AI tools on the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra that just make things easier

The Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra focuses heavily on AI, but not in a way that feels abstract or overly technical. Instead, it’s designed to handle small, everyday tasks more efficiently, so there’s less time spent on routine digital admin and more on what actually matters. Here are a few ways the AI tools on Samsung’s latest flagship can help streamline your day.

TL;DR: The Galaxy S26 Ultra uses AI tools like Writing Assist¹, Note Assist², Now Brief, Browsing Assist³, and Photo Assist⁴ to simplify everyday tasks. From refining emails to summarising webpages and organising notes, the Galaxy S26 Ultra removes manual input to help streamline how it’s used throughout the day.

How does Writing Assist improve messages and emails?

Writing Assist refines text in real time, adjusting tone, grammar, and clarity directly within supported apps. It can rewrite a message to sound more formal, more concise, or more relaxed, depending on the situation.

We’ve all been there: a work email comes in after a long day, and you feel exhausted and unsure how to respond. Writing Assist unearths the perfect tone to deliver your message without sounding too short, impersonal or unprofessional.

A quick response written between meetings can also be adjusted to sound more professional without having to rewrite it from scratch. Plus, Writing Assist never misses; it helps you strike the right balance in messages, such as when following up with a colleague or responding to someone you don’t know well.

It removes the need to pause and rethink wording, helping messages come across clearly the first time.

Can the Galaxy S26 Ultra organise chaotic notes?

Note Assist organises and summarises notes automatically, turning unstructured text into something easier to read and act on. It can break down longer notes, highlight key points, and reshape rough ideas into a clearer format.

Phones have helped take notes on the go for years, but they aren’t so hot on helping you retrieve a note when you need it, especially if it’s been a while since you recorded it. The Galaxy S26 Ultra can summarise and present your thoughts in a more organised way, so you don't have to go back through everything later.

Note Assist is also useful for planning trips, saving ideas for get-togethers, or jotting down ideas. Plus, it reduces the need to manually tidy up notes afterwards, making them more useful straight away.

What does Now Brief show you during the day?

Now Brief gathers information from across the phone and presents it in a single, glanceable summary that includes calendar events, reminders, weather, and messages. Thanks to Galaxy AI⁵, it can not only pull information from across multiple apps but also help make sense of it all.

(Image credit: Future)

If you have a holiday or a theatre performance coming up in a different location, Now Brief will show you how to get there, what the weather is like, any tickets you might have booked and are available in your emails, etc. The feature will also suggest mindfulness sessions if you have a longer trip coming up to manage stress levels.

Better still, Now Brief also helps surface updates that might otherwise be missed, presenting them clearly, so it’s easier to stay on top of the day without constantly switching between apps.

Can the Galaxy S26 Ultra summarise webpages for you?

Browsing Assist summarises webpages into shorter, more digestible sections, highlighting key points without needing to read everything in full – perfect for avoiding the information overload we all face these days, especially on our smartphones.

It works directly in the Galaxy S26 Ultra’s browser and can be useful when checking reviews before buying something, scanning long articles, or checking what the critics are saying about the movie you’re watching or that actor that you know from that movie but can’t remember their name.

Instead of reading through entire pages of content, Browsing Assist presents the main points upfront, pulling out the most relevant information and helping you return to your original task. In short, it reduces the time spent skimming and scrolling, helping information feel more manageable.

How does Photo Assist improve photos after they’re taken?

Photo Assist applies AI-powered edits directly within the Gallery app, allowing adjustments such as removing distractions, improving composition, and refining lighting without using separate editing tools.

The only limit of Photo Assist really is your imagination. Using text prompts, it can add details or complete photos, or completely redo images to match their purpose. Want to add a flying pig in the background of your hen do snapshots? No problem. How about removing the flame from the last candle on the cake to make it look like the birthday girl blew them all out in one try? Photo Assist can sort that.

Cluttered backgrounds are cleaned up, photobombers are removed, and off-centre shots are quickly reframed. It also helps when preparing images to share, where a cleaner, more balanced photo makes a difference. Photo Assist turns editing into a quick step rather than a separate task, helping more photos feel worth keeping.

From writing messages to organising information and refining photos, the Galaxy S26 Ultra uses AI to handle small tasks more efficiently throughout the day. To see how these features work together and explore the device's full capabilities, visit the official Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra page.

