After more than a week of using the new Galaxy S26 Ultrait’s not the new Privacy Display that I’m most impressed with. It’s a surprising little gimmick that Samsung has finally refined to near perfection — AI editing built right in the gallery app.
Samsung has tinkered with AI photo editing in the past couple of years, but the results were honestly not great. The Portrait Studio option in past Galaxies was too far off reality to be useful, while this new AI model finally gives you results that are not outlandish, but actually… incredibly cool.
And sure, you can always upload your photos to ChatGPT or Gemini, or some other service, but having this built right in the Gallery app, available with just a couple of taps and taking literally 10 seconds, is a game-changer for me. The feature was actually often so fast I started wondering if it’s all being processed on device, but alas, no. To use these AI photo styles, you do need an Internet connection.
3D toon style
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I love that all styles work with landscapes, people and pets, with some considerate limitations around nudity and other types of sensitive content. Well done!
Retro anime style
The retro anime style is not my favorite, but some people may dig this look.
Pop art
The pop art style barely changes the subject in the photo, but adds all sorts of pop art decorations to the background.
Watercolor
Watercolor has got to be my favorite style by far! It just captures beautiful results every single time.
Oil painting
The oil painting effect is a bit more artsy and less cheerful than watercolors, but still lots of fun.
Anime
The anime style is a bit less expressive than retro anime, with more neutral, toned down colors.
Crayon
My second favorite style has got to be this childhood-inspired crayon art.
Comic
Want to turn yourself into a black-and-white comic?
Sci-fi
The sci-fi style adds a few tweaks, but just enough to change the mood of your photos to that of a science fiction movie.
In conclusion, AI photo editing is certainly not new, but the fact that it sticks close to the original photos and the thoughtful styles built right in the gallery app on the S26 Ultra make this so much cooler.
But what do you think: are AI styles just a gimmick to you, or would you like to see other phones adopt something similar too?
