Samsung’s Galaxy S series has undergone only minimal changes with each generation in recent years. But if you stack all those minor upgrades over several years, a three-year-old Galaxy S would look like an entirely different phone. The Galaxy S23 Ultra, for instance, feels like it’s only distantly related to the freshly introduced Galaxy S26 Ultra, a worthy contender for the top spot among the best Android phones for 2026.
The Galaxy S23 Ultra was, in many ways, a worthy upgrade to older phones in the series. It brought a 200MP camera with an improved camera algorithm, addressed the Galaxy S22 Ultra’s heating issues, and featured a far less mistouch-prone curved display. However, it’s now reaching its final stages of life, having already received three out of the four promised Android generation upgrades. The hardware might have also started to show signs of age, especially with Samsung’s growing emphasis on on-device AI applications.