¹ _{Samsung account login is required. Requires a network connection. Must meet length requirements to activate feature. Service availability may vary by language. Accuracy of results is not guaranteed.}

² _{Samsung account login is required. Requires network connection.}

³ _{Available to use on Samsung Internet. Requires network connection and Samsung account login. Summarise feature may be limited or unavailable on certain paid websites. Character limit applies. Language pack download may be required. Accuracy of results not guaranteed.}

⁴ _{Requires network connection and Samsung account login. A visible watermark is overlaid on the saved image to indicate it was generated by Galaxy AI. Accuracy of output not guaranteed.}

⁵ _{Samsung account login is required for certain AI features. Galaxy AI features are provided for free. Future releases may include additional advanced features that are offered as part of a paid subscription plan. Different terms may apply for AI features provided by third parties.}

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Let us know: Are you Team Google, Team Android, or both?

Google and Android are pretty much synonymous, given that the former owns and develops the latter. However, over the years, Android has more or less grown into its own entity, spanning not just your phone but wearables, vehicles, and more. Meanwhile, Google as a company continues to expand its reach beyond just Android and Search, and lately it's been all about AI.

But we want to know how you feel about both. In 2026, are you a fan of Google and/or Android? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!

Google and Android in 2026

Google and Android have grown a lot since their early days. Google (and its parent company, Alphabet) grew from a simple search engine to a huge conglomerate with a hand in many aspects of our lives, including internet browsers, self-driving cars, internet service, and the very smartphones in our hands. And while Google has pushed the boundaries of AI for many years, things have only recently begun to ramp up exponentially with the advent of generative AI.

Google now sees itself as an AI company, and these days its focus has been on incorporating AI across its many products.

Still, despite bringing tons of fun and useful products over the years, Google has had its fair share of problems. The company is constantly in litigation over its practices and has, on several occasions, been found to be anticompetitive or maintain a monopoly in certain markets. It has also aligned itself with government contracts that consumers find morally questionable.

Google has also introduced a ton of products only to kill them shortly after, which has sullied consumer trust in the brand.

(Image credit: Andrew Myrick / Android Central)

Fortunately, Android is one of the products that Google has not managed to kill. After buying Android in 2005, Google turned it into the world's most widely used operating system, spanning many different device types and price points.

Android has many faces, even just on smartphones, thanks to its open-source nature, and companies like Samsung have helped expand its reach and feature set. In fact, Android phones often adopt new features before iOS on iPhones.

That said, Android isn't perfect, and while it has certainly become more capable with Android 17, it's still seen by many as a second-class citizen when compared to Apple. Even in 2026, there are still plenty of popular apps that are launched on iOS before making it to Android. And when apps do come to Android, there are often quality issues that aren't present on iOS.

Additionally, unlike iOS, Android is not very consistent, especially when you move across brands. Samsung and Google's own Pixel smartphones tend to get new Android platform features before anyone else, leaving others like Motorola waiting on the sidelines, which some find frustrating.

But let us know in the comments how you feel about Android and Google and if you're a fan of one or the other (or both)!

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Samsung's Wearables app leaks with an all-new look to get ready for new watches

What you need to know

• Rumors claim Samsung is working on reworking its Wearables app with a redesign that's much cleaner and fits its current One UI aesthetic.
• The app reportedly revamps the home screen with a large rendering of the user's connected Galaxy Watch, minimizing the tab's options into containers.
• The Wearables app leak also highlighted new Health features, which Samsung discussed previously before rolling out to Galaxy devices in June.

There's a lot of buzz surrounding Samsung's upcoming products since we entered June (and now July). A new rumor now claims there's a Wearable app rework on the way for your Galaxy Watch.

Over the weekend, SammyGuru reportedly discovered an "early look" at what Samsung is working on for the Wearable app. Supposedly, the company is preparing to give the app a face-lift with a new design that matches its current One UI design. The publication states the Home tab could feature a much larger rendering of your Galaxy Watch.

Your watch image will take up most of your display, while other options are scaled down and placed in containers. Watch Face previews are said to benefit from this more immersive Galaxy Watch rendering. While the app's settings get a visual refresher that will likely adhere to One UI 9's upcoming themes, SammyGuru says it found some hidden features, too.

