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:
- Custom-made Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 Pro processor (2nm process)
- Upgraded main camera sensor
- Some rumors indicate Samsung may replace all three cameras on the phone
- New "Polar ID" feature for authentication and security
- Design expected to remain the same
- Potentially, silicon-carbon battery tech could bring a huge upgrade in battery
- Rumor has it the battery could cross the 10,000 mAh mark
- S Pen will likely remain unchanged
- A Galaxy S27 Pro may accompany the Ultra with little differences apart from the lack of S Pen support
- The Galaxy S27 Ultra is expected to come in early 2027, either January or February, together with the rest of the S27 lineup.
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
Samsung is expected to announce the Galaxy S27 Ultra in early 2027, potentially in February, alongside the Galaxy S27 and S27 Plus. A recent rumor also claims a Galaxy S27 Pro may also come, which would be very similar to the Ultra minus the S Pen.
| 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
Expect, as per tradition, an Unpacked event that's going to be both in-person and broadcast online. After a pre-order period, the phones are likely to hit the shelves around two weeks later.
Galaxy S27 Ultra price and deals
The potential price of the Galaxy S27 Ultra has not leaked yet. However, Samsung raised the prices for the S26, S26 Plus and the prices of more storage for the Ultra.
| 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
It's possible that Samsung may keep the same price for the Ultra as the one of its predecessor. Of course, leaks have not confirmed or contradicted this just yet.
Also, we have the mysterious Galaxy S27 Pro, which is said to be almost like an Ultra. Currently, the "Pro" appears to be a concept, so it may not happen, but if it does, it should slide between the Galaxy S27 Plus and the Galaxy S27 Ultra in terms of pricing.
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
A couple of leaks about the S27 Ultra's camera have already shown up, and this time, we may be finally seeing an upgrade here.
The main sensor for the phone may be changed, according to a recent leak from reliable tipster Digital Chat Station. DCS suggests that the South Korean giant 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
Meanwhile, leaker IceUniverse has also joined in with an early leak on the camera system. Ice Universe adds that Samsung 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, the same leaker has previously claimed the South Korean giant plans to change three of the S27 Ultra's sensors. Reportedly, the main, the ultra-wide, and the front cameras may all be upgraded. Apparently, only the telephoto camera may be the same as the one on the S26 Ultra, while the periscope one is reportedly getting a wider lens aperture.
The Galaxy S26 Ultra didn't bring an upgrade in the camera department, so all these rumored changes are more than welcome, if you ask me.
Galaxy S27 Ultra storage
Galaxy S27 Ultra expected storage capacity:
- 256 GB
- 512 GB
- 1 TB
The Galaxy S27 Ultra is likely not going to revolutionize phone storage options. We expect the standard configurations here.
Galaxy S27 Ultra design
The Galaxy S27 Ultra's design is still under wraps. Its predecessor did change things up a bit by introducing a camera island and unifying its look with the rest of the lineup, but the changes were not huge.
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 apparently, these leaks may not be accurate. Samsung has so far kept the S Pen, despite removing its Bluetooth. features.
A new report on the S Pen and Galaxy S27 Ultra sheds some light on the topic. Back in February, Won-Joon Choi, COO of Samsung Mobile Experience, said that the company was working on a new display structure to keep the S Pen features and maybe even bring back some. However, this new report now suggests that the idea for this new display structure (digitizer-free one) has been ditched.
Removing the digitizer is what allowed for the Galaxy Z Fold 7 to be thinner. However, the S Pen needs the digitizer to work, so the Fold came without it. Luckily, Samsung seems to plan to keep the S Pen for future Ultra phones, but the report hints the new technology may not be ready in time for the Galaxy S27 Ultra.
So, if this report is true, the S Pen for the S27 Ultra will remain the same as its predecessor's, but so will the thickness. Without the removal of a digitizer, the phone can't get exceptionally thin beyond what the S26 Ultra is already offering.
Meanwhile, another leak hints that a new authentication option may be in the works for the S27 Ultra. This new option is tentatively named "Polar ID". Reportedly, it may work similarly to Apple's Face ID, without requiring a bigger cutout in the screen or a notch.
