Galaxy S27 Ultra may finally bring a battery capacity bump to Samsung’s Ultra flagship segment in 2027. Despite cost increases, the company can no longer hold off on increasing the battery size to risk falling behind much.

Why could the Galaxy S27 Ultra be a true battery phone?

There are two reasons the next Ultra flagship phone will be a battery phone. The first is Samsung’s technological leap, while the other is Apple’s decision.

Silicon-carbon anode

Samsung adopted a silicon-carbon anode battery in the Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra. The new solution helped the company increase battery capacity without hurting the phone’s design and aesthetics, including weight and thickness.

Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra comes with a 5,000mAh battery, a 600mAh bump over its predecessor.

Samsung is expected to utilize its second-generation silicon-carbon anode battery in the Galaxy S27 series, or the Ultra version next year. This would take the total capacity beyond 5,000mAh to either 5,200mAh or 5,500mAh.

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iPhone 18 Pro Max

Galaxy S27 Ultra will compete with the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max models. Apple’s iPhone 17 Pro Max already has a slightly larger battery than the S26 Ultra. Meanwhile, the gap is going to widen significantly with the next Pro Max model.

It’s said that the iPhone 18 Pro Max could come with a battery of 5391mAh (rated capacity). That’s going to be around 536mAh higher than the rated capacity of Samsung’s several previous Ultra flagship phones, including the S26 Ultra.

Apple has an edge with full control on the software side. This further boosts efficiency, which makes a notable difference. Samsung couldn’t be able to stand against a 5,500mAh iPhone with the same 5,000mAh battery in 2027.

Qualcomm Snapdragon has quietly dominated Samsung Galaxy ecosystem, including phones, watches, and intelligent eyewear. Samsung announced incredible mobile devices at London Unpacked, which take Personal AI to the next level.

With the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 powering Galaxy flagships, alongside Snapdragon Wear Elite and Snapdragon AR1 Gen 1 inside wearables, Samsung is linking phones, watches, and eyewear into one connected AI experience.

At the center of this push is agentic AI, the kind that doesn’t just respond to commands but actually understands context and acts on its own.

On the Galaxy S26 series and Galaxy Z Fold 8 series foldables, this shows up as “Now Nudge,” a feature that reads what’s on your screen in real time and surfaces useful suggestions exactly when you need them.

Qualcomm claims a 19 to 20 percent bump in CPU performance, up to 23 to 24 percent better GPU performance, and a notable 37 percent jump in NPU performance for AI tasks specifically.

Image: Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 Features

Snapdragon Wear Elite chip inside the Galaxy Watch 9 and Watch Ultra 2 constantly processes sensor data like heart rate and motion, tuned specifically for all-day battery life.

Source – Qualcomm

Snapdragon AR1 Gen 1, tailor-made for Samsung’s Intelligent Eyewear, follows the same low-power mindset, handling camera and sensor input in real time while embracing every bit of efficiency out of a tiny battery.

Qualcomm has custom-built silicon for each form factor’s physical limits, then tied them together so the AI experience feels seamless whether you’re looking at your phone, glancing at your watch, or wearing glasses.

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Samsung has explained how it reduced the visible crease on the display of its new Galaxy Z Fold 8 series. The company has made several changes to make the foldable screen stronger, thinner, and more durable.

The main change is Samsung’s new Flex Titanium technology. Instead of using the usual plastic film, Samsung uses a thin titanium alloy film. It also adds a titanium plate to support the display. These two titanium layers make the screen much stronger.

Samsung says the new titanium film is about 20 times stiffer than the old plastic film. It is also very thin, about one-third the thickness of a human hair. The new design makes the display around 12% thinner.

The company has also improved the folding area of the screen. Smaller gaps in this area allow more adhesive to be used. The adhesive helps spread pressure and stress across the display. This reduces the pressure on one spot and makes the crease less visible.

The new display also offers better picture quality. Pixel density has increased from 368 ppi to 422 ppi. Samsung has also improved power efficiency by around 10%. This was achieved by improving the way the display’s data lines work with its Diamond Pixel RGB design.

