Galaxy S26 Ultra Benchmarks Reveal Mixed Performance Results

Samsung's Galaxy S26 Ultra has appeared in hands-on benchmark tests ahead of its official Wednesday debut, revealing a performance profile that's both impressive and puzzling. The flagship device, which will launch alongside the Galaxy S26 and S26+, has been thoroughly tested by Sahil Karoul, showing results that don't quite match expectations for a phone with an overclocked Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 processor.

The CPU performance on Geekbench 6 shows a single-core score of 3,648 and a multi-core score of 10,898. These numbers are firmly average compared to other Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 devices we've tested, which is somewhat disappointing given the S26 Ultra's hardware advantages. The phone features a Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 variant with prime cores running at up to 4.74 GHz, compared to the standard 4.61 GHz on regular versions of the chipset.

However, the GPU performance tells a different story. On AnTuTu's GPU test, the Galaxy S26 Ultra achieves an impressive score of 1,447,696, placing it at the top of the platform's performance chart for Android devices. This suggests Samsung has optimized the graphics processing capabilities effectively, even if the CPU performance doesn't fully reflect the overclocked processor's potential.

The mixed results continue across different benchmark platforms. On AnTuTu's overall performance test, the S26 Ultra scores 1,094,797 in CPU performance, making it the second most powerful device on AnTuTu's current performance chart. Only the active-cooled RedMagic 11 Pro beats it with a score of 1,193,279. This discrepancy between Geekbench and AnTuTu CPU scores suggests the phone may be optimized differently for various testing scenarios.

3DMark's Wildlife Extreme test shows the S26 Ultra earning a peak loop score of 6,489, which is actually worse than most Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 devices we've tested. This further highlights the inconsistent performance profile, where the phone excels in some areas while falling behind in others.

These benchmark results raise questions about Samsung's optimization strategy for the S26 Ultra. The phone clearly has the hardware to compete at the highest levels, particularly in GPU-intensive tasks, but the CPU performance doesn't fully capitalize on the overclocked Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5's capabilities. This could be due to thermal constraints, software optimization choices, or other factors that limit sustained performance in certain scenarios.

As the official launch approaches on Wednesday, these benchmark results provide an early look at what users can expect from Samsung's latest flagship. While the GPU performance should satisfy gamers and graphics-intensive users, those prioritizing raw CPU performance might find the results somewhat underwhelming compared to what the hardware specifications suggest should be possible.

The Galaxy S26 Ultra's performance profile appears to be a case of specialized excellence rather than all-around dominance, excelling in graphics and certain benchmark scenarios while delivering more modest results in traditional CPU testing. This could indicate Samsung's focus on specific use cases or a deliberate trade-off in their optimization approach.