Samsung’s Galaxy S26 Ultra launch isn’t going so well

The Galaxy S26 Ultra launch isn’t going quite as smoothly as Samsung would have hoped, with fresh claims of a key upgrade not working as advertised. The latest is that the S26 Ultra’s newfangled 25W wireless charging support isn’t quite proving to be as useful as hoped. It turns out that most Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra users aren’t able to access these elevated wireless charging speeds. We’ve already had our grumble about Qi2 being skipped, and this situation seems to illustrate part of the problem. If you want to hit full 25W wireless charging on the Ultra, Samsung recommends that you assemble a first-party magnetic wireless charger, a 45W travel adapter, and an official magnetic case to ensure the necessary alignment. As one Reddit post noted, third-party cases from popular accessory maker Dbrand seem to throw off the Ultra’s wireless charging speeds. As the brand itself notes, however, even some of Samsung’s own accessories don’t permit the Ultra to hit full wireless speed, despite seemingly being capable on paper. Luke Baker Using Samsung’s own Silicone Magnet, Clear Magnet, Rugged Magnet, and Slim Magnet cases, Dbrand was unable to exceed 15W wireless charging speeds. It’s been a rocky start for the Galaxy S26 Ultra. Earlier in the month, we reported on claims that the phone’s main upgrade, its Privacy Display, was causing some users visual discomfort. Reporting from some quarters points out that not only has the overall brightness of the Galaxy S26 Ultra’s display dipped (even with the Privacy Display switched off), but it also effectively outputs at a lower resolution than the Galaxy S25 Ultra. Not only that, but the changes to sub-pixel rendering brought about by Samsung’s clever new anti-shoulder-peeping technology is reportedly affecting some users’ eyesight – a claim that Samsung itself refutes. Various Reddit threads contain people complaining and sending the phone back. One user said it “messed with my eyes and gave me eye strain and a bit of nausea and tiny head aching.” A $250 discount? Samsung’s answer to these early complaints, it seems, is to pay users not to return the phone. The $250 refund exploit for the #GalaxyS26Ultra was fun while it lasted, but Samsung finally woke up. Now they’re out here denying compensation like it never existed. The "keep the phone" discount era is officially over! https://t.co/tvbBWRnjKC pic.twitter.com/KeQnpY2iJT — Yash (@Phonenurd) March 18, 2026 A conversation shared by one X user seems to show a Samsung Customer Support representative offering $250 for the customer to keep the phone – an offer that has since seemingly been rescinded. Could it get any worse? Well, yes, much worse. The S26 phones aren’t having the battery problems which Samsung has experienced in the past (eg the Galaxy Note 7), but there are still more problems piling up. It seems some users are having technical problems with using Android Auto with the Galaxy S26 (via Android Authority ). However, this is also affecting Pixel phones, so it’s not quite as bad in that sense. Samsung has at least started rolling out AirDrop support to the S26 phones , so we can end on a positive. Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra Read our review Price When Reviewed: 1449 Euro Best Prices Today: 1.449,00 € at Samsung

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