THIS WEEK’S UPDATE

Samsung leans into privacy

I’m writing this on a flight back from San Francisco, where I’ve just attended Samsung Unpacked. For the uninitiated, this is Samsung’s twice-yearly smartphone shindig where, during the first quarter of the year, they release the latest S-series devices.

This year, it was the turn of the S26, S26+, and S26 Ultra. Oh, and some new buds in the form of the Buds4 Pro. I’ve come away with a pair of the latter and a Cobalt Violet S26 Ultra. I’ll be making the latter my primary phone to see how big a deal the new features are, but I’ll definitely be digging into the buds, too, because I was a big fan of the previous generation.

The biggest S26 Ultra feature, from a PR and marketability perspective, is the new privacy display, which selectively dims pixels to ensure people can no longer ‘shoulder surf’ your smartphone shenanigans. I love the idea of this (I hate it when strangers blatantly look at my digital stuff on trains).

This big launch from Samsung also comes at a time of unrelenting smartphone, headphone, and lord knows what else releases. I’ve never known anything quite like it. I talk more about all of this in the latest Tech Diary episode.

MUST WATCH

I Finally Fixed My iPad Pro Mistake...

For years, I’ve tried and tried to make the iPad a permanent part of my work setup. This time, I’m determined to make it stick and I’ve worked to fix some of the big issues that stopped me before. Any advice from iPad users out there would be greatly appreciated!

MUST WATCH

I Tested the S26 Ultra - Don’t Buy It Until You Watch This!

Here it is, the big one, Samsung’s latest offering to take on an increasingly competitive Android flagship market. At first glance, the S26 Ultra is very much the same phone that came before it. But there are differences and some that amount o hidden gems. Enough to convince you, though? Let me know!

YES, THERE’S MORE…

The Rest Of This Week

👉 Vivo V70 Review: Reliability All-Round - Another week, another mid-range Android phone. But this one from Vivo has a beefy camera system up its sleeve →

What I Watched On YouTube This Week

🎧 I ditched Spotify for this… (Byte Review) - One of the nicest guys in YouTube land, and someone who clearly feels exactly like I do about retro tech at the moment.

💩 I'm Sick Of This AI SH*T (Rick Beato) - I agree, Rick.

🏎️ Bugatti Chiron Pur Sport 1000km review. What's it like living with this 1500bhp hypercar? (Harry’s garage) - It’s hard not to love Harry’s channel. And this is the pinnacle of an ordinary review of an extraordinary vehicle.

ON THE ‘GRAM

An early Samsung S25 vs S26 Ultra camera comparison!

Thanks for reading this week’s newsletter! I’m at MWC this week so will have loads of new stuff coming your way in next week’s newsletter, see you then!

~ Mark