Is the Galaxy S26 Ultra Privacy Display worth caring about, and what does the early Dubai retail unit leak tell buyers?
Samsung is trying to limit how far an early Galaxy S26 Ultra leak spreads after creator Sahil Karoul posted a short clip on X that showed the new “Privacy Display” working in real time. The clip highlighted a simple effect: the screen stays readable head-on, but becomes hard to read from side angles, similar to a privacy screen protector effect without adding one.
After the post drew heavy attention, Samsung filed a copyright claim and media tied to some of those X posts disappeared. The same leak appears to have more staying power on YouTube, where Karoul’s longer unboxing video remains available. That longer video is described as a 14‑minute “world first” unboxing and had already passed 300,000 views in under two days at the time of reporting.
Karoul also explained how he got the device: he says he bought it at a Dubai store for about 12,000 AED (around $3,270). He characterized the unit as an international variant intended for African markets, built in Vietnam, with 12GB RAM and 256GB storage. He also indicated he was not under an NDA and did not wait for Samsung’s February 25 Galaxy Unpacked event.
The feature detail that matters for everyday users is how “Privacy Display” behaves in motion, not just in still photos. In the leak coverage, the setting can be toggled to narrow viewing angles, and there is also a stronger “Maximum privacy” option plus an automatic mode that can trigger in situations like sensitive app use or crowded environments. If this works reliably, it reduces casual shoulder-surfing risk in places like trains, cafes, and open offices, but it may also make the screen look dimmer when you are not perfectly centered.
The ethics debate is part of the story, too. Replies under Karoul’s thread criticized paying a premium to gray-market sellers, arguing it can reward supply-chain leakage, while Karoul responded that he paid with his own money and the device is his. He later posted an image suggesting more units were available for sale, implying this was not a one-off.
Samsung’s event timing adds pressure. With Galaxy Unpacked scheduled for February 25 in San Francisco, the appearance of retail units in Dubai days earlier signals demand and distribution complexity at the same time. Karoul’s updates also claimed Dubai pricing started to drop, with some colors reportedly falling to around 7,000 AED.