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Singer-songwriter and social media sensation Fred Roberts may only be 23, but the world of creating content has still changed radically since the start of his career. Now, as he approaches 100,000 combined followers on social media, he’s headlining festivals, shooting music videos and travelling the world. But he still finds the time to keep fans in the loop, and bring in new ones – all through the phone in his pocket.

“When I first started, TikTok was only just becoming a thing,” he says. “The first covers I posted on Instagram, it was through the Explore page that people were finding them. There wasn’t a vertical feed, it was a lot less likely that you would be discovered. I started editing on a computer, no one really did it on a phone. And then fast forward two or three years, there are so many more things you can do. The front cameras have gotten so much better – you can film a video on the front camera that’s basically professional quality.”

• Swapping a touchscreen for the keys: Fred Roberts at the piano with the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra

How to shoot high quality video with your front camera
Hang on – filming on the selfie camera? Why?

“Otherwise I’m just too self-conscious – I’m like: ‘Do I look good right now?’” he jokes, going on to explain that it’s actually about perceived closeness and a feeling of honesty.

“That’s weirdly what people want. There was a bit of a trend where people wanted high quality, high-production music videos, big budget stuff. And I don’t know if it became oversaturated, but now people are wanting something that feels more real. So many videos that go viral – especially promoting songs – it’s literally a front camera, not a professionally lit environment. People are like, that’s him being real. The majority of stuff that does well is filmed on a phone.”

Of course, that’s not to say that just anything filmed on a phone does well – or that all phones are equal. Roberts has spent the last few weeks trying out the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra, the phone at the top of the new S Series range. With its superlative cameras and AI-assisted editing tools, it’s designed to make creating scroll-stopping content feel effortless – but is a high-end device still as useful in the age of unfiltered honesty?

How AI can cut background noise in videos
The stripped-back vibe Roberts goes for in his videos can sometimes lead to snags. For instance, halfway through a sentence about his creative process, his labrador Rosie decides she’d like to go outside. This brings up a tool he’s found useful on the Galaxy S26 Ultra: Audio Eraser¹.

“It’s giving me things I didn’t know I needed,” he says of the phone. “My dog was just about to bark, and you can filter that out.”

The AI-enhanced feature recognises six types of unwanted noise, including wind, voices and music, and allows you to seamlessly edit them out of your video. Even in a nightclub, apparently. (And now, thanks to the latest update, it can even be used in third-party apps.)

“I was in the studio on Tuesday and we were making a song about how I went out on Saturday night. A video of one of my friends in the club, we took that and used it. On the Gallery app, there’s an edit icon and you can get rid of all the music and bring out the crowd noises. We did that, sent that audio to the computer, chopped it up and used it in a song. It’s pretty cool.”

How AI improves shooting in low light
In addition to clubbing, Roberts spends a fair bit of time in low-light environments, from atmospheric recording studios to the unlit stalls of live music venues. This, he says, is where the Galaxy S26 Ultra’s Nightography² feature really shines.

“I’ve been using it in dark situations,” he says, chuckling at the phrasing. “The studio I was in the other day is low lit, and you just don’t worry about it not looking good. Videos from the club the other night are very crisp.”

How creators can protect their privacy when editing
The problem with crisp videos, of course, is that you can be recognised.

“I use my phone to record my face – and most of the videos I edit, I’ll do it on the train or in a cafe. Sometimes I hide my phone or can’t edit on the train because I don’t want a person to think: ‘What the hell is he doing, looking at his face?’”

This, he says, is why the built-in Privacy Display³ is “the coolest feature” of the Galaxy S26 Ultra.

“I actually don’t know how it works – what are they doing in there?” he laughs. “But you can turn up the intensity so much that it’s impossible to see, even if someone was sitting next to you. It literally blocks it out. You can edit and it could be anything – it’s nice to know I can post on the way somewhere. It just frees up time.”

Relief from the anxiety of accidental oversharing is a theme for Roberts, it seems – understandable when so many people see everything you upload. The Galaxy S26 Ultra’s Photo Assist⁴ features have apparently been a particular stress-saver in this regard.

“Say you’re taking a photo and there’s something in the back of the image that you can’t post,” he says, giving the example of a bank card. “You can circle around stuff and it gets rid of it. It just takes away that hesitation, that paranoia.”

Circling things with the stylus is weirdly fun, too, I suggest. “Yeah, I liked it,” says Roberts. “It makes it feel more professional. You can write a lyric straight away – when you pop [the stylus] out of the screen, it automatically brings up a note. You have an idea, you click this pen out and it works.”

So we’ve removed the barks, the pumping nightclub music and any accidental bank cards – what’s it like clicking “post” knowing what you’ve created is going out to so many people?

“That direct connection to fans, it’s instant. In previous times, the artist was more separated from the people listening. And now it’s like, oh you guys love the song. I can know that instantly.”

So does he camp out on the notification screen to see what the response is?

“It’s weird because you never know what’s going to do well. That’s the scary part. But the good part of it is – you never know what’s going to do well! So you might as well do something you love.”

Buy the Galaxy S26 Ultra now

_{1. Samsung account login required. Six types of sound can be detected; voices, music, wind, nature, crowd and noise. Results may vary depending on audio source & condition of the video. Network connection required to be used on supported apps.}

_{2. Results may vary depending on light condition and/or shooting conditions including multiple subjects, being out of focus or moving subjects.}

_{3. Requires manual activation in settings to function. Privacy Display feature is not AI-powered.}

_{4. Requires network connection and Samsung account login. A visible watermark is overlaid on the saved image to indicate it was generated by Galaxy AI. Accuracy of output not guaranteed.}