EE and Sky battle with free Samsung bundles worth £370-£538 on Galaxy S26

Two of Britain's largest mobile carriers have launched competing promotions around Samsung's new Galaxy S26 lineup, each sweetening their contracts with free accessories worth hundreds of pounds. The battle reflects how fiercely the market has become for high-end smartphone customers, with EE and Sky Mobile offering starkly different incentives to win the same buyers.

EE's approach centers on a free Galaxy Tab S10 Lite tablet, which retails for £369 if purchased separately from Samsung. Customers who sign a 36-month contract for any model in the S26 range—the standard S26, the S26+, or the S26 Ultra—can claim the tablet at no cost within 30 days of their phone purchase. The entry point is the Galaxy S26 at £41.26 per month (reduced from £63.26) with £30 upfront, paired with 125GB of data, unlimited calls and texts. Over the full three-year contract, this represents a saving of £792 when you factor in the tablet's value. The Galaxy S26 Ultra costs more at £55.59 monthly (down from £75.59) on the same data plan, but still qualifies for the free tablet.

Sky Mobile has countered with a different bundle strategy. Rather than a single high-value item, Sky offers two accessories—the Galaxy Buds4 Pro earbuds and the Galaxy Watch8 smartwatch—together worth £538. These come free with any S26 model contract. The earbuds arrive directly from Sky, while the watch can be claimed from Samsung within 30 days. Sky's monthly pricing starts at £30 for the standard S26, £38 for the S26+, and £45 for the S26 Ultra, with a £12 upfront cost across all three. However, there's a significant trade-off: these entry-level prices come with only 100MB of data, making them suitable mainly for light users. Heavier data consumers would need to pay extra to upgrade their allowance.

Both carriers have built in caveats that buyers should understand before committing. EE typically raises its rates each April during the contract term, as does Sky Mobile, which explicitly warns that prices may increase over the 36-month minimum period. For those unwilling to lock into a long contract, Amazon and Samsung are both offering the standard Galaxy S26 at £779, a £100 discount from its usual £879 price.

The real story beyond the promotional math lies in the Galaxy S26 Ultra itself, which has drawn particular attention from technology reviewers. The device introduces a feature called Privacy Display—a screen technology that adjusts pixel visibility based on viewing angle. When you look directly at the phone, the display appears normal and vibrant. But when someone beside you tries to glance at your screen, the image dims and becomes difficult to read. This is achieved through pixels that shift dynamically, blocking side angles while maintaining front-facing clarity. Users can toggle the feature on and off through the Quick panel menu and even customize it to apply only to specific apps, messages, or the lockscreen password.

Technology reviewers have hailed Privacy Display as genuinely innovative—a capability that Android competitors have not yet matched. Yet the feature comes with a visual cost. When activated, the phone's otherwise stunning 6.9-inch AMOLED screen loses some of its pixel density and appears noticeably dimmer and less vibrant, diminishing the premium feel that typically defines high-end smartphones. The compromise becomes more problematic when taking photographs. Because the screen dims when viewed at angles, photographers struggle to see their subject clearly on the display when holding the phone at anything other than a perfectly straight angle, making it harder to frame shots precisely.

Despite these drawbacks, reviewers have concluded that the Galaxy S26 Ultra remains an exceptional device. It delivers blistering processing speed, impressive battery endurance, a capable camera system, and includes Samsung's S Pen stylus. For buyers prioritizing privacy and willing to accept the visual trade-offs, the phone represents a compelling flagship option. The question now is whether the free bundles from EE and Sky—worth £370 to £538—will be enough to sway customers toward committing to three-year contracts in a market where phone technology evolves rapidly and carrier loyalty has become increasingly conditional.