{"id":248321,"date":"2026-01-23T19:27:10","date_gmt":"2026-01-23T19:27:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/248321\/"},"modified":"2026-01-23T19:27:10","modified_gmt":"2026-01-23T19:27:10","slug":"samsung-galaxy-s26-ultra-could-be-the-killer-of-screen-protector-manufacturers-heres-why","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/248321\/","title":{"rendered":"Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra could be &#8216;the killer of screen protector manufacturers&#8217; \u2014 here&#8217;s why"},"content":{"rendered":"<p id=\"941737ac-05e7-4b22-8a79-5939f0ee9522\">Similar to how J. Robert Oppenheimer once compared himself to &#8220;death, the destroyer of worlds,&#8221; leaker <a data-analytics-id=\"inline-link\" href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/UniverseIce\/status\/2014275348008194529\" target=\"_blank\" data-url=\"https:\/\/x.com\/UniverseIce\/status\/2014275348008194529\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer-when-downgrade\" data-hl-processed=\"none\" data-mrf-recirculation=\"inline-link\" rel=\"nofollow\">IceUniverse<\/a> has declared Samsung &#8220;the killer of screen protector manufacturers&#8221; due to several upgrades that the <a data-analytics-id=\"inline-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tomsguide.com\/phones\/samsung-phones\/samsung-galaxy-s26-ultra\" data-mrf-recirculation=\"inline-link\" data-before-rewrite-localise=\"https:\/\/www.tomsguide.com\/phones\/samsung-phones\/samsung-galaxy-s26-ultra\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Galaxy S26 Ultra<\/a> will offer.<\/p>\n<p>In his new post on X, IceUniverse explains how the new Ultra Samsung phone will make third-party protectors apparently unnecessary. To start with, the new Gorilla Glass material that the S26 Ultra&#8217;s screen is made of is tougher than ever \u2014 seemingly tough enough to apparently make tempered glass screen protectors irrelevant.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paywall\" aria-hidden=\"true\">Furthermore, Samsung&#8217;s alleged use of new &#8220;Color Filter on Encapsulation&#8221; (COE) displays will mean a higher brightness at a lower power consumption. In combination with the tougher display, this would make minimalist, ultra-clear protective films obsolete for the S26 Ultra as well, IU explains.<\/p>\n<p>You may like<\/p>\n<p class=\"vanilla-image-block\" style=\"padding-top:100.00%;\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/92GPgotmpU2YHJM7Vgxay.gif\" alt=\"Gif animation reportedly showing Galaxy S26 Ultra Privacy Display feature.\" loading=\"lazy\" data-new-v2-image=\"true\" data-original-mos=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/92GPgotmpU2YHJM7Vgxay.gif\" data-pin-media=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/92GPgotmpU2YHJM7Vgxay.gif\" class=\"inline\"\/><\/p>\n<p>(Image credit: SammyGuru)<\/p>\n<p id=\"22bc9dc7-54d7-4c3a-8626-4d40a2eca834\">All of this comes on top of the <a data-analytics-id=\"inline-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tomsguide.com\/phones\/samsung-phones\/galaxy-s26-ultra-privacy-display-leaked-by-samsung-everything-you-need-to-know\" data-mrf-recirculation=\"inline-link\" data-before-rewrite-localise=\"https:\/\/www.tomsguide.com\/phones\/samsung-phones\/galaxy-s26-ultra-privacy-display-leaked-by-samsung-everything-you-need-to-know\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">privacy display we&#8217;ve seen rumored several times already<\/a>. Keeping curious eyes off of your content has always been something users have needed separate screen protectors to help with in the past, but Samsung apparently has a display-level solution to keep your on-screen activities private.<\/p>\n<p><a id=\"elk-seasonal\" class=\"paywall\" aria-hidden=\"true\" data-url=\"\" href=\"\" target=\"_blank\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer-when-downgrade\" data-hl-processed=\"none\"\/><\/p>\n<p id=\"22bc9dc7-54d7-4c3a-8626-4d40a2eca834-1\">The final type of display protector IU mentions is anti-reflective or matte screen protectors. Samsung already introduced built-in anti-glare tech with the <a data-analytics-id=\"inline-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tomsguide.com\/reviews\/samsung-galaxy-s24-ultra\" data-mrf-recirculation=\"inline-link\" data-before-rewrite-localise=\"https:\/\/www.tomsguide.com\/reviews\/samsung-galaxy-s24-ultra\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Galaxy S24 Ultra<\/a>&#8216;s display, and updated with the <a data-analytics-id=\"inline-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tomsguide.com\/phones\/samsung-phones\/samsung-galaxy-s25-ultra-review\" data-mrf-recirculation=\"inline-link\" data-before-rewrite-localise=\"https:\/\/www.tomsguide.com\/phones\/samsung-phones\/samsung-galaxy-s25-ultra-review\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Galaxy S25 Ultra<\/a>. If the S26 Ultra can continue this trend, then that&#8217;s another seemingly obsolete screen protector.