Samsung is reportedly working on a way for users to "raise their wrist" to talk to Gemini, instead of long-pressing their side button. What's more, Galaxy AI could generate "custom tiles" for the user's watch "based on their interests." The post adds that the app's early code suggests tiles for sports, headlines, and more. For the outdoor, rugged users (Galaxy Watch Ultra), rumors claim it could pick up real-time elevation info for Trail Run, companion controls for the Depth app, and more.

There's a lot on the way

SammyGuru

SammyGuru

The rumors mention new health features on the way to Samsung's next Galaxy Watches. The company already gave us a rundown of what we should expect from its Health app ahead of its next reveal. Aside from a major redesign (which has already rolled out to users), Samsung introduced new wellness features, such as Vitals. It states this will combine five crucial health metrics its watches capture about users. Vitals focuses on your heart rate, heart rate variability, respiratory rate, skin temperature, and blood oxygen.

Vitals will enhance the app's pre-existing Energy Score by comparing these metrics to the user's "resting baseline" to highlight any important changes. Heart Rate Score is another new feature that will be available with One UI 9 Watch and its next watches. Your sleep, stress, activity, and body composition data all matter, as Heart Rate Score highlights changes that could negatively impact your heart.

We don't have a beta yet for Samsung's One UI 9 Watch software, but rumors claim it could have health reports waiting when we get it.

Android Central's Take

I know these are just rumors, but the Gemini change is a little strange. I'm sure this will be an option we'll be able to toggle. But to automatically have Gemini called forth by simply raising my wrist, an action taken when I want to see the time, sounds weird. I'm fine with long-pressing the side button (if I were to ever use Gemini on my watch). The redesign looks nice, too, I suppose. It brings the app closer to the way Samsung's OS has been moving recently. In that regard, it's not bad.

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Upgrade Your Vacation: The Ultimate Summer 2026 Tech Guide

Hi Android Central readers!

We have updated this ultimate guide with more of the latest and greatest in tech when it comes to traveling this summer.

Any kind of travel can be stressful, and we know sometimes you might forget to pack the right tech gadget.

Android Central's full-time staff and some of its freelance contributors have helped put this entire guide together. We have spent hundreds of hours testing and reviewing these products to handpick the best gear and essentials to enhance your travel experience this summer.

There's a lot in this guide that will help you pick the right gadget to travel with, how to pack, and some great buying guides for your traveling convenience.

I would start by reading the article on "How to use this guide."

We hope you have a great summer vacation, and we hope this guide helps you!

— Shruti Shekar, Editor-in-Chief

How to use this guide

Traveling with your tech

Helpful traveling tips

Need a new phone for your summer travel plans? These are the Android devices you should consider in 2026

The only power and charging kits you need this summer: 6 essentials to keep your battery levels topped up

Tablets are essential travel companions, and I've selected the TOP 9 devices you should consider before hitting the road in 2026

I wouldn't leave my house without these excellent headphones to accompany me on my summer travels

How to lock your phone when traveling to the US

How to set up and use eSIM on Android

Tech must-haves for your pets during your summer travels

Tech, travel, and a toddler: Here's what we're taking on the road

Travel Buying Guides

Best prepaid sim cards

Best camera phones

Best portable chargers and power banks

Best portable high-capacity power banks

Best usb-c chargers

Best usb-c thumb drives

Best Kindle e-reader

Best microSD card for Android

Best travel app for Android

Best noise-cancelling headphones

Best Bluetooth tracker

Best bluetooth speaker

Best eSIM compatible Android phone

Best bluetooth headphone adapter

Best wireless plans for international travel

Best portable wi-fi hotspot

Best portable tablet

Best USB adapter for travel

Best sleep headphones

Best USB-C cable for travel

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I created Harry Potter style moving portraits with the Homture Magic Frame

Gadget Weekly

(Image credit: Android Central)

Join Namerah Saud Fatmi as she explores the cool, quirky, and sometimes downright odd world of smartphone accessories, gadgets, and other nerdy toys every week.

Bringing pictures to life takes a whole new meaning with the Homture Magic Frame. This enchanting digital photo frame is loaded with AI goodies and smart sensors, making your still shots move dynamically.

What truly makes this a magical experience is the motion sensor detection. The frame only triggers movement in your static photos once it detects motion nearby. And that is exactly why it feels like a Harry Potter style moving portrait — it literally senses movement and reacts!

