![\"S26](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/S26-ultra-z-flip-6-scaled.jpg\"\/ "\\"S26")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Zac Kew-Denniss \/ Android Authority<\/p>\n
When the Galaxy Z Flip 4 was released in 2022, my wife, Millie, decided that flip phones were what she wanted. Aside from being gorgeous, especially in Bora Purple, the Flip 4\u2019s form factor fixed problems Millie had with her Galaxy S20 FE. Since then, she\u2019s been a devoted flip phone user, subsequently owning the Z Flip 5 and Z Flip 6. Last week, though, she ordered a Galaxy S26 Ultra<\/a>. After three and a half years, she decided enough was enough, and I don\u2019t blame her.<\/p>\n Have you had problems with your folding phones?<\/p>\n 24 votes<\/p>\n Yes<\/p>\n 21%<\/p>\n No<\/p>\n 29%<\/p>\n I don’t have a foldable<\/p>\n 50%<\/p>\n Broken and frustrating<\/p>\n Zac Kew-Denniss \/ Android Authority<\/p>\n We all know that foldable phones are more fragile than traditional ones. It isn\u2019t as bad as some say, but the truth is a flexible plastic display will always be more prone to damage than a slab of glass. It isn\u2019t the hardware failures that have driven Millie away from foldables, though. Instead, it\u2019s the way Samsung has treated these failures.<\/p>\n Her Galaxy Z Flip 5 (pictured) suffered a catastrophic display failure when it was only six months old. Was it dropped? Poked with a fingernail? No. The rubber gasket that sits on either side of the screen to protect the hinge had come loose, letting dust inside the device and killing the screen. You\u2019d think this would be covered under warranty. A phone that was only a quarter of the way through its warranty period (we get two years in the UK) and is in otherwise immaculate condition shouldn\u2019t fail like this.<\/p>\n It wasn\u2019t covered. When we went to an official Samsung store, we were told that \u201cSamsung has engineered this component (the rubber gasket) never to fail,\u201d and therefore the needed repair wouldn\u2019t be covered under warranty. If it weren\u2019t for the fact that we had insurance, this is a repair that would have cost \u00a3304.<\/p>\n Zac Kew-Denniss \/ Android Authority<\/p>\n Now we reach the Z Flip 6. In only eighteen months of ownership, it\u2019s needed its screen protector replaced twice. It\u2019s annoying, but not a dealbreaker. In the UK, Samsung offers unlimited screen protector replacements during the warranty period. Heading to the nearest EE store, the phone carrier that is now Samsung\u2019s repair partner in the UK, only takes half an hour, so it isn\u2019t much of an inconvenience. The first replacement at our local store went smoothly. I put the phone in repair mode, handed over the phone, and we went back shortly after to pick it up. The last attempt did not go so smoothly, though.<\/p>\n We were in a different part of the country visiting family when the screen protector failed this time, so we booked an appointment at the nearest store. From the very beginning, it was a terrible experience. First, we were told that we absolutely had to factory reset the device and that repair mode wasn\u2019t sufficient. Once they inspected the phone, the repair was refused. Apparently, the hinge is \u201cmisaligned\u201d and needs to be replaced, even though the phone is clearly immaculate and doesn\u2019t have any more problems. The Samsung Care Plan for the device has expired, making the cost of this repair over \u00a3350. We said no and took the phone back.<\/p>\n That was the last straw, and as I said at the outset, the Z Flip 6 has now been replaced with a Galaxy S26 Ultra. You\u2019re probably wondering why Millie went with another Samsung phone after the awful experience we\u2019ve had so far. Well, it\u2019s harder to switch to a different brand of phone than you might think, even if she loves my Pixel 10 Pro\u2019s camera<\/a>.<\/p>\n One UI and the S Pen<\/p>\n Zac Kew-Denniss \/ Android Authority<\/p>\n One UI is hard to say goodbye to. I switched from Samsung phones to a Pixel 10 Pro<\/a> last year, and missing One UI features<\/a> was the hardest part of the transition. Millie tried it \u2014 I set up a user account for her on my Pixel for a few weeks so she could see if she liked it, and she couldn\u2019t make it work. Good Lock is the main hook. She uses One Hand Operation+ to modify Android\u2019s gesture navigation, and it\u2019s become so ingrained in her muscle memory that she couldn\u2019t give it up.