Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra Colors and Design Leaks: Black, White, Silver and a Bold Purple Twist

The Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra is still months away from any official unveiling, yet the rumor mill is already in overdrive. Fresh reports from Korean leak circles, including the well-known blogger yeux1122 and long-time tipster Ice Universe, suggest that Samsung’s next Ultra will lean heavily on color and subtle design tweaks rather than radical hardware overhauls. If these leaks are accurate, the Galaxy S26 generation may be remembered as a refinement cycle where the most eye-catching upgrades are the shades on the back and the way the frame catches the light.

According to the latest information, Samsung is preparing a clearly segmented color strategy across the S26 family. The regular Galaxy S26 and the larger Galaxy S26+ seem to target a broader lifestyle audience with soft, friendly finishes, while the Galaxy S26 Ultra keeps a more restrained, premium palette capped by a new signature purple. At the same time, contradictory leaks about the frame color of the black S26 Ultra show that Samsung may still be tuning key cosmetic details behind the scenes.

Color palette for the Galaxy S26 and S26+

For the base Galaxy S26 and the Galaxy S26+, the rumored color lineup is surprisingly compact. Current leaks point to three finishes that will be shared by both models:

• Mint – a fresh, pastel green that echoes the soft tones seen on recent Samsung mid-rangers and appeals to users who like playful, Instagram-friendly hardware.
• Coral – a vibrant orange-pink shade that reads differently depending on lighting, designed for people who want their phone to double as an accessory and stand out in photos.
• Gray – a more subdued, neutral finish that is easy to match with any case, watch strap or laptop, and likely to be the safe choice for conservative buyers.

Earlier reports suggested that the Galaxy S26+ might receive a more straightforward orange variant of its own, but the latest leak wave appears to shut that down. Instead of splitting hairs between Coral and a dedicated orange, Samsung is reportedly sticking to this trio for both non-Ultra models. That keeps the range easy to understand at a glance: two expressive colors and one classic, muted option.

Galaxy S26 Ultra: four classic shades with a purple hero color

The Galaxy S26 Ultra, as usual, plays in a slightly different league. Rather than chasing playful experiments, it is expected to launch in four core colors that are familiar but carefully curated:

• Black
• White
• Silver
• Purple

Black, white and silver remain the timeless trio that corporate buyers, productivity-focused users and minimalists gravitate toward. These colors tend to age well, look premium in almost any environment and work seamlessly with formal or casual setups alike. The new purple option is clearly positioned as the standout hero shade. It ties into a broader trend of violet and lavender flagships across the Android world, signaling that Samsung still wants its Ultra to be visible on social feeds and in hands, not just powerful on spec sheets.

Samsung has often used a single, more daring shade to give the Ultra line personality without alienating conservative buyers, and purple fits that role perfectly. Expect this finish to be heavily promoted in marketing images if the leaks pan out.

The black S26 Ultra and the frame-color controversy

Where things get genuinely contentious is the black Galaxy S26 Ultra. Historically, recent S-series models have leaned on a silver-toned frame, even when the back glass is a different color. One set of leaks claims that Samsung will again opt for a contrasting frame on the black S26 Ultra, pairing a dark back with a lighter or metallic frame to outline the device’s shape.

This, however, collides head-on with a recent claim from Ice Universe, who insists that Samsung is testing an all-black S26 Ultra with a black frame, black back and black camera island. The stealthy, monochrome aesthetic sounds undeniably sleek, but it has an important side effect: when the frame and the display borders share the same dark tone, the boundary between them visually melts away, making the bezels look thicker than they really are. For a product that lives and dies on perceived modernity, that perception matters.

By contrast, a silver or lighter metallic frame against a black front can visually sharpen the edges and help the screen appear larger and more “floating,” even if the actual bezel measurements are identical. This sort of optical trick is common in smartphone design, and it may explain why some sources still believe Samsung will keep a contrasting frame for the black S26 Ultra despite the appeal of an all-black shell.

A bigger display, rounded edges and a larger selfie camera hole

Beyond the color drama, the Galaxy S26 Ultra design itself sounds like a careful evolution of the current Ultra formula. The device is rumored to adopt slightly more rounded edges, softening the hard, slab-like profile of its predecessors. That should make a very large phone more comfortable to hold, reducing pressure on the palm without completely abandoning the Ultra’s signature, boxy silhouette.

