A recent survey aimed at gauging consumer enthusiasm for AI features on the Galaxy S26 Ultra delivered unsurprising results: most users remain indifferent. To many, artificial intelligence is still seen as a “tech gimmick,” unlikely to convince them to spend on Samsung’s next big flagship.

Now that the launch date and venue for the Galaxy S26 lineup have been officially confirmed, it may be time to take a closer look at Samsung’s real strategy behind its latest generation of smartphones.

According to a recent poll by PhoneArena, more than 800 readers showed little interest in the S26 Ultra’s AI capabilities - a reaction that could give Samsung’s marketing team pause.

The question now is whether it’s too late to change course. The Galaxy S26 Ultra’s promotional campaign is essentially complete and, as usual, leaks are expected to flood the internet soon. Even if Samsung were to admit that anchoring its entire messaging on AI was a misstep, what could it possibly pivot to at this stage?

A slightly faster charging speed? Incremental performance gains - the annual hallmark of Android flagships? Or perhaps a new design that stirs more debate than admiration?

On paper, the Galaxy S26 Ultra doesn’t seem especially compelling, and the same can be said for the standard S26 and S26 Plus models. Unless the recently leaked specifications prove wildly inaccurate - which is unlikely - Samsung appears to have few cards left to play besides highlighting its AI innovations, an area where 54.83% of users said they simply don’t care.

There’s still a portion of the audience Samsung might win over. Seventeen percent of survey participants expressed interest in the much-discussed Privacy Display feature, while about 28% said they were open to “new experiences,” though few could define what that really means.

Not everything is bleak. Some AI tools could prove genuinely useful, but few users can recall any 2025 AI announcement that truly surprised or delighted them. It’s also hard to imagine the average Galaxy S25 Ultra owner having incorporated any exclusive AI feature into daily life - and the same may hold true for the S26 Ultra.

The Privacy Screen feature, allowing users to hide on-screen content from prying eyes, seems more intriguing than most mobile AI additions of recent years. Yet even this received only 32.81% positive feedback in another PhoneArena survey.

These are hardly the numbers Samsung hoped for when branding the S26 Ultra as a “next-generation AI phone” designed to “make your life easier.” Still, it’s possible the company has more to reveal.

Could there be surprises ahead? Perhaps. Despite skepticism, users remain open to being impressed. With rumored prices rising and battery capacity staying the same, Samsung will need a genuine breakthrough - not just a showy demo - to justify the hype.

For now, AI remains Samsung’s biggest gamble. Whether it will truly capture consumer interest or end up as another marketing slogan is something only the real-world experience of the Galaxy S26 Ultra can determine.

Hai Phong