Technical Details
The PhoneBuff YouTube channel conducted a large-scale test of Samsung flagship smartphones of six generations - from Galaxy S21 Ultra to Galaxy S26 Ultra. The goal is to determine how the gradual improvement of characteristics affected the real speed of work.
Context and Background
The main conclusion of the test is that between the last three generations - S24, S25, and S26 Ultra - the difference is minimal, however, the Galaxy S26 Ultra is still the fastest. The older Galaxy S21 Ultra, S22 Ultra, and S23 Ultra lag significantly more - the limiting factors were both outdated chipsets and a less efficient cooling system.
Test Results
The final results of the full cycle of testing are as follows: Galaxy S21 Ultra (Snapdragon 888, 12 GB) - 6 minutes 53 seconds; Galaxy S22 Ultra (Snapdragon 8 Gen 1, 12 GB) - 6 minutes 56 seconds; Galaxy S23 Ultra (Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, 8 GB) - 6 minutes 28 seconds; Galaxy S24 Ultra (Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, 12 GB) - 5 minutes 1 second; Galaxy S25 Ultra (Snapdragon 8 Elite, 12 GB) - 4 minutes 52 seconds; Galaxy S26 Ultra (Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5, 12 GB) - 4 minutes 42 seconds. Especially noticeable is the advantage of the S26 Ultra in resource-intensive scenarios - primarily when working with AI tasks. A more powerful platform and optimized operating system together provide a significant reduction in task processing time. If the Galaxy S27 Ultra does receive 16 GB of RAM, then this, in combination with the transition to the new SoC Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 Pro, will provide it with much greater performance compared to all its predecessors.