itel S26 Ultra Review: The Price Is the Point

The itel S26 Ultra arrived with the kind of spec sheet that made most people do a double-take at the price tag. A curved AMOLED display? 144Hz refresh rate? 6,000mAh battery? For less than KES 25,000, it sounds almost too good to be true. And in some ways, it is.

Display and Design

Credit where it’s due, the S26 Ultra photographs well. The curved AMOLED screen and slim 6.8mm profile give it a premium appearance that contradicts its budget roots.

At 168 grams, it’s impressively light for a phone with such a large battery. The matte back resists fingerprints, and the red power button gives it some sort of personality.

However, once you pick it up and use it for a few days, the plastic construction becomes apparent. It doesn’t feel cheap exactly, but it doesn’t inspire confidence either. The IP65 rating offers basic splash and dust protection, which is nice to have, but it’s not groundbreaking.

Meanwhile, the curved edges, while they may have that visual appeal, introduce annoying accidental touches when you grip the phone normally. It’s a design choice that prioritizes aesthetics over usability.

On the upside, if there’s one area where the itel S26 Ultra genuinely impresses, it’s the 6.8-inch curved AMOLED display. The 144Hz refresh rate makes scrolling feel smooth, and the 1.5K resolution delivers sharp text and vibrant colors.

The 4,500-nit peak brightness claim seems optimistic, but outdoor visibility is more than acceptable.

Gorilla Glass 7i provides enough drop protection to survive drops from up to one meter on rough surfaces, while the in-display fingerprint sensor works the way you’d expect it to.

The bottom-firing single speaker gets loud but sounds thin and lacks depth, which, to be fair, is what you’d expect from a budget phone.

Processor and Performance

The Unisoc T7300 chipset handles basic tasks like messaging, browsing, and social media without major hiccups. It comes with 8GB RAM that helps with multitasking, and Android 15 with itel OS 15 runs reasonably clean, despite having some pre-installed apps that serve no purpose.

READ: itel Super 26 Ultra With Curved AMOLED Launches in Kenya at KES 20,499

When you start pushing this phone even moderately hard, the limitations surface quickly. Gaming beyond casual titles requires dropping settings to medium, and even then, performance feels inconsistent.

The phone gets noticeably warm during extended use, despite the “IceCool 10-layer cooling system” marketing. That cooling solution seems more about managing heat from underperforming hardware than enabling sustained performance.

Camera and Photography

The 50MP main camera takes decent photos in good lighting. That’s about the highest praise it deserves. Colors lean warm, which flatters skin tones in portraits, making shots acceptable for Instagram or Facebook. The autofocus also locks reasonably fast when the sun is out.

Once lighting conditions deteriorate, so does image quality. Night shots introduce a lot of noise, and while they’re technically usable for social media, they won’t impress anyone. The lack of optical image stabilization becomes glaringly obvious when shooting video or in low light.

Still, the 32MP front camera performs better than expected in mixed lighting. Video recording tops out at 1440p/30fps with dynamic range. The “Ultra Steady mode” does help, but it’s not going to work miracles given the hardware limitations.

For casual users who primarily share photos on social platforms, the camera system clears the bare minimum. I reckon this will be enough for most users on a budget.

Battery and Charging

Here is where the itel S26 Ultra truly shines. The 6,000mAh battery is very impressive. It’ll comfortably last through a full day of heavy use and stretch into a second day with moderate usage. For people tired of daily charging anxiety, this alone might justify the purchase.

The trade-off is that charging at just 18W feels painfully slow in 2025. You can expect 70-90 minutes to reach full charge, which means you’ll need to plan your charging sessions.

Many competitors offer 33W or faster charging, making this feel antiquated. The large battery capacity doesn’t excuse the conservative charging speed. Hopefully this will be addressed in the next iteration.

Software and Apps

Android 15 with itel OS 15 avoids the bloatware nightmare of some budget brands, which is commendable. The interface is straightforward and mostly stays out of your way.

Customization options exist, including themes, icon packs, and wallpapers, but they’re basic. There’s also the dynamic island-style notification around the punch-hole camera, which is a cute touch that mimics premium phones.

Software updates remain a question mark. Budget brands have spotty track records here, and nothing suggests itel will be different. Don’t expect rapid security patches or Android version upgrades. At best, maybe 2 major OS updates.

Final Verdict

The itel S26 Ultra isn’t a bad phone. At KES 20,499, it’s a budget phone that behaves exactly like a budget phone. It checks boxes on a spec sheet while delivering compromised real-world performance.

The display is impressive for the price, and the battery life provides peace of mind. Everything else is somewhere around the “adequate” category.

READ: itel S24 In-Depth Review: The Budget King

That being the case, who should buy this? Well, someone with a strict budget who prioritizes battery life and display quality over performance and camera capabilities.

Someone who uses their phone primarily for messaging, social media, and streaming. Someone who understands they’re getting limited performance for a great price.

However, if you game regularly, take photography seriously, value fast charging, or expect consistent performance under load, this might not be the best choice. At this price point, you’re making significant compromises, unless they’re compromises you can live with.