The Galaxy S26 Ultra has earned a place on Time's "best inventions of 2026" list, and it did so for what it refuses to show rather than for raw performance. According to 9to5Google, the roundup singles out Samsung's Privacy Display, a screen technology that keeps parts of the panel out of view for anyone standing nearby. The phone appears alongside other familiar devices in the same collection, including a lengthy segment on the iPhone Duo and the Clicks Power Keyboard.
Where other phone makers have leaned on anti-glare coatings and screen-protector films to handle privacy, Samsung took a different path: it built the feature into the display panel itself. Time's listing quotes Samsung's SVP of Mobile Product Management, who points to the flexible nature of the technology. The result is a flagship that stands out in a crowded market on the strength of a display trick rather than a spec bump.
How the Privacy Display works
The feature is more precise than a simple dimming effect. The Privacy Display can darken only specific areas of the panel, letting users shield items like PIN codes, incoming notifications from the Android shade, or other sensitive on-screen content while keeping the rest of the screen readable.
That selective approach is what sets the Galaxy S26 Ultra apart from phones that rely on accessories. As 9to5Google notes, the technology effectively replaces the privacy screen protector many users already buy, working as a built-in layer of the display itself rather than an add-on.
It is not perfect. The same report points out that the Privacy Display can behave inconsistently under certain lighting conditions, and that screen elements sometimes look off. Those trade-offs have not been enough to keep it off a best-inventions list, though, and the phone it sits on now costs less than what buyers may soon be asked to pay for its successor.
- Blocks side-angle viewing so bystanders cannot read what's on screen
