Samsung Galaxy S27 Ultra release date expectations, price estimates, and upgrades
Galaxy S26 Ultra for illustrative purposes. | Image by PhoneArena
Galaxy S27 Ultra: what to expect
What's expected to change vs the Galaxy S26 Ultra:
- Upgraded main camera sensor
- New "Polar ID" feature for authentication and security
- Custom-made Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 Pro processor (2nm process)
- Some rumors indicate Samsung may replace all three cameras on the phone
- Design expected to remain the same
- The Galaxy S27 Ultra is expected to come in early 2027, either January or February.
- The phone will be accompanied by a Galaxy S27 and S27 Plus.
Expected price:
- No leaks about pricing just yet.
- The Galaxy S26 Ultra kept the same starting price as previous years, with a price hike for the options with more storage.
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Galaxy S27 Ultra release date
The Galaxy S27 Ultra is likely to be unveiled in early 2027, as per tradition. For now, a potential February release is likely. The phone is likely to be introduced during an Unpacked event, just like this year, accompanied by its smaller siblings, Galaxy S27 and S27 Plus.
| Device family | Announcement | Market release |
|---|---|---|
| Galaxy S27 series | February 2027* | February-March 2027* |
| Galaxy S26 series | February 25, 2026 | March 11, 2026 |
| Galaxy S25 series | January 22, 2025 | February 7, 2025 |
* - probable dates
Galaxy S27 Ultra price and deals
So far, there are no leaks indicating what the Galaxy S27 Ultra price may be. This year, Samsung raised the prices for the S26 and S26 Plus and kept the starting price of the Ultra the same as last year (bigger storage variants did include a price hike).
| Galaxy model | 256GB of storage | 512GB of storage | 1TB of storage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Galaxy S27 Ultra | $1299.99* | $1499.99* | $1799.99* |
| Galaxy S26 Ultra | $1299.99 | $1499.99 | $1799.99 |
| Galaxy S25 Ultra | $1299.99 | $1419.99 | $1659.99 |
*- anticipated prices
Samsung may decide to keep the same prices for the S27 Ultra. However, it's a bit too early to know that for certain.
Galaxy S27 Ultra deals to expect:
- Samsung: As usual, we expect good trade-in deals to be offered by Samsung for the purchase of the S27 Ultra. This year, we got enhanced trade-in options and store credit for the S26 Ultra.
- Verizon: The carrier is likely to offer generous trade-in deals that could offer you the starting storage option for free (or almost). These will likely require an eligible trade-in phone or a new line.
- AT&T: AT&T is likely to also offer huge discounts with trade-in and a specific plan to get the S27 Ultra for as low as possible.
- T-Mobile: T-Mobile is also known to offer wonderful deals on new devices, and that would certainly include the S27 Ultra.
Galaxy S27 Ultra camera
The Galaxy S26 Ultra didn't bring as many hardware upgrades in the camera department as fans would've liked, but it seems the Galaxy S27 Ultra may change this.
We're hearing curious things about the Galaxy S27 Ultra's camera system. One leak in particular claims that the main sensor for the phone may be changed. The info comes from reliable tipster Digital Chat Station, who claims that Samsung is working on a larger, 1/1.12-inch sensor named ISOCELL HPA.
Galaxy S27 Ultra expected camera setup:
- The main camera may keep 200 MP resolution but with a new sensor
- 50 MP ultra-wide camera
- 50 MP zoom camera
- 10 MP 3x optical zoom camera
- 12 MP selfie camera
The new rumored sensor for the Ultra's main camera could support LOFIC, which is a technology allowing it to capture images with a wider dynamic range.
Reputable leaker IceUniverse has also chimed in, adding that the company may use a modified version of this new sensor on the Galaxy S27 Ultra. According to Ice, the sensor may end up getting called HP6 and may measure 1/1.3 inches while keeping the performance of the larger sensor.
Meanwhile, Ice has previously stated the South Korean giant plans to change three of the S27 Ultra's sensors. According to this leak, the main, the ultra-wide, and the front cameras may be upgraded. The telephoto camera may be the same, while the periscope camera is also said to be getting an upgrade (potentially, a wider lens aperture).
Galaxy S27 Ultra storage
Galaxy S27 Ultra expected storage capacity:
- 256 GB
- 512 GB
- 1 TB
The Galaxy S27 Ultra is now expected to revolutionize storage capacities for phones. So far, no leaks are saying what we should expect in this department.
Galaxy S27 Ultra design
It's far too early for us to be getting any leaks about the Galaxy S27 Ultra design. The Galaxy S26 Ultra did change things a bit by adding a camera island and thus becoming more cohesive-looking with the rest of the flagship lineup.