The Homture Magic Frame can be set up as a gift or for personal use

(Image credit: Namerah Saud Fatmi / Android Central)

Priced at $139.99, the latest Homture Magic Frame version was launched in October 2025. The 10.1-inch frame has a Full HD+ (1920x1200) resolution, 64GB of local storage, a one-year warranty, and a 30-day return period. There is a stand built into the back that can be used both horizontally and vertically, and a proprietary power cord is included in the box.

The Homture Magic Frame can be set up for your own use or as a gift for someone else to use and own. This can be done by scanning the QR code on the box, or by sending a digital gift code if it's a long-distance present.

Namerah Saud Fatmi / Android Central

Namerah Saud Fatmi / Android Central

The Homture Magic Frame uses Wi-Fi to connect to the Android or iOS app. Once the frame is paired with your phone, you can add photos from your smartphone's gallery to the Magic Frame.

It is a fairly straightforward setup process that requires you to simply follow the steps indicated on the Magic Frame once you turn it on. The setup process takes about five minutes, including time to install the Homture app on your phone.

The moving photos are AI-powered

Namerah Saud Fatmi / Android Central

Namerah Saud Fatmi / Android Central

The moving pictures are created by using the AI Magic feature within the Homture app. You can select which photos you want to bring to life and what actions you would like them to do. For example, I created an AI Moment of my cat waving at me. Every time I step near the frame, my cat waves hello!

The sensor isn't perfect, and sometimes it doesn't detect movement. To address this, you can tweak the motion detection settings in the frame's Settings menu and choose from high, medium, or no trigger probability options to make the dynamic photos move more or less frequently.

Namerah Saud Fatmi / Android Central

Namerah Saud Fatmi / Android Central

Once these "AI Moments" are created, you can send them to the frame. There are several options within the app, such as the ability to show a certain picture or AI Moment immediately, add and delete pictures from the frame, hide pictures, like pictures, and download pictures. So if the frame is a gift, the recipient can add, remove, or download whatever pictures you loaded for them beforehand.

It is certainly cool, but is it worth spending money on?

(Image credit: Namerah Saud Fatmi / Android Central)

One big drawback is that the Homture Magic Frame requires AI credit points to create these dynamic portraits. Each moving photo or AI Moment consumes 100 points. You get a 2,000-point card for free with the frame, which translates into 20 AI-generated videos or AI Moments.

AI credit points can be topped up later as well, with 500 credits priced at $4.99, 1,000 credits selling for $9.99, and 2,000 credits going for $19.99. Prices vary per region.

As much as I also wish for Alexa or Google Home integration, that would likely just drive up the price of the smart frame even more.

With the right curation of photos and videos, the Homture Magic Frame can be the most thoughtful gift ever. At its current price, it is a reasonable purchase, cheaper than many alternatives. Just be careful about how you spend your free 2,000 credits so you don't need to purchase any for a while.

Homture Magic Frame

Magical memories

The Homture Magic Frame brings your static photos to life with its AI Moments feature. The screen is a lovely 10.1-inch Full HD+ and the smart frame is super easy to set up. If you're looking for a sentimental gift idea, this is the perfect pick.

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You can upgrade your TV's sound quality with the new Google Home Speaker surround sound option. Here's how

Many cinephiles have amazing home theater setups with projectors, reclining and rumbling seats, multi-channel surround sound systems, and probably even a built-in popcorn maker in their theater room. While that's great for people who want to spend a lot of time setting up all the pieces to the home theater puzzle, plenty of people don't have the technical know-how, time, or money for such an endeavor.

Thankfully, Google is making a simple home theater setup with its new Google Home Speaker, which lets you quickly pair your speakers with your Google TV Streamer for a quick surround sound system without all the wires or wall anchors. This is a great option for anyone with less space to work with, or even just as a temporary solution for any reason.

The best smart speakers from Sonos and Amazon have had this capability for quite a while, but Google is finally joining the crowd with its latest speaker, the 2026 Google Home Speaker.

What's it like using a Google Home Speaker with a TV?

(Image credit: Nicholas Sutrich / Android Central)

The 2026 Google Home Speaker upgrades the Nest Mini and Google Home Mini audio experience with a taller design and larger audio components, delivering significantly better bass and sound quality. It also uses 360-degree drivers, which can help create a virtual surround sound system with two speakers.

