200MP telephoto camera, and a newer 2nm Snapdragon 8 Elite Extreme Gen 6 chipset, Motorola has built an uncompromising spec-sheet juggernaut.

Yet, numbers in a vacuum do not make a flagship a must-buy. Despite Motorola’s aggressive leap into the ultra-premium tier, there are good reasons to continue leaning towards the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra as a potentially smarter, more cohesive purchase. Here are six reasons you should pick Samsung’s flagship over Motorola’s latest challenger.

Privacy Display beats raw specs

One of the Signature 27’s claims to fame is its incredibly bright display, which reportedly peaks at an eye-melting 12,000 nits. However, as we know, these figures are usually only achievable in very specific scenarios, typically when viewing HDR content under particular lighting conditions. Potentially useful, but unlikely to actually change the way you use your phone.

Samsung’s Privacy Display, on the other hand, marks a dramatic change in the way you can use your new handset. Granted, the technology actually makes the screen look a little dimmer and flatter when it’s active. But that’s a small price to pay for being able to block out all or just part of your display when specific apps are active, keeping your banking details and messages away from prying eyes.

For anyone who regularly uses their phone on public transport or in crowded places, Privacy Display is the sort of feature you appreciate every single day. Much more so than a slightly brighter display.

Pocket-ability versus battery capacity

I’m not going to pretend I don’t want a bigger battery in my phone; I’m quite the convert to silicon-carbon cells like the 7,000mAh behemoth packed into the Signature 27. It certainly dwarfs the Galaxy S26 Ultra’s 5,000mAh capacity, and Motorola claims it will charge almost as quickly: 52 minutes versus Samsung’s 45 minutes.

However, that extra longevity comes with some notable trade-offs. The Signature 27 weighs 227g (8.01 oz), making it a fraction heavier than Samsung’s 214g (7.55 oz) flagship. The new Motorola flagship is also 8mm thick, compared with 7.9mm for the Ultra, before considering the camera bumps.

That’s unlikely to be a deal-breaker, but Samsung also includes the S Pen in its slightly slimmer, lighter frame; a handy tool for jotting down notes, editing photos, and annotating screenshots. Unfortunately, Samsung dropped S Pen Bluetooth support with the S25 Ultra, meaning features like Air Actions are no longer available. This may feel like a backward step for series fans, though I never found much use for remotely triggering the camera or controlling media with the little accessory.

Motorola might have the edge on longevity, but the S Pen is still an undeniably useful power-user tool that can help you get more done throughout the day.

A Dex PC anywhere you go

Speaking of power users, Samsung Dex remains the best-in-class experience for turning your smartphone into a pocket PC. Simply hook your phone up to a compatible display via a USB-C-to-HDMI cable or wirelessly, and you’re up and running with a powerful desktop-style environment.

DeX lets you use a larger screen to work on documents, spreadsheets, and presentations while keeping access to the same document storage you already have on your phone. The setup supports desktop UX essentials, including multi-window, copy and paste, and multi-desktop support. We’ve even had success turning an Ultra flagship into a lightweight gaming PC setup via a combination of Dex and GameNative.

The Signature 27’s closest tool is Smart Connect, which works with supported Motorola and Lenovo laptops to share content and continue some activities across form factors. That’s handy, no doubt, but it requires you to be more deeply invested in a single ecosystem and certainly doesn’t help if you just want to get work done with only a phone in your pocket.

Good Lock remains hard to beat

Motorola builds some pretty great software too, and the Signature 27 has a few neat tricks of its own, but nothing quite in the same league as the advanced customization available through Samsung’s Good Lock app. If you want to make your phone truly your own, the Galaxy S26 Ultra has this ace firmly up its sleeve.

Whether you want to completely rethink your screen layout, tweak navigation gestures, or change how notifications appear, Good Lock has a module for it. For instance, LockStar gives you much more control over the layout and features of your lock screen. One Hand Operation+ adds powerful gesture controls, while Sound Assistant and Camera Assistant let you fine-tune parts of the audio and camera experiences that Samsung’s standard settings don’t expose.

Moto Gestures and a suite of customization options help make Hello UI feel like your own, but Samsung’s Good Lock provides even more tools to tinker with One UI and change how your Ultra behaves.

Samsung gets software updates, Moto not so much

Both the Signature 27 and Galaxy S26 Ultra promise seven years of OS upgrades and security patches; exactly what you should expect when spending top dollar on a modern flagship. However, only one of these brands has a solid reputation for consistently delivering, and that’s Samsung.

Outside of Google’s Pixel updates, Samsung’s global rollout speed and monthly patch cadence under One UI remain pretty much the gold standard in the Android space. Motorola, meanwhile, is still establishing a proven track record for rapid, multi-year maintenance on this scale. Users regularly complain about delays and seemingly out-of-order update priorities on Motorola phones. And while Samsung has missed the occasional deadline, it has been very reliable when it comes to delivering updates to flagships and mid-rangers, new and old.

Time will tell if Motorola addresses this bugbear with the Signature 27. But if you want a proven track record, Samsung is hands down the safer pick.

The Signature 27 is expensive

When it comes to cameras, battery capacity, performance, and, dare I say it, even design, the Signature 27 probably has the hardware edge over the Galaxy S26 Ultra. However, all those extra goodies don’t come cheap; the Signature 27 costs a whopping $1,599 in the US.

The S26 Ultra has a lower starting price of $1,299, saving you $300 that could be put towards additional storage or accessories, if you want. Not to mention that Samsung’s flagships can often benefit from carrier deals, trade-in values, and frequent retail promotions, especially this many months after launch.

Of course, price isn’t everything at this end of the market, and Motorola has clearly invested heavily in its hardware. But when the slightly more affordable phone also brings a more mature software experience and several genuinely useful extras, the Signature 27 has a harder time justifying its premium.

None of these reasons alone makes the Galaxy S26 Ultra categorically better than the Motorola Signature 27. In many respects, the two are either evenly matched, or you can point to several specifications that lean in Motorola’s favor.

However, Samsung knows how to build power-user phones like few others. Having the S Pen tucked into the phone, turning it into a desktop PC, tweaking One UI with Good Lock, and hiding my screen from prying eyes are all compelling experiences that are hard to emulate elsewhere. None is essential, but together they make the S26 Ultra feel more versatile — and for me, that’s what makes it the more compelling flagship