Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra 'Privacy Display' Feature to Arrive on Other Flagship Android Phones, Tipster Claims

Samsung has already confirmed that it's upcoming Galaxy S26 Ultra model will be equipped with a novel 'Privacy Display' feature that is designed to improve a user's privacy while using the company's smartphone. The hardware-level feature is capable of limiting viewing angles so that a portion of the screen can be obscured so that bystanders can't see sensitive content, such as notifications that reveal purchase information or private chats. A tipster now claims that Chinese OEMs are also testing the same technology on their smartphones.

Samsung's Privacy Display Technology Could Arrive on Xiaomi, Vivo and Oppo Phones

According to a post by Digital Chat Station (translated from Chinese) on Weibo, the Chinese microblogging platform, manufacturers in China are testing "spy screen" technology (translated from Chinese) for smartphones displays. It is said to be in development for handsets that will be launched later this year.

Photo Credit: Weibo/ Digital Chat Station

The tipster claims that the new display technology, which sounds very similar to the Privacy Display feature from the upcoming Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra, is expected to be available on flagship models from smartphone makers "around September". If this claim is accurate, we can expect manufacturers like Xiaomi, Vivo, and Oppo to launch new flagship models with hardware-level privacy features.

Digital Chat Station's post doesn't provide any specifics, but the timeline suggests that the successors to the Xiaomi 17, Oppo Find X9, and Vivo X300 series could feature an advanced display that offers the same functionality as the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra. A recent report suggested that Apple could also integrate the Privacy Display feature into its MacBook models starting in 2029.

Samsung's Privacy Display technology is capable of reducing the viewing angles of a portion of a smartphone's display so that only the person holding the phone can see what's on the screen at the time. The feature was spotted in several leaks over the past few months, before Samsung eventually confirmed that it would arrive with the successors to the Galaxy S25 series. 

It's currently unclear whether the display privacy feature being tested by the Chinese OEMs will use technology developed by Samsung Display, or whether the firms will use similar technology that might be offered by another display supplier, like BOE. More information about these handsets is likely to surface online in the coming months, ahead of their anticipated debut.