Samsung S26 Ultra Drops Titanium in Favour of Aluminium: Here’s Why

KOMPAS.com - Samsung has chosen to dispense with titanium material in the Galaxy S26 Ultra. After two previous generations used a titanium frame, the new flagship phone now returns to an Armor Aluminium frame. The change is quite interesting because titanium had previously been promoted as a premium material on the Galaxy S24 Ultra and Galaxy S25 Ultra. Samsung says the decision is part of the company’s efforts to balance strength, comfort and design of the device. ‘The material choice on each Galaxy device reflects Samsung’s endeavour to balance strength, comfort and design intent,’ Samsung was quoted as saying by KompasTekno from SamMobile. According to the South Korean tech giant, the main design goal of the Galaxy S26 Ultra is to deliver the thinnest and lightest Ultra phone in the history of the Galaxy line. To achieve this target, Samsung assessed Armor Aluminium as the most ideal material. This material allows the device to remain strong and durable, but with a chassis that is slimmer and lighter. Consequently, the Samsung S26 Ultra is recorded as 0.3 mm thinner and around 4 grams lighter than its predecessor, the Galaxy S25 Ultra. This can help device thermal management, especially on the S26 Ultra which now uses a more powerful chipset (Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5). According to Tom’s Guide, cost could also be another consideration. The price of smartphone components continues to rise, particularly for RAM and storage. By using aluminium which is cheaper than titanium, manufacturers can curb production costs and allocate budgets to other more expensive components. Interestingly, Samsung is not the only company dropping a titanium frame for its flagship phones. Apple previously took a similar step. After using titanium on the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro, Apple is said to be returning to aluminium on the iPhone 17 Pro line. That said, this material change did not become a major talking point at the Galaxy S26 Ultra launch. Public attention was instead more focused on the phone’s new features, such as Privacy Display, the more powerful chipset, improved cameras, and various new AI features.