Galaxy S26 Ultra cameras leak: Were you really expecting major upgrades?

Samsung‘s flagship phones don’t have a reputation for cutting-edge camera hardware compared to rivals. Earlier Galaxy S26 Ultra leaks suggest that we won’t see massive changes this time, either, and a leaker has now corroborated these claims.

Leaker chunvn8888 has posted apparent Galaxy S26 Ultra camera sensor details on Twitter. The tipster says that, with the exception of the 3x lens, the S26 Ultra will have the same camera sensors as the Galaxy S25 Ultra.

That means a 200MP Isocell HP2 main camera, a 50MP Isocell JN3 ultrawide camera, a 50MP 5x IMX854 periscope camera, and a 12MP IMX874 selfie shooter. However, the tipster echoed previous claims that the company could offer a 12MP 3x telephoto camera (Samsung S5K3LD). The latter camera would be a mild resolution upgrade over the absolutely ancient 10MP 3x shooter that’s been used since the S21 Ultra.

On the upside, leaker Ice Universe previously claimed that the 200MP main camera and 5x periscope shooter would have wider apertures. So it’s not as if these cameras aren’t seeing any hardware upgrades at all. It would still be a shame if Samsung didn’t offer more sensor upgrades, though, as rival brands continue to deliver upgrades like 200MP telephoto cameras and newer sensors with more modern capabilities.

This isn’t the only camera-related claim we’ve heard about the Galaxy S26 series this week. A leaker asserted that the Exynos 2600 chip, which might be used in some S26 models, would support 8K/60fps video capture, 14-bit RAW output, and an image signal processor (ISP) that consumes 30% less power than the Exynos 2400 ISP. However, it’s worth noting that the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 doesn’t support 8K/60fps capture, which makes it highly unlikely that Exynos-powered S26 models would officially get this feature. That’s because Samsung typically maintains feature parity between Snapdragon and Exynos variants of its phones.