The Galaxy S26 in ‘Cobalt Violet’ has a bit of an identity crisis [Gallery]

Ben Schoon | Feb 27 2026 - 8:15 am PT

Samsung’s standout color for the Galaxy S26 series is its “Cobalt Violet,” and while I’m always down for purple smartphones, this one is underwhelming simply because it can’t decide what it wants to be.

Color has, for a while now, been a weird topic for Samsung Galaxy phones. We’ve had some striking hues such as the Galaxy Z Fold 7’s “Blue Shadow,” as well as the Galaxy S25’s oddly-named “Coralred.” But, on the flip side, we’ve also had plenty of incredibly mediocre colors, with numerous muted shades of black, white, and everything in between.

Honestly, it’s one of the things that I’ve personally loved about Pixel, especially lately.

Google touts ‘Pixel Colors Through the Years’ – here’s a look back [Gallery]

“Cobalt Violet” on the Galaxy S26 series,though, is an especially weird case, because it just feels like it doesn’t know what it wants to be.

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Between my hands-on time with the Galaxy S26 series earlier this week as well as the first couple of days with my Galaxy S26 Ultra review unit, “Cobalt Violet” doesn’t exactly live up to its name. In cool, mostly indoor lighting, the phone has a nice, subtle purple tint to it.

But, most of the time, it just looks gray.

Here are three edited images of “Cobalt Violet,” all using the same exact editing settings, all in the same spot, with merely the angle the phone is held at changing.

Lighting in that room wasn’t exactly ideal (mostly due to color temperature changes), so I was curious to see what it would look like in the outside world and, well, it usually just looks gray! That purple finds its way to the surface every once in a while, but not nearly to the extent I wanted it to.

Here are a few shots taken by my Galaxy Z Fold 7 from earlier this week:

Now, of course, there are two things to be said here.

Firstly, I’m well aware that most people are just covering this up with a case. And, yep, that’s very true (especially seeing as you’re required to use one to get the most out of these phones).

Second, subdued colors can be pretty great. Not everyone wants to walk around with bright and vibrant colors.

I get that, I don’t disagree with either point. But it’s just so frustrating that Samsung keeps going back and forth on colors for Galaxy phones. Especially given its competition. You can’t tell me that you haven’t seen a huge number of people loving that “Cosmic Orange” iPhone 17 Pro and happily flaunting it with clear cases.

Why can’t we get more of that from Samsung?

And it’s not like Samsung didn’t know what this color would be like in the real world. “Cobalt Violet” first debuted on the Galaxy S24 series over two years ago, and it looked identical back then. I really liked the “Titanium Violet” a lot more that year, too. It was dark and subdued, sure, but with some nice contrast from the frame and camera rings. Stunning in person.

samsung galaxy s24 ultra — *Subdued but unique, versus purple-ish*

What do you think? Would you like some more actual bursts of color from Samsung Galaxy flagships? Do you prefer this more subdued approach? Let’s discuss!

The Galaxy S26 series is available for pre-order now, with Samsung’s usual pre-order perks in full swing. You’ll find boosted trade-in values and more available now through March 11, when these phones are available on store shelves.