These improvements make the Galaxy Z Fold 8 display better than previous models. The reduced crease is mainly important because it has been one of the biggest problems with foldable phones.

Millions of Galaxy users are near a massive wave of Samsung updates. August started dry from the software update rollout perspective, but Samsung’s official confirmation for the second week has completely changed the dynamics.

The present week is set to welcome new Samsung One UI 9 Beta updates along with the latest security patches and probably Play System updates from Google.

August 2026 security updates

Samsung last week detailed its August 2026 security patch. The OTA will offer fixes for 58 vulnerability items. The improvements will target 38 CVE items linked to Android, plus 18 SVE items tied to One UI software system.

These Galaxy devices could receive the August update soon:

• Galaxy Z Flip 8, Galaxy Z Fold 8, and Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra
• Galaxy S26, Galaxy S26+, and Galaxy S26 Ultra
• Galaxy Z Flip 7, Galaxy Z Fold 7, and Galaxy Z TriFold
• Galaxy S25, Galaxy S25+, and Galaxy S25 Ultra
• Galaxy S25 FE

That said, the August patch rollout is set to benefit millions of Galaxy users worldwide.

One UI 9 Beta updates

One UI 9 Beta 5 is confirmed to arrive this week, while we expect the first expansion as well. Galaxy S26 users will welcome the latest Beta, while the Open Beta Program will likely expand to select previous-generation models.

These Galaxy devices could get One UI 9 Beta updates:

• Galaxy S26 series – One UI 9 Beta 5
• Galaxy S25 series – One UI 9 Beta launch
• Galaxy Z Fold 7 and Z Flip 7 – One UI 9 Beta launch
• Galaxy S25 FE – One UI 9 Beta launch

Starting in South Korea, the Beta Program would be available in a total of six countries, including Germany, India, Poland, the UK, and the US.

Photo by Sammyfans

Google Play System updates

Google shared initial release notes of its August Play System update. The deployment hasn’t started yet, but it could be shared with eligible Galaxy users later this week.

Note that the Play System updates are not functional on the One UI 9 Beta build. That said, you will only receive new GPSU if your device is running software on the official/stable channel.

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 is officially on sale, and it’s already running the latest One UI 9 out of the box, based on Android 17.

If you just picked one up, or you’re still setting up your unit, there are a handful of settings buried in the menus that make a real difference to daily use.

Here are the five Settings worth changing right away:

1. Configure Battery Protection

One UI 9 gives you far more control over long-term battery health than before. Head to Settings, then Battery, then Battery protection. You’ll find three modes here:

• Basic: It stops charging at 100 percent and only resumes once you drop to 95 percent
• Maximum: This mode now lets you pick a hard cap of 80, 85, 90, or 95 percent
• Sleep time protection: It holds your charge around 80 percent overnight and tops off right before your alarm goes off.

2. Disable “Customization Service” to improve Battery Life

Samsung runs a background service that personalizes ads and app suggestions, and it quietly drains standby battery in the process.

Go to Settings, then Security and privacy, then More privacy settings, and find Customization Service. Turn it off.

3. Automate OTA and app updates

With Android 17 security patches rolling out regularly, you don’t want to be the person still on last month’s build. Under Settings, then Software update, turn on Auto download over Wi-Fi so you’re never far behind.

Then open the Galaxy Store, tap the menu icon, go into Settings, and set Auto update apps to Using Wi-Fi only.

4. Enable auto-backup for the new Lockout Policy

One UI 9 introduces a stricter lockout policy this time: 13 failed PIN or password attempts and the phone wipes itself automatically. It’s a smart anti-theft measure, but it also means an accidental pocket dial or a curious toddler could trigger a full reset.

Go to Settings, then Accounts and backup, then Samsung Cloud, and tap Back up data. Toggle on everything that matters to you: contacts, messages, your home screen layout, and make sure Auto backup stays active.

5. Add the built-in Google Search Bar

Long-press an empty spot on your home screen, tap the settings gear, and switch on Show search on home screen to pin a Google search bar just above your dock, a small addition but one you’ll use constantly.

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