Another new rumor suggests no major camera upgrade for the Galaxy S26 Ultra

Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra
(Image credit: Samsung)

A new rumor as reiterated previous speculation that Samsung may not be making significant camera hardware improvements for its next flagship camera phone, the Galaxy S26 Ultra. According to GalaxyClub, the S26 Ultra's primary (wide-angle) camera could have the same 200MP resolution as that used in the current S25 Ultra, though it's still possible the sensor itself may be slightly different. If Samsung does indeed reuse the exact same sensor for the S26 Ultra, it would be the fourth year running that the 200MP ISOCELL HP2 chip has been used in a Samsung flagship phone, having first seen service in the S23 Ultra.

Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra colorful marketing shots

If true, the Galaxy S26 Ultra might end up with the same primary camera sensor as used in this, 2023's S23 Ultra. (Image credit: Samsung)

It's also possible that the S26 Ultra's battery capacity could remain unchanged as well. According to tipster @UniverseIce, while battery capacity might remain at the same 5000mAh as it's been since the S20 Ultra, it's speculated that the battery itself may be physically smaller and more dense, which would help allow Samsung to reduce the overall thickness of the S26 Ultra. This would tally with prior rumors that Samsung could be aiming to roll out the slimline design ethos of the S25 Edge to other phones in the next S-series range. The same tip goes on to speculate that the S26 Ultra might boast faster charging speed, due to Samsung developing a "new technology to reduce the temperature of the battery during charging".

Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge

The super-slim Galaxy S25 Edge is rumored to be influencing the design of Samsung's 2026 S-series phones (Image credit: Samsung)

Of course all this should be taken with a hefty pinch of salt at this stage, as we're likely around six months away from the launch of the S26 Ultra. However, given Samsung's reluctance to make substantial camera hardware upgrades to its recent flagship phones, it's at least plausible (sadly) that the S26 Ultra may follow this trend and instead rely on enhanced AI to improve image quality.

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Ben Andrews

Ben is the Imaging Labs manager, responsible for all the testing on Digital Camera World and across the entire photography portfolio at Future. Whether he's in the lab testing the sharpness of new lenses, the resolution of the latest image sensors, the zoom range of monster bridge cameras or even the latest camera phones, Ben is our go-to guy for technical insight. He's also the team's man-at-arms when it comes to camera bags, filters, memory cards, and all manner of camera accessories – his lab is a bit like the Batcave of photography! With years of experience trialling and testing kit, he's a human encyclopedia of benchmarks when it comes to recommending the best buys. 

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