Honor Magic V5 vs Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra

Honor Magic V5

Snapdragon 8 Elite with up to 16GB RAM handles demanding games and multitasking across the large inner screen with ease. Two or three apps running simultaneously is smooth. The ultra-thin chassis does limit thermal dissipation, causing throttling after about 15 minutes of sustained heavy load.

• Snapdragon 8 Elite with up to 16GB RAM handles demanding games and split-screen multitasking effortlessly
• Excellent multitasking — two or three apps simultaneously on the inner screen works smoothly
• Thermal throttling after approximately 15 minutes of sustained load — thin chassis limits cooling

Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra

The Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 for Galaxy is used worldwide on the Ultra (unlike the base S26 and S26+, which split between Snapdragon and Exynos 2600 by region). Multi-core Geekbench numbers hit 10,713–11,240, with 3DMark stability at 67.6% — a substantial improvement on the S25 Ultra's 58.4%. Sustained gaming improved too thanks to a larger vapor chamber, though Ars Technica still measured about 40% GPU drop under max stress.

• Benchmark scores are the highest seen on a smartphone, closely matching the OnePlus 15 that runs the same chip — gameplay is smooth even at max settings in Genshin Impact.
• In Geekbench 6 the S26 Ultra hit a multi-core score of 11,240 (up from 9,828 on the S25 Ultra) and a GPU score of 25,403 (up from 19,863) — essentially as fast as an Android phone can get in 2026.
• 3DMark Wild Life stability hits 67.6% over a 20-minute benchmark — up from the S25 Ultra's 58.4% and beating the Honor Magic 8 Pro (55.4%).
• Even under maximum stress the Ultra sheds about 40% of its graphical performance — still faster in games than Google's Pixel phones, but a big chunk to lose.
• Opening apps is lightning-quick and the ample RAM easily keeps heavy apps and games in memory — the S26 Ultra is blazing fast all the time, though it damn well better be for $1,300.
• The Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5's NPU is 39% more powerful than the previous generation, powering the new AI features — CPU is up 19%, GPU up 24%.

Honor Magic V5

A major step up from the Magic V4, delivering one of the best rear camera systems on any foldable. Natural portraits with accurate subject detection and good low-light performance. However, the 10MP selfie cameras (both inner and outer) are weak, and AI processing can over-sharpen and produce unnatural color boosting.

• Major improvement over the V4 — one of the best rear camera systems on any foldable phone
• Natural portraits with accurate subject detection and excellent background blur
• Weak 10MP selfie cameras on both inner and outer displays — "lacking in almost every situation"
• AI processing can over-sharpen images and amplify reds, producing unnatural-looking results

Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra

The sensors are unchanged from the S25 Ultra (200 MP main, 50 MP ultrawide, 10 MP 3x telephoto, 50 MP 5x telephoto), but the main gets a wider f/1.4 aperture (up from f/1.7) and the 5x telephoto widens to f/2.9 (from f/3.4). Low-light improves noticeably, and Horizon Lock video stabilization is a new headline feature. The 3x 10 MP sensor is aging and rivals from Oppo, Xiaomi and Honor now pull clearly ahead on absolute image quality.

• Both the main 200 MP and 5x telephoto get brighter lenses (f/1.7 → f/1.4 and f/3.4 → f/2.9) — a welcome update that especially helps low-light photography.
• The S26 Ultra actually beats the Pixel 10 Pro on noise in low-light shots, and even manages to expose a dim Grogu-doll scene better than Google's phone.
• Versus the Pixel 10 Pro, Google still maintains faster shutter speeds in 2026, though Samsung's wider aperture helps it keep up with Apple on motion.
• Horizon Lock / Super Steady Video automatically corrects up to 360 degrees of rotation, producing dramatically stable footage even when you twist and shake the phone — though it needs plenty of light.
• The 10 MP 3x telephoto uses a comparatively smaller sensor and is noticeably weaker than the other lenses — shots in the 3-5x range don't have the same punch.
• The core camera setup is starting to feel dated next to the Oppo Find X9 Pro (200 MP zoom, 1/1.56" sensor) and the Xiaomi 17 Ultra (1-inch main sensor) — Samsung's mature processing is the only thing keeping it competitive.
• Side-by-side with a Xiaomi 17 Ultra, the Xiaomi has more depth, better facial detail, and less oversharpening — Samsung is falling behind on absolute camera quality.
• The 5x telephoto uses a new periscope design with lenses on top of the prism instead of behind it, making the module smaller and the bokeh more pleasant — but extending the minimum focus distance to about 52 cm.
• The base S26 ships with essentially the same camera system Samsung has been using since 2023 — four generations, same sensors, just some sprinkled AI on top.
• The base S26 shot of a perfect gym photo looks balanced on its own, but next to the Xiaomi 17 Ultra it's obvious what Samsung's oversharpening is replacing — real detail on the face.
• Shots from the main sensor are noticeably brighter in low light and processing is sharper with better motion than last year — it's 'completely acceptable, but Samsung is due for some real hardware improvements.'