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With the Galaxy S24 series almost here, the tech industry has started looking forward to Samsung’s future flagship offerings. We have already come across a few rumors about the Galaxy S25 lineup scheduled to arrive in early 2025. A tipster has now shared an alleged camera hardware upgrade roadmap for the company’s upcoming Ultra flagships. The Galaxy S25 Ultra may bring a handful of upgrades to the table.
The Galaxy S25 Ultra may see a major camera hardware upgrade
Leaks have already revealed that Samsung is upgrading the periscope zoom camera on the Galaxy S24 Ultra next year. The 2024 model will feature a 50MP sensor with 0.7µm pixels. The current Ultra has a 10MP periscope zoom camera featuring 1.12µm pixels. There is confusion regarding the maximum optical zoom levels, though. Some reports say the phone will retain 10x zoom but others have hinted at a drop to 5x optical zoom.
Despite this drop, the Galaxy S24 Ultra is expected to capture as good zoom shots as the 2023 model if not better. While we wait for confirmation about its optical zoom levels, tipster Revegnus has revealed that Samsung will further upgrade the periscope camera in 2025. The Galaxy S25 Ultra’s zoom camera will reportedly boast variable focal length. This means optical zoom at all magnification levels in the supported range.
The Galaxy S23 Ultra, for example, has 3x and 10x zoom cameras of fixed focal length. The phone relies on in-sensor zoom at 4x, 5x, and other magnification levels. With variable focal length, you get continuous optical zoom at all levels. In-sensor zoom won’t kick in until the end of its optical zoom capabilities. Effectively, you will get better zoom shots within this magnification range.
Samsung has more upgrades planned for the 2025 Ultra
The 2025 Ultra model is also said to get an improved 200MP main camera and a new ultrawide lens—12MP to 50MP. If these rumored upgrades turn out to be accurate, the Galaxy S25 Ultra could be an unbeatable camera phone. Expectedly, Samsung won’t change things much in 2026. The Galaxy S26 Ultra will get a new main camera—a larger 200MP sensor with 0.7µm pixels and a 1/1.10-inch size. The current sensor is 1/1.3 inches with 0.6µm pixels.
The rest of the camera setup may remain unchanged from the Galaxy S25 Ultra. It is worth noting that Samsung may also upgrade the selfie camera of its Ultra flagships in the coming years. The current model has a 12MP unit, which is a better solution than the 40MP selfie shooter found on last year’s Galaxy S22 Ultra. The 2024 model won’t replace it but Samsung may have something planned for 2025 or later. We will let you know when we have more information.