Could Samsung DOWNGRADE one of the S26 Ultra's cameras?

As we approach what's likely to be a January launch for Samsung's next flagship camera phone, the Galaxy S26 Ultra, rumors about its possible camera specs continue to build. The latest tip, from renowned leakster Ice Universe, doesn't provide much hope that the new phone will offer much of a camera hardware upgrade over the current S25 Ultra. In fact, it may actually be a slight downgrade, at least when it comes to the 3x telephoto camera.

Ice Universe reports that the S26 Ultra could use a 10MP 1/3.94” sensor, fronted by a 3x f/2.4 lens. By comparison, the Sony IMX754 sensor used in the S25 Ultra's 3x telephoto module is slightly larger at 1/3.52”. If Samsung does indeed downsize the S26 Ultra's telephoto sensor, it would seem like a major own-goal, at least from a hardware perspective. The 1/3.52” sensor in the S25 Ultra's 3x telephoto camera is already tiny compared to comparable modules in other flagship phones. For example, the Oppo Find X8 Ultra's 3x telephoto module uses a far larger 1/1.56" sensor. Equipping the S26 Ultra with an even smaller sensor than that in the S25 Ultra can't be good news for low light image quality or fine detail rendition. Opting to use such a small sensor is even more puzzling when you consider Samsung itself already produces the ISOCELL HP9: a 200MP, 1/1.4" sensor designed specifically for telephoto modules, and already in use in phones like the Vivo X200 Pro. According to Ice Universe, Samsung has rejected using its own HP9 sensor in the S26 Ultra due to price concerns.

Samsung has been using the same 200MP ISOCELL HP2 main camera sensor in its flagship phones since the S23 Ultra and that doesn't look set to change for the S26 Ultra. The S25 Ultra debuted a new 50MP ultrawide snapper, so it's likely that'll be carried over to its replacement. If the 3x telephoto module then gets a downgrade, can we therefore expect yet another Samsung flagship to rely solely on more AI image processing trickery to separate itself from older models? Well, according to a separate leak from Ice Universe, the S26 Ultra may actually pack some camera hardware upgrades, just not in the sensor department.

It's reported that the thickness of the S26 Ultra's camera bump may increase from 2.4mm on the S25 Ultra to a hefty 4.5mm on the S26 Ultra. That's said to be on account of the new phone getting a larger f/1.4 aperture lens for the main camera (the S25 Ultra uses an f/1.7 lens) along with a variable aperture feature enabling the camera to better adapt to variable lighting.

But is this really enough to make the S26 Ultra stand out from the compelling iPhone 17 Pro and fierce Chinese rivals from the likes of Xiaomi, Vivo and Oppo?