The Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra has only been on sale for a few months, but we’re already seeing some pretty serious rumors about its successor — the Galaxy S25 Ultra. The latest rumor to hit the net is that Samsung may be ditching the phone’s fourth camera lens, with the loss of the 3x telephoto zoom in the process. But a rival leaker has made matters confusing by claiming this isn’t the case.
@ISAQUES81 claims that Samsung is already testing the cameras on a prototype version of the Galaxy S25 Ultra. Apparently this prototype has only three cameras: the main, ultrawide and periscope. The 3x telephoto lens has apparently been scrapped, and it’s claimed Samsung thinks it can offer the equivalent of 3x zoom on the main sensor.
Galaxy S24 phones already employ a similar trick with 2x and 10x zoom photos. You crop down a higher resolution image into a smaller photo that makes the target look larger in the process. And with sufficiently high resolution and camera quality, you can mimic the appearance of a lower resolution camera this way — as Apple and Samsung have shown.
@ISAQUES81 also claims that the main camera will have the same sensor size and resolution as the S24 Ultra, but may be able to capture more light. The periscope lens is also said to have fixed focal lengths between 4 and 5x zoom plus 6 and 7x zoom. So while it has variable zoom, this leak suggests it won't be the same hybrid lens that was rumored to be coming to the Galaxy S24 Ultra — and is available on the Sony Xperia 1 V.
But while @ISAQUES81 is saying all this, the leaker Ice Universe has come out with conflicting info about the S25 Ultra’s camera. They claim that the phone will still have four camera lenses, and Samsung “won’t take the liberty of removing the 3x lens”. However, they also add that an upgraded version of the secondary telephoto lens is possible.
Ice Universe doesn’t go into additional details, only promising to wait for “more specific and accurate news” in order to provide “absolutely accurate camera information”. In other words, stay tuned for more in the coming months.
It’s going to be a while before we find out what the Samsung Galaxy S25 series is going to feature, since the phones likely won’t be announced until next January at the earliest. Between now and then we have the launch of the Galaxy Z Fold 6 and the Galaxy Z Flip 6 sometime this summer, and maybe even the Galaxy Z Fold 6 FE and Galaxy S24 FE later in the year.
More from Tom's Guide
- Google I/O 2024 live blog — all the Gemini AI and Android 15 news as it happens
- Android could finally get a desktop mode to rival Samsung’s DeX — powered by ChromeOS
- Google's entire Pixel 9 lineup revealed in new image leak
