Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra vs Sony Xperia 1 VIII

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Galaxy S26 Ultra compared with Xperia 1 VIII

	SamsungGalaxy S26 Ultra	SonyXperia 1 VIII
Overview
Released
Released	March 2026	June 2026
Display
Screen size
Screen size	6.9″	6.5″
Resolution
Resolution	3120 × 1440 (better)	2340 × 1080
Sharpness
Sharpness	498 pixels per inch (better)	396 pixels per inch
Panel
Panel	LTPO OLED	LTPO OLED
Refresh rate
Refresh rate	120 Hz	120 Hz
Peak brightness
Peak brightness	2,600 nits	–
Display type
Display type	Dynamic AMOLED 2X, QHD+, 16M colours; 120 Hz adaptive refresh rate (1–120 Hz)	OLED, Full HD+, HDR
Always-on display
Always-on display	–	Always show time and info (lock screen setting; includes battery level)
Screen protection
Screen protection	Corning Gorilla Armor 2	Corning Gorilla Glass Victus 2
Display features
Display features	Built-in Privacy Display; anti-reflective display; Vision booster; ProScaler and mDNIe image processing	1–120 Hz variable refresh rate; Creator mode and Auto creator mode; Real-time HDR drive; Sunlight Vision with adaptive brightness; light sensors on the front and back adjust brightness and colour; BRAVIA-style picture processing (Xperia Intelligence)
Performance
Chip
Chip	Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 for Galaxy	Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5
Memory
Memory	12 GB – 16 GB	12 GB – 16 GB
Storage
Storage	256 GB, 512 GB, 1 TB	256 GB, 1 TB
Storage type
Storage type	–	microSDXC card slot for cards up to 2 TB, in the SIM tray
CPU
CPU	Octa-core (4.74 GHz, 3.6 GHz)	–
Cooling
Cooling	Redesigned Vapor Chamber, Samsung's largest yet, with thermal interface material along the sides of the processor	Vapour chamber and heat-spreading sheet
Cameras
Main camera
Main camera	200 MP (better)	48 MP
Ultra wide camera
Ultra wide camera	50 MP	48 MP
Telephoto camera
Telephoto camera	50 MP	48 MP
Optical zoom
Optical zoom	5× (better)	2.9×
Front camera
Front camera	12 MP	12 MP
Main camera
Main camera	200 MP wide, F1.4	48 MP, 24 mm, ƒ/1.9, 1/1.35-inch Exmor T for mobile sensor (two-layer transistor pixel stacked CMOS); 12 MP photos by default, 48 MP in 48 MP mode; hybrid stabilisation
Ultra wide camera
Ultra wide camera	50 MP, F1.9	48 MP, 16 mm, ƒ/2.0, 1/1.56-inch Exmor RS for mobile sensor; 12 MP photos; close-up shooting
Telephoto camera
Telephoto camera	50 MP, F2.9, 5x optical zoom	48 MP, 70 mm, ƒ/2.8, 1/1.56-inch Exmor RS for mobile sensor; 12 MP photos; tele-macro; hybrid stabilisation
Second telephoto camera
Second telephoto camera	10 MP, F2.4, 3x optical zoom	–
Front camera
Front camera	12 MP, F2.2, autofocus	12 MP, ƒ/2.0
Zoom
Zoom	3x and 5x optical zoom; 2x and 10x optical-quality zoom (Adaptive Pixel sensor); digital zoom up to 100x	16, 24, 48, 70 and 140 mm; 48 mm and 140 mm are 2× crops (12 MP) from the 24 mm and 70 mm cameras; 70 mm is 2.9× the main camera's focal length
Video recording
Video recording	Up to 8K (7680 × 4320) at 30 fps; APV codec; slow motion at 240 fps (FHD) and 120 fps (FHD and UHD)	4K at up to 120 fps; HDR (HLG/BT.2020) or SDR (BT.709); S-Cinetone for mobile; slow motion at 120 fps in 4K or Full HD; AI Camerawork subject tracking and Auto Framing
Camera features
Camera features	Nightography; Super Steady with Horizontal Lock	AI Camera Assistant suggests looks, lenses and background blur for each scene; RAW multi-frame processing on all three cameras; Creative Look presets; Face/Eye AF for people and animals; Pro photo and Pro video modes; Bokeh mode; ZEISS T* coating on every lens
Battery and charging
Battery
Battery	5,000 mAh	5,000 mAh
Video playback (maker's claim)
Video playback (maker's claim)	Up to 31 hours	–
Wired charging
Wired charging	Up to 60 W (better)	Up to 30 W
Wireless charging
Wireless charging	Yes (wattage not published)	Up to 15 W
Battery life detail
