A Weakness? Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra Memory Performance

There have been some intriguing rumors spreading about the newest Samsung Galaxy in the past few months. Just recently, we saw convincing reports that the upcoming Galaxy S26 Ultra will be on sale to the public by mid-March, however the real eye-opener was about a possible weakness. 

It seems that the S26 Ultra might have a memory problem. The online Samsung community were hoping it would be shipped with 16GB of RAM, but the proverbial balloon of optimism just got punctured. In fact, it looks as though the majority of the S26 smartphone range will have 12GB RAM, and the much-desired 16GB will be limited to the top end models. 

As with all online chatter, we must point out that this hasn’t been confirmed by Samsung yet. But, there is no smoke without fire and here’s where the match was struck:

What is Happening with the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra?

The source of all the online fuss was this benchmark result, which was posted on Geekbench in mid-January. This detailed a Samsung Smartphone model listed as number SM-S948U, which matches a prior FCC filing for the US version. 

This device scored well, and was roughly in line with the results of other smartphones with similar tech specs. However, scroll about halfway down and you might notice why so many alarm bells started ringing; the memory was listed as 10.8GB of RAM. 

It is possible that the listed device wasn’t running the final version of the software. Samsung have a habit of tinkering with their smartphones right up to their release dates and might make further alterations before the end of February. However, assuming this is as close to the retail version as possible, it means the top spec phone in the S26 collection is running on 12GB RAM. That begs a major question. 

Why Not 16GB?

Where did the other 4GB go? If the 16GB RAM rumor was ever true and Samsung decided to lower it, the most likely reason is AI. Artificial intelligence systems like OpenAI and ChatGPT have exploded in popularity over the last year, and it’s having a knock-on effect on the wider tech industry. 

As more people work AI into their daily lives, it’s driven the cost of memory higher. All those AI-generated search results on Google and the digital imagery beloved by social media have revealed an infrastructure weakness in the tech industry, and it’s making RAM more expensive. 

And while we’d love the S26 Ultra to feature an impressive amount of memory, Samsung have to balance that cost against the current smartphone market. Perhaps, the proposed price for a 16GB S26 Ultra was just too high, and Samsung decided to reduce the memory rather than have the cost drive potential customers away. We know they were trying to keep the price in line with the previous models, so this seems like a likely culprit.

Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra Performance Levels

You might not notice any significant performance issues when you first pick up a shiny new Galaxy S26 Ultra in the spring. Once you’ve unboxed it and peeled off the protective film over the display, it should run perfectly smooth. The S26 Ultra is going to be fitted with the popular Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chip, and should work like a dream. You might even wonder what all the fuss was about?

The weakness in the RAM however, may become apparent a year or two down the line. Running messaging apps and other less demanding programs will be fine, but as AI continues to develop, the S26 Ultra is going to struggle to keep up. Generative AI routines are going to eat that 12GB up. By 2029, the Galaxy S26 will have gone through multiple system updates and will start to lag. 

Will This Affect Battery Life?

As far as we know, the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra is going to retain the 5,000mAh battery seen in its predecessor.  You might assume therefore, that it isn’t keeping pace with the rest of the tech world and the power will drain faster, but we have seen some positive news.

The aforementioned Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chip could be a difference maker. It’s said to offer 35% power savings, so even with the lower RAM, your new smartphone should still have plenty of life in it. Even with the pressure of those advanced AI features, it'll have a smoother performance than the previous model. 

As an extra bonus, it’s also being upgraded to 60W wired charging, so won’t take as long to refill. 

The 1TB Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra

That being said, some of the more eagle-eyed Samsung followers will have noticed this isn’t true for the entire S26 range. The German-language website Winfuture recently posted a breakdown of the tech specs, and this included an S26 with 16GB RAM. 

But there’s a catch; it’s only for the very top of the line Galaxy S26. Specifically, it’s for the version with 1TB of storage. Strictly speaking, we are still getting a 16GB version of the S26 Ultra. However, it’s neither the standard nor the upgraded model, and will almost certainly be outside the price range of most people. You can still get a Galaxy S26 with more memory, but it'll be expensive. 

Follow Ghostek For All Samsung News And Rumors

Whilst the news of 12GB ram might be disappointing, we must reiterate that until the next Galaxy Unpacked event, all of the above is hearsay. It is possible that we’re wrong. We’re still excited to get our hands on the next generation of Samsung smartphones, especially after the Galaxy S26 Edge was cancelled.

To keep on top of the latest Samsung news, the best thing to do is follow Ghostek, as we’ll be following the updates like phone-loving hawks. And when the time comes to personalize your new phone, we have an exciting range of cases and accessories available. Have a browse and see if anything catches your eye.