<\/p>\n So, we knew she wanted another Samsung phone, one that wouldn\u2019t need frequent visits to a repair center. But what model? I have a base model Galaxy S25 and an S23 Ultra lying around, so she spent time with both. The S25 fit in her pockets better, which is one of the reasons she loved the Flip, but the S Pen won her over to the Ultra. Millie loves to draw, doodle, and sketch, and having something as powerful as the S Pen in a phone is what made the difference. She didn\u2019t need to take an iPad and Apple Pencil to work so she could draw on her lunch breaks anymore \u2014 the S Pen did it all.<\/p>\n The only issue was the weight. The Galaxy S23 Ultra is a wrist-numbing 234 g. Add that to the sharp corners, and the phone was too uncomfortable to hold long-term. I knew the S26 Ultra wouldn\u2019t have that problem<\/a>. When I had hands-on with the phone, the drop to 314 g and the rounded corners were one of the first things I noticed, so once my cousin\u2019s Galaxy S26 Ultra arrived, the first thing I asked them was if Millie could hold it. She did, and we ordered it the next day.<\/p>\n Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra<\/a> Privacy display \u2022 Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 for Galaxy \u2022 Power AI features \u2022 <\/p>\n Powerful flagship with top-tier cameras, AI, and privacy features.<\/p>\n The Galaxy S26 Ultra is Samsung’s slimmest and lightest Ultra yet, pairing a 6.9-inch display with the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 for Galaxy and a redesigned cooling system. It doubles down on imaging with a brighter 200MP main camera, upgraded zoom, advanced 8K video features, and Ultra-exclusive privacy and Galaxy AI tools.<\/p>\n The Galaxy S26 Ultra isn\u2019t perfect. Its size makes it harder for Millie to fit it into her pockets or bags, and it\u2019s still heavier than she\u2019d like, even if it\u2019s manageable. Those cons are more than outweighed by the pros, though. The Privacy Display feels like magic, the cameras are a giant leap from the Flip 6, the S Pen is as incredible as ever, and the battery lasts her at least 36 hours, while the best a Flip ever did was 18. Millie still loves flip phones, and I could see her going back in the future. But that won\u2019t happen until Samsung gets its support straight. Whether you\u2019re going to a Samsung Store or the official repair partner, the experiences we\u2019ve had are inexcusable, and a brief look at Reddit and Samsung\u2019s forums will tell you we aren\u2019t alone.<\/p>\n I\u2019ve got a Z Fold 7 press unit, and I absolutely love it<\/a>. It\u2019s one of the best phones I\u2019ve ever used. But after the experiences we\u2019ve had with Millie\u2019s flip phones, there\u2019s no way I would spend my own money on one of Samsung\u2019s foldables. In fact,\u00a0 I find it difficult to recommend any Samsung phone right now, regardless of whether it folds or not, because the customer support is awful. That\u2019s hard to say as someone who has been a fan of these products for so long.<\/p>\n Have you had a poor experience with folding phones or Samsung\u2019s customer support? I\u2019d love to hear about it in the comments.<\/p>\n Don\u2019t want to miss the best from Android Authority?<\/p>\n![\"Galaxy](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Galaxy-Z-Flip-5-broken-screen-scaled.jpg\"\/ "\\"Galaxy")
<\/p>\n![\"Galaxy](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Galaxy-Z-Flip-6-screen-protector-bubble-scaled.jpg\"\/ "\\"Galaxy")
<\/p>\n![\"Galaxy](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Galaxy-S26-Ultra-S-Pen-3-scaled.jpg\"\/ "\\"Galaxy")
<\/p>\n![\"Samsung](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/1772084229_893_custom_filename.jpg\"\/)
Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra<\/a><\/p>\n
![\"google](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/google_preferred_source_badge_light@2x.png\"\/ "\\"google"){kind=icon}
![\"google](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/google_preferred_source_badge_dark@2x.png\"\/ "\\"google"){kind=icon}
<\/a><\/p>\n