New Leak Indicates Samsung Might Reduce Its New 12MP Telephoto Sensor to 10MP
What You Should Know:
– Galaxy S26 Ultra could lower its 3x telephoto zoom camera compared to S25 Ultra.
– Leak indicates the new 12MP sensor will be trimmed down to 10MP for telephoto images.
– The S26 Ultra sensor might feature smaller 1.0μm pixels, allowing less light overall.
– This could result in poorer 3x photo quality in dim environments compared to the S25 Ultra.
It has only been a day since the iPhone 17 lineup was officially announced, and news about Samsung’s next flagship, the Galaxy S26 Ultra, has already emerged. Unfortunately, this isn’t the kind of announcement one would hope for, as a recent leak points to the Galaxy S26 Ultra possibly regressing with its 3x telephoto zoom camera.
Previous reports suggested that Samsung might transition to a new 12MP sensor for the 3x telephoto zoom on the Galaxy S26 Ultra. Many believed this would result in sharper zoom and close-up images. However, according to reputable source Ice Universe, Samsung will reduce the 12MP to just 10MP on the new sensor.
The leaker states that the Galaxy S26 Ultra will utilize only 10MP (out of the 12MP available) with an f/2.4 aperture, a 1/3.94″ sensor size, and 1.0μm pixels. While this may appear similar to the Galaxy S25 Ultra, which also had a 10MP 3x telephoto sensor, it could lead to an overall diminished experience.
Smaller Pixels Could Impact Low-Light Performance
To clarify, the Galaxy S25 Ultra featured a 1/3.53″ 10MP sensor with 1.12μm pixel size. The Galaxy S26 Ultra may employ a larger sensor, but with smaller 1.0μm pixels. For context, the pixel size affects how much light is captured — larger numbers capture more light and generally produce better photos.
With the Galaxy S26 Ultra moving to smaller pixels, the new sensor may allow less light than its predecessor, resulting in weaker 3x images in lower light scenarios.
Certainly, Samsung could counteract this with software improvements and a better ISP, but based solely on hardware, it appears we might be facing a minor downgrade with the upcoming Ultra flagship.
Previous speculation regarding the Galaxy S26 Ultra implies that the device will retain the S Pen, feature a sleeker design, and support quicker 60W charging.
