Galaxy S26 Ultra display confusion: Is it 8-bit or 10-bit?

During Galaxy Unpacked 2026, Samsung announced many upgrades that the Galaxy S26 Ultra brings, but not all. The brand revealed some of those during press briefings, and others were discovered by people when they started using the device. One of them is that the display on the new model offers 10-bit color depth as opposed to 8-bit on the previous model. 

While 8-bit color depth offers 16 million colors, 10-bit color depth offers 1.01 billion colors, which, in theory, results in reduced banding and higher color accuracy. Surprisingly, on Samsung’s website, the page for the Galaxy S26 Ultra states that the phone’s display has 16 million colors, which has stirred confusion among people. So, which one is it? 8-bit or 10-bit?

When Samsung was talking to SamMobile about the Galaxy S26 series, the brand said that all three devices in the lineup, the Galaxy S26, Galaxy S26+, and Galaxy S26 Ultra, feature displays with a 10-bit color depth. The brand said the same thing to many other publications.

In case Samsung may have made a mistake during its communication with media outlets, this video from HFV Unbox demonstrates how, while viewing an image on the screens of the Galaxy S25 Ultra and the Galaxy S26 Ultra, you will see banding on the former but not the latter. 

It backs Samsung’s claim that the Galaxy S26 Ultra has a display with 10-bit color depth. So, why did the brand mention 16 million colors on its website instead of mentioning 1.01 billion colors? We assume that the people in charge of the website may have made a mistake, which seems more likely when you consider that they have been mentioning 16 million colors for years.

However, the same cannot be said about the Galaxy S26 and the Galaxy S26+ at the moment. They may or may not have 10-bit color depth displays. We will reach out to Samsung on the matter and will get back to you soon. Speaking of these phones, if you are planning to get them, click on the Pre-Order Galaxy S26 button above to pre-order and get extra benefits on them.