Ryan Haines / Android Authority
TL;DR
- A long-time leaker has claimed that the Galaxy S26 Ultra will retain the same 200MP main camera as its predecessors.
- This main camera sensor will apparently be accompanied by a wider aperture.
- This latest leak comes after a wild rumor that the S26 Ultra would offer a larger 200MP sensor.
The Galaxy S25 Ultra has been on the market for just over six months, but we’ve already encountered a ton of Galaxy S26 Ultra leaks. We previously heard that the new phone could get a larger 200MP camera, but a prolific tipster has made some very different claims.
Twitter user and Samsung expert Ice Universe says the Galaxy S26 Ultra packs an Isocell HP2 200MP main camera, which has been used since the Galaxy S23 Ultra. This contradicts an extraordinary claim by a Chinese leaker that the S26 Ultra will pack a larger, Sony-made 200MP sensor (1/1.1-inch).
However, Ice also asserts that the S26 Ultra will have a large aperture which will “greatly increase the light input, improve the dim light quality, and improve all existing problems.”
This combo should reduce noise and improve low-light photo/video capture. I also expect more natural-looking portraits, as a wider aperture enables a shallower depth-of-field and reduces the need for software-based bokeh.
The increased light capture should also reduce blur, particularly at night, as the shutter doesn’t have to stay open as long. This opens the door to reduced shutter lag, which has long been an issue on Samsung’s Ultra phones. So our fingers are crossed that the S26 Ultra can adequately freeze moving subjects.
It’s worth noting that a very large sensor in concert with an extremely wide aperture can lead to some unwanted side effects. Colleague Rob Triggs said in his Xiaomi 15 Ultra review that close-up pictures taken with the primary camera (one-inch, f/1.63) can be an “unfocused mess.” I also spotted this issue with 2023’s vivo X90 Pro, which packed a one-inch 50MP f/1.75 main camera. The phone offered impressively shallow depth-of-field effects, but I had to constantly step back for portraits and close-up shots, lest I want an unfocused or partially focused image. So I hope the Galaxy S26 Ultra doesn’t suffer from this issue.
This isn’t the only aperture change we could see on the Galaxy S26 Ultra. Ice Universe claimed on Weibo that the phone will retain a 50MP 5x telephoto camera, but will bring a wider aperture. This should result in cleaner, brighter low-light snaps on paper.