Polar ID is said to be able to differentiate between a living human being and a 3D mask. It should also offer a stable performance in dark environments, thanks to a special sensor.
If true, Polar ID would elevate the Galaxy S27 Ultra's security without changing its elegant design.
Galaxy S27 Ultra display
As usual, we expect a great display for the Galaxy S27 Ultra. Samsung's Galaxy S phones have always come with amazing, industry-leading displays. So far, though, rumors have not detailed what upgrades we're getting this time around.
The Galaxy S26 Ultra brought a new, hardware-based privacy display feature and the Galaxy S27 Ultra may likely come with it as well.
As for the sizes, changes are not currently rumored or expected.
| 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 2026 flagship's display.
Privacy Display allows for the screen to hide its contents from anyone looking from the side. Privacy Display on the S26 Ultra comes with two modes you can choose from (hide the entire screen or hide the screen partially), and you can also configure it for separate apps.
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
Samsung is way overdue with the battery size upgrade for its flagships. And luckily, a new report indicates things may indeed improve for the Galaxy S27 Ultra's battery life.
Reportedly, Samsung is currently (finally!) testing silicon-carbon batteries for the S27 Ultra. According to an internal test report that recently leaked, a 12,000 mAh, a 18,000 mAh, and a monstrous 20,000 mAh battery cells were being tested.
The report indicates that Samsung wants the overall thickness of the battery to be under 9.3 mm, and some of these battery capacities would go over this. Apparently, the 18,000 mAh one exceeded it and made the phone approximately 12.3 mm thick. So, it's pretty likely we're not seeing the huge 18,000 or 20,000 mAh cells in the Ultra.
A newer report from another leaker also highlights that silicon-carbon battery tech is not new for Samsung. More evidence is now surfacing that the company did test the aforementioned huge battery capacities for its upcoming flagship.
A battery test report from Samsung. | Image by Shrödinger
The tipster also claims that these batteries may have an issue with longevity, and that's why Samsung was holding off. Apparently, engineers found that the prototypes didn't last their target charge cycles.
For example, the 12,000 mAh cell reportedly failed after 960 charge cycles (with a cycle target of 1,500). According to the tipster, Samsung is currently working on fixing this aspect and it may be able to do so in time for the S27 Ultra.
Nevertheless, this testing means that Samsung may finally be giving in to silicon-carbon tech. Realistically, an upgrade of around 7,000 mAh cell may be coming.
Meanwhile, the Galaxy S26 Ultra didn't bring an upgrade in the battery size, and we got the same 5,000 mAh battery cell as many predecessors. The charging speeds did get upgraded, though, and are now 65 W wired. Likely, the S27 Ultra will come with the same speeds.
Galaxy S27 Ultra features and software
One UI 9.5 on top of Android 17 is the OS expected for the S27 Ultra. Obviously, we're likely getting a lot of 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, and the S27 is likely inheriting those.
Samsung's digital assistant, Bixby, also got upgraded, and it got the ability to understand natural language, as well as search online.
The Galaxy S27 Ultra is expected to continue the tradition of bringing new AI features. Meanwhile, the South Korean giant may keep its strategy for 7 years of software support for the S27 Ultra.
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
Earlier reports claim that Qualcomm plans to split the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 into a standard version and a Pro version.
Some rumors claim that the new Pro version of the chip may bring significant increases in power and almost desktop-like clock speeds. Yep, rumors claim we may get clock speeds of around 5 GHz, with peak frequencies of even 5.5 GHz or 6.0 GHz. Obviously, if true, that would be top-notch and extraordinary for a phone.
The tipster recently reiterated his claim about the Pro-branded Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 chip. DCS also claims that the non-Pro variant, which may be used in the vanilla Galaxy S26 in some markets, may have reduced cache and specifications and would be used in upper mid-range devices.
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 (the Exynos 2700's early benchmark scores recently leaked) and Snapdragon this year, but the Ultra kept only the Snapdragon chip worldwide. Potentially, the same could happen with the S27 Ultra too.
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. 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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