Battery life detail	Rated (minimum) capacity 4,855 mAh; at least 1,200 charge cycles; EU energy class A	Rated 4,850 mAh; Sony says it lasts two days per charge and that Battery Care keeps the battery healthy for four years; EU energy label class A, 51 h 7 min per charge, 1,400 charge cycles
Wired charging
Wired charging	Super Fast Charging 3.0, up to 75% in around 30 minutes with a 60 W adapter (sold separately); QC2.0 and AFC PD compatible	30 W, 50% in about 30 minutes (GSMArena; Sony's UK page couldn't be read); no charger in the box
Wireless charging
Wireless charging	Super Fast Wireless Charging (WPC); Samsung doesn't state the wattage	Qi wireless charging; 15 W (GSMArena)
Charges other devices
Charges other devices	Wireless PowerShare	Battery share wirelessly charges other Qi devices
Connectivity
Satellite messaging
Satellite messaging	Yes	No
Mobile network
Mobile network	5G Sub6 (FDD, TDD, SDL); 4G LTE (FDD, TDD); 3G WCDMA; 2G GSM	–
SIM
SIM	Two nano-SIMs, nano-SIM and eSIM, or dual eSIM	One nano-SIM and eSIM, or two eSIMs (dual SIM)
Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi	Wi-Fi 7 (802.11a/b/g/n/ac/ax/be), 2.4, 5 and 6 GHz, EHT320, MIMO, 4096-QAM	Wi-Fi 7 (IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n/ac/ax/be) with Multi-Link Operation
Bluetooth
Bluetooth	Bluetooth 6.0	Bluetooth 6.0, LE Audio, Auracast
Ultra Wideband
Ultra Wideband	Yes	–
NFC
NFC	Yes	Yes
Satellite features
Satellite features	Works with O2 Satellite in the UK (texts, supported apps, maps and location sharing where O2 has no signal; not emergency calls); satellite texting and emergency SOS with Verizon in the US	–
USB
USB	USB Type-C, USB 3.2 Gen 1	USB-C with DisplayPort video output and USB-LAN adapter support; 3.5 mm headphone jack
Positioning
Positioning	GPS, Glonass, Beidou, Galileo, QZSS	–
Design
Type
Type	Standard	Standard
Weight
Weight	214 g	200 g (better)
Thickness
Thickness	7.9 mm (better)	8.3 mm
Height × width
Height × width	163.6 × 78.1 mm	162 × 74 mm
Water and dust resistance
Water and dust resistance	IP68	IP68
Stylus
Stylus	Yes	No
Materials
Materials	Armor Aluminum frame; Corning Gorilla Glass Victus 2 back	Aluminium frame and glass back, both with a fine textured finish inspired by raw ore
Colours
Colours	Cobalt Violet, White, Black, Sky Blue; Pink Gold and Silver Shadow (Samsung.com only)	Graphite Black, Iolite Silver, Garnet Red; Native Gold (16 GB + 1 TB only)
Buttons
Buttons	–	Two-stage shutter button (long press opens the camera); volume and zoom button; power button with fingerprint sensor
Water resistance detail
Water resistance detail	IP68, dust-tight and tested for submersion in up to 1.5 m of fresh water for up to 30 minutes	IPX5/IPX8 water resistance and IP6X dust resistance; IPX8 tested in 1.5 m of fresh water for 30 minutes; keep the SIM/microSD tray closed
Biometrics
Biometrics	Fingerprint sensor	Fingerprint sensor in the power button
Sensors
Sensors	Accelerometer, barometer, fingerprint sensor, gyro sensor, geomagnetic sensor, Hall sensor, light sensor, proximity sensor	–
Speakers
Speakers	Stereo speakers	Full-stage stereo speakers with identical left and right units, full enclosure
Microphones
Microphones	–	Main, second and rear voice-priority microphones
Software
Operating system
Operating system	Android	Android
Software at launch
Software at launch	One UI 8.5 (Android 16)	–
Software updates
Software updates	Security updates until 28 February 2033 (UK)	Up to four Android version upgrades and six years of security updates (Sony Japan); EU listing promises at least 5 years of updates after the model leaves the market
AI features
AI features	Galaxy AI, including Now Nudge, Now Brief, Photo Assist and Creative Studio; a choice of agents including Bixby, Gemini and Perplexity	Xperia Intelligence (AI Camera Assistant, AI Camerawork, Auto Framing); DSEE Ultimate AI upscaling for music files and streaming; Google Gemini; Circle to Search
In the box
In the box	–	No charger (Sony); GSMArena's review unit came without a USB cable too