On the front, the S26 Ultra is expected to carry a 6.9-inch display, giving it a footprint of roughly 163.6 x 78.1 x 7.9 mm. This keeps it firmly in big-screen territory, the kind of phone aimed at people who live on their device for work, media consumption and gaming. The relatively slim thickness for such a large handset suggests Samsung is still trying to balance premium in-hand feel with battery capacity.

One detail that may divide fans is the front camera. Leaks claim that the selfie camera hole will be about 4 mm larger in diameter than on the S25 Ultra. The functional benefit is a wider field of view: more of your surroundings or more friends can fit into group selfies and video calls. The trade-off is visual – a larger punch-hole is inherently more noticeable on an otherwise clean, edge-to-edge display. Some users will accept that compromise for better selfies, while others are likely to see it as a small step back in terms of front-facing aesthetics.

Dedicated camera island and familiar hardware

On the back, the Galaxy S26 Ultra is rumored to move toward a more defined camera island rather than leaving each lens floating individually on the back panel. A dedicated camera island can help visually organize the different lenses and sensors, making the rear look more intentional and less scattered. It also gives Samsung more room to play with finishes and accent rings around the lenses.

Underneath that new island, though, the actual camera hardware appears to be largely carried over from the Galaxy S25 Ultra, with only subtle refinements instead of headline-grabbing changes:

• 200 MP ISOCELL HP2 main camera, reportedly with a potentially wider aperture to let in more light for cleaner low-light shots and less motion blur.
• 50 MP ISOCELL JN3 or Sony IMX564 ultrawide camera for sweeping landscapes, cityscapes and cramped interiors.
• 50 MP IMX854 5x periscope telephoto, again rumored to benefit from a slightly wider aperture to brighten long-range zoom photos.
• 12 MP IMX874 selfie camera, paired with the enlarged punch-hole allowing a broader field of view.
• 12 MP ISOCELL 3LD (S5K3LD) 3x telephoto, reportedly paired with a smaller sensor around 1/3.94-inch, signaling fine-tuning of the zoom stack rather than a complete rethink.

In other words, Samsung seems to believe its current camera formula is strong enough that it only needs polishing, not replacement. Any big improvements in image quality are likely to come from software tuning, multi-frame processing and AI-powered scene detection rather than radical new sensors.

Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 and a 5,200 mAh battery

Inside, the Galaxy S26 Ultra is expected to use Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 in markets where Samsung traditionally favors Snapdragon chips. This next-generation SoC should bring gains in CPU and GPU performance as well as more powerful on-device AI, helping with everything from camera processing and gaming to live translation and smarter battery management.

Powering all of this is a rumored 5,200 mAh battery, a modest but meaningful capacity bump over earlier Ultras. Coupled with the efficiency improvements expected from the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 and Samsung’s ongoing software optimizations in One UI, that capacity should translate into more consistent all-day endurance, even for users who push their phones hard with 5G streaming, camera use and gaming.

What the leaks reveal about Samsung’s S26 strategy

Looking at the leaks as a whole, the Galaxy S26 Ultra appears to be an evolution rather than a revolution. The core hardware – display size, camera concept, and even overall silhouette – stays close to the S25 Ultra. The biggest talking points instead are the color choices, the debate over the frame treatment on the black model, the move to a more defined camera island and the subtle changes to comfort and ergonomics.

Samsung seems to be betting that its Ultra line is already mature in terms of raw specs and that the next battle will be fought in aesthetics, brand identity and day-to-day usability rather than in spec-sheet one-upmanship. A clean four-color palette for the S26 Ultra, a lifestyle-focused trio for the S26 and S26+, and careful optical tricks with frames and bezels all support that theory.

Of course, all of this information remains unofficial until Samsung takes the wraps off the Galaxy S26 series on stage. Leaks can and do change, and details like exact color names or final frame finishes may still be in flux. For now, though, fans of the Ultra line should expect a phone that feels familiar in performance and photography, but fresher in the way it looks and feels in the hand – especially if that new purple version ends up being as striking in person as it sounds on paper.