Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra and Galaxy S26 Ultra just tipped for big camera upgrades — including a 200MP ultrawide lens
Forget the Galaxy S24 Ultra, the next two years could see a bunch of extra camera upgrades
Word is that the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra will be officially unveiled in less than a month, so we already have a pretty solid idea of what to expect. But that isn’t going to stop the leaks from occurring and telling us what they think is coming, and the latest is a roadmap seemingly offering details on the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra alongside the S25 Ultra and S26 Ultra.
This information comes from Twitter/X leaker @Tech_Reve, who has posted a bunch of Samsung-related leaks in recent times. They claim that the S24 Ultra will have a new upgraded 50MP “folded telephoto”, which we’ve already heard about, with 0.7μm pixels.
Samsung Galaxy Camera RoadmapS24U:- Folded telephoto upgraded to 50MP with 0.7um.S25U:- Wide-angle lens upgraded.- Folded telephoto lens upgraded with variable capabilities.- Ultra-wide-angle upgraded to 50MP.S26U:- Wide-angle upgraded to 200MP with 0.7um and… pic.twitter.com/7FKi6HxMMwDecember 17, 2023
The Galaxy S23 Ultra has a pair of 10MP telephoto lenses, so a resolution boost is welcome. However if this leak is accurate it means the pixel size has shrunk from 1.12μm — which isn’t ideal. Larger pixels are able to gather more usable light and therefore produce better images with less noise. Then again specs only tell us so much, and we won’t be able to properly compare the two lenses until we've had a chance to take some pictures for ourselves.
Now onto the future Ultra phones, starting with the Galaxy S25 Ultra. Apparently this phone will come with an upgraded main lens (referred to as the wide-angle lens), an upgraded folded telephoto lens with “variable capabilities” and a 50MP ultra-wide angle lens — up from 12MP on the S23 Ultra and rumored to be returning on the S24 Ultra.
We had heard that a variable telephoto lens could come to the Galaxy S24 Ultra, allowing for two different sets of optical zoom without needing two separate lenses. Judging from recent leaks this won’t be the case, but the Galaxy S25 Ultra may be in for something similar.
It’s claimed that the S26 Ultra will see the main lens come with a 200MP sensor, 0.7μm pixels and a 1/1.10-inch sensor. That makes the sensor slightly bigger than the 1/1.3 inch sensor currently included on the S23 Ultra, which should improve low-light photography and dynamic range.
Both those phones are a long way off, though, and things could easily change before they actually arrive. As for the Galaxy S24 Ultra, which is presumably locked in right now, Recent leaks suggest that the phone will have a 200MP main sensor, a 12MP ultrawide lens and two 50MP telephoto lenses — each with a respective 5x and 3x optical zoom.
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Tom is the Tom's Guide's UK Phones Editor, tackling the latest smartphone news and vocally expressing his opinions about upcoming features or changes. It's long way from his days as editor of Gizmodo UK, when pretty much everything was on the table. He’s usually found trying to squeeze another giant Lego set onto the shelf, draining very large cups of coffee, or complaining about how terrible his Smart TV is.