The camera is one of the key selling points for Samsung’s Galaxy Ultra phones, with the S24 Ultra boasting things like a 50MP, 5x telephoto zoom and a 200MP main camera lens. And, thanks to a new leak, we might have just found out what the upcoming Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra will have to offer as well.
Over on Weibo serial Samsung leaker Ice Universe has claimed that the Galaxy S25 Ultra will feature big upgrades to its ultrawide and secondary 3x telephoto lenses. Apparently the phone will boost the resolution to 50MP on both lenses, which is a big upgrade from the 12MP and 10MP shooters on the Galaxy S24 Ultra.
However, the main and primary 5x telephoto lenses will apparently be unchanged. Which makes sense considering the 5x telephoto lens was already boosted to 50MP on the S24 Ultra, while the 200MP resolution on the main lens already dwarfs most of Samsung’s main rivals.
There had been rumors that Samsung would scrap the 3x telephoto lens, in favor of a digital crop-and-zoom technique. However, Ice Universe previously refuted that rumor, promising that the S25 Ultra would retain its fourth camera lens. And, fortunately it sounds like Samsung may be offering the lens a much needed upgrade.
While there’s more to camera performance than resolution alone, the upgrade to a better sensor can have serious benefits for the Galaxy S25 Ultra. Better low light performance, improved digital and hybrid zoom, high resolution video recording and possibly even macro photography support on the 3x telephoto lens.
Plus not upping the resolution could see Samsung fall behind its rivals. Rumor is that the iPhone 16 Pro Max will feature a 48MP ultrawide lens, while the Pixel 8 Pro already offers 48MP resolution on its ultrawide and telephoto lenses. At the very least Samsung needs to match its biggest rivals, even if it’s just a superficial numbers game.
Whether the rumors of a variable telephoto lens come to fruition this year are unclear right now. As much as we’d like to see a lens capable of jumping between 4x and 7x optical magnification, we’ve been let down by those rumors before.
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