Rumor claims Samsung might switch to SONY sensors for the S26 Ultra

It's been widely reported in recent weeks that Samsung doesn't look like its planning any major camera hardware upgrades for next year's flagship Galaxy S26 Ultra. Apart from a rumored small bump in resolution for the 3x telephoto module, early signs point to the S26 Ultra inheriting the same primary camera and periscope telephoto module from the S25 Ultra.

But now Chinese tipster Fixed Digital Focus has claimed on Weibo that the S26 Ultra could feature a new sensor for its primary (wide-angle) camera, specifically a 1/1.1" 200MP Sony sensor. Yes, you read that correctly: Samsung, one of the main manufacturers of camera phone image sensors, is rumoured to be switching to arch rival Sony sensors, and for its flagship camera phone, no less.

It's a bold claim, and one I'm deeply sceptical of. Though a 1/1.1" sensor would be marginally larger in size than the 1/1.3" ISOCELL HP2 sensor Samsung introduced with the S23 Ultra and continues to use in the current S25 Ultra, it's not necessarily a large enough size difference to offer a meaningful boost in image quality. What's more, switching to a different sensor of the same resolution also limits any marketing benefit, while binning Samsung's own sensor tech in favour of a competitor's chip would be a marketing nightmare.

The tip says there's a chance the alleged sensor may actually appear in the following S27 Ultra rather than next year's S26, presumably because the chip might not be ready in time for the traditional January release window for Samsung's flagship phone. Either way, the prospect of Samsung switching to a non-Samsung image sensor for its halo camera phone just doesn't seem plausible to me. The change seems even more unlikely given that Sony is yet to release a color camera phone sensor anything close to 200MP in resolution.

If Samsung does decide to upgrade the primary camera sensor for the S26 Ultra, it'd seem more likely that it would fit a new, home-grown ISOCELL chip to showcase the Korean brand's imaging prowess. And frankly it needs to, as recycling that same HP2 sensor year in, year out, is disappointing for consumers and it leaves Samsung vulnerable to the competition implementing larger, more modern sensors in their flagship camera phones.