In summary
- Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra and S27 Ultra tipped for same telephoto
- Would mean four years using same sensor
- Not the first time Samsung has stuck with same camera component
The Samsung Galaxy S Ultra smartphone range won’t bee seeing major improvements to its telephoto camera provision any time soon, according to fresh claims.
Prolific leaker Ice Universe has taken to X (formerly Twitter) with an interesting claim about the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra – and beyond.
According to the tipster, Samsung will be using the same 1/2.52-inch 0.7μm 50MP telephoto sensor that made its debut in the Galaxy S24 Ultra (pictured below) right up to and including the Samsung Galaxy S27 Ultra in 2027.
That represents four generations of Ultra devices, including the current Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra , all using the same zoom provision.
Mattias Inghe
Samsung has form
This wouldn’t be an unusual decision on Samsung’s part, if accurate. It’s been using the same 200MP ISOCELL HP2 main camera sensor since the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra, and it also made its way into the recent Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 .
Meanwhile, the Sony IMX754 3x telephoto camera has been in use since the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra.
Indeed, the tipster has previously claimed that Samsung will downgrade the existing 3x telephoto camera in the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra for the Galaxy S26 Ultra, all in the name of slimming the phone down.
We liked the camera offering on the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra a lot, but with strong competition from the likes of the Xiaomi 15 Ultra and the Oppo Find X8 Ultra – both of which have really pushed the boat out on camera tech – it arguably needs to offer something new.
Even Apple is taking steps forward in the telephoto game, with its iPhone 17 Pro set to offer a massively improved 48MP 4x telephoto camera, complete with 8x “optical-quality” zoom capabilities.
Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra
Author: Jon Mundy, Contributor, Tech Advisor
Jon is a freelance journalist who got his start covering mobile games at the dawn of the App Store. He has since covered everything from smart home tech and laptops to food and culture, but always seems to return to his fascination with smartphones.
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