Galaxy S26 Ultra: major new leak suggests several camera upgrades are coming

Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra phone propped up on a plate
(Image credit: Luke Baker / Digital Camera World)

Recent rumors have suggested that next year's Galaxy S26 Ultra may have few (if any) camera hardware upgrades over the current S25 Ultra. But if a fresh leak from a "reliable" tipster is to be believed, Samsung could be readying some subtle camera improvements for its next flagship phone.

Samsung S21 Ultra

The 3x telephoto module has been unchanged since this, the Galaxy S21 Ultra (Image credit: Samsung)

Samsung is reportedly testing a new 12MP sensor for the phone's 3x telephoto module, which would be an upgrade over the current 10MP unit that's remained unchanged since the Galaxy S21 Ultra. A new selfie camera has also been rumored, but there are no details about this. Additional leaked camera upgrades include an all-new laser AF sensor for improved focussing speed, plus a revised ProVisual Engine for enhanced image processing. Elsewhere, the 200MP primary camera is said to be getting a new lens, though the 50MP ultrawide and 50MP 5x periscope telephoto modules look like they'll be carried directly over from the S25 Ultra. Lastly, Samsung is said to be ditching the seemingly glued-on camera rings that currently adorn the camera lenses on the S25 Ultra.

Camera rings on the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra

The S25 Ultra's 'floating' camera rings are a controversial styling choice (Image credit: YouTube / JerryRigEverything)

Elsewhere, the S26 Ultra is expected to feature the same 6.9-inch display size as the S25 Ultra, though its bezels could be narrower to give an improved screen:body ratio. The phone is tipped to be IP68 dust- and water-resistant, and could be powered by Qualcomm's 3nm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 2 chipset in all markets. A vapor chamber cooling system up to 1.2 times bigger than the S25 Ultra’s could also be employed, aiding cooling and performance. The S26 Ultra is also claimed to pack a generous 16GB of RAM across all storage variants (256GB, 512GB and 1TB).

Story credit: Android Headlines

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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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