Traditional surround sound systems typically require you to hook up an amplifier and run wires for speakers that you'd normally mount on a wall or ceiling. Lots of people (including me) opt for soundbars for this reason: they usually connect to your TV, include a subwoofer, and sometimes add a second set of speakers for the rear channels.

All of these solutions generally require running audio wires, whereas a Google Home Speaker only requires a power cable. While the Google Home Speaker is the easiest solution in this set of options, it also comes with some caveats.

(Image credit: Nicholas Sutrich / Android Central)

Compared to a traditional surround sound system or a soundbar, the Google Home Speaker won't have the booming bass of home theater systems, since it doesn't include a dedicated subwoofer. That might be better in a community housing situation (like an apartment), or in smaller living spaces.

While you can pair two Google Home Speakers with a Google TV Streamer, this only provides stereo sound with virtual surround options. It's not a true surround sound system since it doesn't have three or more speakers, so the overall quality and immersiveness of a traditional surround sound system will be missing.

That being said, this is a great option for simplicity's sake, to save space, and to reduce setup time, especially if you're not a person who enjoys running cables. If you pair only one Google Home Speaker with your TV, I recommend placing it under the TV or on a shelf at the front of your room. With two speakers, you have a bit more freedom to place them around the room.

Pairing a Google Home Speaker with your TV

(Image credit: Android Central)

To get started, you'll need at least one Google Home Speaker (two is best), plus a Google TV Streamer. I'll assume for this guide that you've already plugged in and set up your Google Home Speaker for regular use. If you haven't, go ahead and do that, then follow along with the guide:

1. On your Google TV Streamer, press the Home button, then select the Quick Settings option at the top of the screen.

2. On the pop-up window, select Audio output from the list of tiles.

3. In the audio output window, select Connect another device.

4. In the Remotes & Accessories section, select Google speakers from the list, then select Getting started.

(Image credit: Android Central)

5. A list of Google Home Speakers on your account will appear in the next window. Select all the speakers you want to use for TV audio output, then click Next.

6. Once setup is complete, all connected Google Home Speakers should appear in the Google speakers section of the Remotes & Accessories menu.

(Image credit: Android Central)

Now that youre Google Home Speakers and Google TV Streamer are connected, they will automatically connect and be used any time your Google TV Streamer is powered on.

Fixing audio latency issues with a Google Home Speaker and Google TV Streamer

Sometimes, when using wireless audio, you'll find that the image on the TV doesn't match the audio coming from your speakers. This is more than just annoying, as it makes it difficult to watch anything. Thankfully, Google has a simple built-in tool to fix this problem:

1. On your Google TV Streamer, press the Home button, then select the Quick Settings option at the top of the screen.

2. On the pop-up window, select All settings at the top.

3. Select the Remotes & Accessories section.

4. Select the Google speakers option.

(Image credit: Android Central)

5. Select the offending speaker from the list, then select Audio video sync.

6. Follow the on-screen instructions to adjust the audio latency to match the audio with the bouncing ball.

(Image credit: Android Central)

Using an older Google Home or Nest speaker as a surround sound system

If you're not willing to shell out $200 for a pair of new Google Home Speakers (and I can't blame you for that), your existing Nest or Google Home speakers can serve a similar function, but it'll likely require a bit more tweaking.

All Google Home and Nest speakers support Bluetooth, so you can pair them with your TV or preferred streaming device to enjoy higher-quality audio than the TV can provide. Bluetooth could have quality, range, and audio latency issues, but let's get things set up first before we assume those things:

1. Open the Google Home app on your phone.

2. Select All devices from the list (it's the 4-square grid icon).

3. Find your speaker in the list and tap it.

4. Tap the settings cog at the top of the screen.

5. Select Audio from the list.

(Image credit: Android Central)

6. Select Paired Bluetooth devices.

7. Tap Enable pairing mode at the bottom, then select the speaker from the audio section of your TV or streaming device.

(Image credit: Android Central)

Since every TV or streaming device is different, I can't walk you through how to find the audio section on those, but it's likely under system settings, audio, then Bluetooth or wireless audio. If you need to adjust audio latency, your TV or streaming device should have options for it in the same section.

Whichever method you use, Google Home and Nest speakers are a great way to add higher-fidelity audio to a TV without running wires, which can make a big difference in your TV experience.

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