<\/p>\n<p><a id=\"elk-e287654b-72a4-4ca0-840f-4c76d9cc3554\" class=\"paywall\" aria-hidden=\"true\" data-url=\"\" href=\"\" target=\"_blank\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer-when-downgrade\" data-hl-processed=\"none\"\/>A greatly-exaggerated demise<\/p>\n<p id=\"adfa30cb-1e67-4fd6-8726-fa5348e61bcd\">I do love a bit of hyperbole. But taking things as they stand, I still suspect that prospective Galaxy S26 Ultra owners may want separate screen protectors.<\/p>\n<p>Even if we assume the Galaxy S26 Ultra&#8217;s display does everything that the leaks have told us, we don&#8217;t know how effective each of these elements will be compared to a dedicated extra layer, especially when it comes to protection from scratches and drops. And if there&#8217;s damage, or a user changes their mind, screen protectors can be removed and replaced for very little money compared to the price of a fresh display.<\/p>\n<p class=\"newsletter-form__strapline\">Get instant access to breaking news, the hottest reviews, great deals and helpful tips.<\/p>\n<p>It seems like we&#8217;ll only know for sure at some point after <a data-analytics-id=\"inline-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tomsguide.com\/phones\/samsung-phones\/samsung-galaxy-s26-ultra-reveal-date-looks-like-a-lock-everything-to-expect-at-samsung-unpacked\" data-mrf-recirculation=\"inline-link\" data-before-rewrite-localise=\"https:\/\/www.tomsguide.com\/phones\/samsung-phones\/samsung-galaxy-s26-ultra-reveal-date-looks-like-a-lock-everything-to-expect-at-samsung-unpacked\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">February 25th<\/a>. That&#8217;s the heavily-rumored date of the next <a data-analytics-id=\"inline-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tomsguide.com\/phones\/samsung-phones\/galaxy-unpacked-2026-what-to-expect-at-samsungs-big-launch-event\" data-mrf-recirculation=\"inline-link\" data-before-rewrite-localise=\"https:\/\/www.tomsguide.com\/phones\/samsung-phones\/galaxy-unpacked-2026-what-to-expect-at-samsungs-big-launch-event\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Galaxy Unpacked<\/a> showcase, and the likely reveal of the whole Galaxy S26 series.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqKAgKIiJDQklTRXdnTWFnOEtEWFJ2YlhObmRXbGtaUzVqYjIwb0FBUAE\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" id=\"9452d63d-056d-471b-a8e5-403575362ffd\" data-url=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqKAgKIiJDQklTRXdnTWFnOEtEWFJ2YlhObmRXbGtaUzVqYjIwb0FBUAE\" target=\"_blank\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer-when-downgrade\" data-hl-processed=\"none\"><\/p>\n<p class=\"vanilla-image-block\" style=\"padding-top:31.51%;\">\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/r3t8zZ5ve4GewFTeoCM3R6.jpg\" alt=\"Google News\"   loading=\"lazy\" data-new-v2-image=\"true\" data-original-mos=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/r3t8zZ5ve4GewFTeoCM3R6.jpg\" data-pin-media=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/r3t8zZ5ve4GewFTeoCM3R6.jpg\" class=\"pull-right\"\/>\n<\/p>\n<p><\/a><\/p>\n<p id=\"3c8e923d-81da-48c0-bdcb-dfa8e46915ec\">Follow <a data-analytics-id=\"inline-link\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqKAgKIiJDQklTRXdnTWFnOEtEWFJ2YlhObmRXbGtaUzVqYjIwb0FBUAE\" target=\"_blank\" data-url=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqKAgKIiJDQklTRXdnTWFnOEtEWFJ2YlhObmRXbGtaUzVqYjIwb0FBUAE\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer-when-downgrade\" data-hl-processed=\"none\" data-mrf-recirculation=\"inline-link\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Tom&#8217;s Guide on Google News<\/a> and <a data-analytics-id=\"inline-link\" href=\"https:\/\/google.com\/preferences\/source?q=tomsguide.com\" target=\"_blank\" data-url=\"https:\/\/google.com\/preferences\/source?q=tomsguide.com\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer-when-downgrade\" data-hl-processed=\"none\" data-mrf-recirculation=\"inline-link\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">add us as a preferred source<\/a> to get our up-to-date news, analysis, and reviews in your feeds. <\/p>\n<p><a id=\"elk-more-from-tom-s-guide\" class=\"paywall\" aria-hidden=\"true\" data-url=\"\" href=\"\" target=\"_blank\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer-when-downgrade\" data-hl-processed=\"none\"\/>More from Tom&#8217;s Guide<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Similar to how J. Robert Oppenheimer once compared himself to &#8220;death, the destroyer of worlds,&#8221; leaker IceUniverse has&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":187719,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[342,111,139,69,145],"class_list":{"0":"post-248321","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-mobile","8":"tag-mobile","9":"tag-new-zealand","10":"tag-newzealand","11":"tag-nz","12":"tag-technology"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/248321","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=248321"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/248321\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/187719"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=248321"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=248321"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=248321"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}