The Galaxy S26 Ultra design for illustrative purposes. | Image by PhoneArena
Early rumors have indicated Samsung may abandon the S Pen for the Galaxy S27 Ultra, but those leaks may turn out to be false. We don't know yet, but at least with the S26 Ultra, Samsung kept the S Pen, even though it didn't bring back the Bluetooth-enabled features of the stylus.
A recent leak indicates a new authentication option is in the works for the S27 Ultra. Tentatively named 'Polar ID,' it's almost like Apple's Face ID without requiring a bigger cutout in the screen or a notch.
Polar ID would be able to tell the difference between a living human being and any form of 3D masks, and it should also work flawlessly in the dark thanks to a special sensor. The change would elevate the S27 Ultra's security while not changing the look of the phone.
Galaxy S27 Ultra display
Galaxy S phones are known for their exceptional displays, and we don't expect anything less from the Galaxy S27 Ultra. The Galaxy S26 Ultra brought a new, hardware-based privacy display feature. It's likely that the S27 Ultra is also going to get that one.
As for the sizes, we don't expect changes in the display size.
| Phone | Screen size | Brightness |
|---|---|---|
| Galaxy S27 Ultra | 6.9"* | 2,600 nits peak brightness* |
| Galaxy S26 Ultra | 6.9" | 2,600 nits peak brightness |
* - anticipated sizes
The Galaxy S26 Ultra's Privacy Display feature was the biggest upgrade Samsung brought to the phone's display. It allows the screen itself to hide its contents from prying eyes and comes with two modes you can choose from and a plethora of options for configuration (you can configure it also to hide just some parts of the screen, such as notifications).
How the new Privacy Display feature on the S26 Ultra works. | Image by PhoneArena
The Galaxy S27 Ultra is likely to keep this feature, alongside the beautiful 6.9-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2x screen with an adaptable refresh rate from 1 Hz to 120 Hz.
Galaxy S27 Ultra battery
So far, we haven't heard anything on the battery of the Galaxy S27 Ultra. Samsung is way overdue with the battery size upgrade, so we do hope with the S27 Ultra, things are going to change for the better.
Meanwhile, the Galaxy S26 Ultra didn't bring an upgrade in the battery size, and we got the same 5,000 mAh battery cell. Despite that, Samsung upgraded the charging speeds, and the Galaxy S26 Ultra supports 65 W wired charging. The Galaxy S27 Ultra will likely keep the same speeds or upgrade them.
Galaxy S27 Ultra features and software
The Galaxy S27 Ultra may likely come with One UI 9.5 on top of Android 17. There may be even more Galaxy AI features to feast on. The Galaxy S26 Ultra brought an AI-powered screenshot analyzer, as well as new capabilities for the Now Brief and Now Bar.
Samsung's digital assistant, Bixby, also got upgraded.
The Galaxy S27 Ultra is expected to continue the tradition of bringing new AI features. Samsung may keep its strategy for 7 years of software support.
Galaxy S27 Ultra hardware and specs
Galaxy S27 Ultra's expected specs:
- CPU: Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 Pro
- RAM: 12 or 16 GB
- Battery: 5,000 mAh
- Charging: 65 W wired charging, 15 W wireless
- Storage: 256 GB, 512 GB, 1 TB
- Camera setup: 200 MP main, 50 MP ultra-wide, 50 MP 5x, 10 MP 3x, 12 MP selfie
According to some rumors, the Pro version of the chip may be insanely powerful and reach desktop-like clock speeds. Rumors indicate we're looking at clock speeds of around 5 GHz, with peak frequencies said to reach even 5.5 GHz or 6.0 GHz. Which, if true, would make the Galaxy S27 Ultra one extremely powerful phone.
The Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 would be the successor of the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5, which is the chip currently powering the Galaxy S26 Ultra in all regions. The smaller siblings got a regional split between Exynos and Snapdragon this year, but the Ultra kept only the Snapdragon chip worldwide. Potentially, we could see the same strategy with the S27 Ultra.
Should I wait for the Galaxy S27 Ultra?
- You should wait for the Galaxy S27 Ultra if you're not in need of an upgraded phone just yet. We have around a year before this phone hits the market, so if you need a phone right away, the Galaxy S26 Ultra is definitely not a bad option. Of course, if you want the potential upgraded camera system or the desktop-like processor speeds (although we don't know yet if these rumors will pan out), you may want to wait for the S27 Ultra.
- You should not wait for the Galaxy S27 Ultra if you recently bought a flagship, including the Galaxy S26 Ultra. We don't know much about the S27 Ultra yet, but we don't expect the differences between the two generations to be as huge anyway.
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