Key Takeaways
- Two top leakers now disagree on the S26 Ultra’s 3x telephoto camera.
- Significant lens upgrades are tipped for the rear camera
- The Galaxy S26 Ultra’s new APV video codec could rival Apple ProRes.
The Galaxy S26 Ultra’s camera future has recently come into question as two well-known tipsters are now publicly at odds over a key upgrade.
November 10 Update Below: Debate continues over leaked Galaxy S26 Ultra rear camera specifications
Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra Camera: The 3x Telephoto Debate
While Samsung is expected to keep much of the S25 Ultra’s camera hardware unchanged, tipster @chunvn888 recently claimed the S26 Ultra will upgrade its 3x telephoto camera from 10 to 12 megapixels. However, the following day, well-known leaker @universeice refuted the claim, saying the sensor will not only remain at an effective 10 megapixels, but also receive a downgrade in size from 1/3.52 inches to 1/3.94 inches.
Either way, whether a downgrade in size automatically translates to a downgrade in quality remains to be seen, as Improvements in sensor technology, image processing and lenses will all play a part in determining overall quality.
Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra Camera: Two Lens Upgrades Widely Expected
Sensor issues aside, two significant lens upgrades are widely anticipated:
A brighter main camera: The main 200-megapixel camera will likely get a major boost in the form of a significantly wider lens aperture, up from the current f/1.7 to f/1.4. This numerically small shift would increase light intake by around 48% and could be a game-changer for low-light photography and fast-action capture.
A brighter 5x telephoto camera: The 5x telephoto lens is also tipped to receive a wider aperture, up from f/3.4 to f/2.9. This change would improve light capture by around 37%, providing significant performance benefits at longer zoom ranges.
Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra Camera: That Controversial 3x Camera
The 3x telephoto lens is now a major point of contention. Ice Universe cites recently-leaked CAD renderings revealing a slimmer 7.9mm thick chassis, and suggesting Samsung may have had to reduce the sensor size to fit.
Smaller sensors usually mean noisier images, which would be a surprising backward step for a flagship. But Samsung appears to be betting on improved optics, AI and raw processing power to compensate. With the new Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 Elite and Exynos 2600 chipsets, the S26 Ultra may yet deliver excellent results without costly sensor upgrades. Still, the leaked camera specs will do little to inspire potential customers eager for a long-awaited camera upgrade.
Galaxy S26 Ultra: What’s Next for Samsung’s Camera Strategy?
Aside from potential hardware upgrades, several new potential features have already been leaked.
Additional leaks from @chunvn8888 reveal a 24-megapixel default camera mode, a new “adaptive pixel” technology that combines multiple low-res shots into a single high-res image and a new focus speed slider for photos and video. Users may also gain the ability to turn off HDR10+ in favor of standard HDR when recording video. These features are expected to be enabled through Samsung’s companion Camera Assistant app.
Further video improvements may come via the new APV video codec. Essentially Samsung’s answer to Apple ProRes, APV promises higher-quality video editing with smaller file sizes and AI-accelerated workflows.
Whatever Samsung does with the 3x telephoto camera, it’s clear that the Galaxy S26 Ultra’s camera improvements will depend heavily on increased light-gathering capability, AI processing and new camera functions, not just new camera hardware. All will be revealed next year when the Galaxy S26 range is expected to launch at Samsung’s February Galaxy Unpacked event.
November 10 Update: Ice Universe posts follow-up data only to be refuted by another tipster
Controversy over the Galaxy S26 Ultra’s 3x telephoto lens persists as well-known leaker Ice Universe shares new details, only to be challenged by another researcher claiming more up-to-date, and contradictory, information.
According to this latest post, all three Galaxy S26 models, including the S26 Ultra, will use the same 3x telephoto camera, featuring a 10-megapixel, 1/3.94-inch Isocell sensor with an f/2.4 lens and a 36-degree field of view. The tipster reiterates that the effective pixel count will remain at 10 megapixels, not 12 megapixels.
However, tech writer Erencan Yilmaz of Smartprix disagrees, arguing against this perceived downgrade. Yilmaz claims both the S26 and S26 Plus will switch to a new 12-megapixel 3x camera, a claim supported by “detailed software analysis.”
According to Yilmaz, Samsung tested various camera sensors for the Galaxy S26 series before settling on a new Isocell S5K3LD sensor for the 3x camera in both the standard S26 and the S26 Plus. If accurate, this detail raises questions over Ice Universe’s claims — especially as the Galaxy S26 Plus is tipped to measure only 7.35mm thick, even slimmer than the S26 Ultra.
The report also confirms support for Samsung’s new APV codec on all three Galaxy S26 variants, providing evidence that the Exynos 2600 chipset will indeed support the format just like the Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 Elite.
Ultimately, some of the confusion may stem from terminology: Ice Universe’s posts refer to the sensor’s “effective” pixel count, which could technically be lower than its headline spec.
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