The Galaxy S26 Ultra's Best Feature Might Fix One Of The MacBook's Biggest Problems

Samsung will unveil the Galaxy S26 on February 25, but we don't have to wait that long to know what the new flagship series will offer. Like every year, leaks have already spoiled Samsung's best secrets. Separately, Samsung has already confirmed a feature that was rumored to be a Galaxy S26 Ultra exclusive (without confirming the exclusivity) and is teasing it ahead of next week's Unpacked event (see the video below). But a new report brings an unexpected twist for the feature. Apple may implement a similar solution on MacBook models in the future to fix one of its biggest problems: privacy.

According to a report released by market research firm Omdia on February 16, Samsung Electronics' latest privacy display technology, introduced in the Galaxy S26 Ultra, is also expected to be applied to Apple MacBook laptops by 2029.

— Ice Universe (@UniverseIce) February 16, 2026

If you've ever had to turn down your MacBook Pro or Air's screen brightness while dealing with sensitive content in public, to avoid anyone from reading a proprietary document or confidential information, then you're familiar with the issue. There's no other way to block people next to you from looking at your MacBook display unless you install a privacy screen. The issue can be annoying while trying to get work done in a public place, like a plane or coffee shop. 

Samsung is addressing screen privacy issues with a new type of OLED panel that can behave like a privacy screen. That's the tech reportedly planned for MacBooks in 2029. The claim comes from well-known leaker Ice Universe, who cited a research note from Omdia. It's too early to tell which MacBook models might offer the feature. Considering that Samsung is rumored to only equip the more expensive Galaxy S26 Ultra with a privacy screen, Apple may deploy it to the MacBook Pro models first, but that's just speculation.

After it leaked more than once, Samsung announced the "new layer of privacy" feature in late January, teasing that it's "coming to Galaxy very soon." Savvy Android fans familiar with Samsung's rumors may have deduced that Samsung was referring to the Galaxy S26 series and the Flex Magic Pixel OLED technology Samsung introduced a few years ago. Samsung revealed that the privacy screen will be customizable, allowing the user to enable it when they need it. More impressive is the ability to only turn on the privacy screen for specific apps or protect certain areas of the display, like the region of the screen where the incoming notifications appear. That way, a user consuming specific content in a public setting may block those nearby from reading any incoming notifications.

"It took over five years of engineering, testing, and refining to get here," Samsung said in a press release. "We studied how people use their phones, what they consider private, and how security should feel in everyday life. The result is a fusion of hardware and software expertly calibrated to protect you without getting in your way." Interestingly, Samsung showed off the new OLED display with a built-in privacy layer at MWC 2024. 

At the time, the company used a large-screen display to demonstrate the Flex Magic Panel innovation (video above). However, that concept proved that the privacy screen tech can work on a large-screen device. In other words, it may be only a matter of time until laptops like Apple's MacBooks deliver a user-customizable built-in privacy screen, as Omdia reportedly predicts.