January or February 2027 is where the current consensus sits for the Galaxy S27 Ultra, with the full S27 family expected to share the same Unpacked stage. A Galaxy S27 Pro is also rumored to join the lineup – a smaller, S Pen-free take on the Ultra experience.
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
If the Galaxy S27 Pro arrives as rumored, it would sit closer in footprint to the base S26 than the S26 Ultra – the first time Samsung has offered a more compact Ultra-tier device within the S series.
Samsung hosts a dedicated Unpacked event for the Galaxy S lineup each year, typically followed by a brief pre-order window before retail availability opens.
Development appears to be progressing. One UI 9.5 firmware entries for the Galaxy S27 series have already been spotted on Samsung's servers by leaker Tarun Vats. Samsung is tracking slightly behind the pace it held ahead of the S26 launch last year, which could nudge the announcement closer to February 2027 than January – though that remains the window most expectations land in.
Galaxy S27 Ultra price and deals
No specific pricing has leaked yet. What is clear is that cost pressure is arriving from several directions at once.
It's worth noting that Samsung raised prices on the S26 and S26 Plus by $100, the S26 Ultra's 512 GB version by $80, and the 1 TB option by a steep $140.
If the Galaxy S27 Pro materializes, pricing should slot between the Galaxy S27 Plus's $1,099.99 and the Galaxy S27 Ultra's $1,299.99.
Galaxy S27 Ultra deals to expect:
Samsung: Samsung.com typically delivers the strongest trade-in values at launch, alongside early reservation perks and storage upgrade promotions for Galaxy Ultra buyers.
Verizon: Verizon has reliably run strong Galaxy Ultra campaigns, with trade-in credits of up to $1,000 when adding a new line on a qualifying Unlimited plan.
AT&T: AT&T tends to align its promotional structure with Verizon's on flagship Samsung launches, offering comparable trade-in deals tied to new lines or plan upgrades.
T-Mobile: T-Mobile regularly brings aggressive Galaxy Ultra offers to the table, including up to $1,000 off with a trade-in on Go5G Plus or Go5G Next, along with occasional BOGO deals when adding a line.
Galaxy S27 Ultra camera
A notable restructuring of the Galaxy S27 Ultra's camera system is shaping up, with multiple credible sources now pointing to a reduction from four rear lenses to three.
The main sensor of the Galaxy S27 Ultra is reportedly getting bumped up to a larger 1/1.12-inch sensor named ISOCELL HPA. Rumor has it this new sensor may support LOFIC (Lateral Overflow Integration Capacitor) – a technology that gives each pixel extra room to store excess light, so the sensor can capture bright highlights and dark shadows in the same shot without the usual multi-frame HDR trick, for a noticeably wider dynamic range.
Prolific leaker IceUniverse has suggested the S27 Ultra may ship with a modified version of the ISOCELL HPA, potentially called the HP6, measuring 1/1.3 inches – smaller than the full HPA while retaining strong imaging performance.
In an X post, Ice also suggested the 10 MP 3x telephoto camera could get cut, making the S27 Ultra a triple-camera phone rather than a quad-camera one. A Galaxy Club report now corroborates this, pointing to a final three-camera setup: 200MP main, 50MP ultra-wide, and 50MP telephoto.
A leak from tipster @phonefuturist introduces a further twist: Samsung may be evaluating a super telephoto camera with 4x optical zoom and a notably larger 1/1.9-inch sensor for the S27 Ultra. A larger sensor at 4x could mean meaningfully better low-light zoom performance and cleaner output without heavy post-processing, though the final configuration won't be confirmed until much closer to launch. (Galaxy S27 Ultra's zoom photography could take a turn for the better)
Ice Universe has now given us more details on the camera with new renders, showing the main and wide-angle cameras stacked vertically, with the telephoto lens and flash housed together inside a pill-shaped island. The 3x unit that previously appeared at the bottom of the second camera row is absent from the renders, consistent with earlier reports of its removal.
An ETNews report from August 2026 adds further weight, suggesting Samsung may equip all Galaxy S27 models with three rear cameras – making the S26 Ultra potentially the last Ultra flagship to ship with four sensors.
IceUniverse's post on X. | Image by IceUniverse on X
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 5x telephoto camera
16MP front-facing camera – an upgrade from the 12MP selfie camera Samsung has used on the Ultra since the S23 Ultra
Ice has also previously claimed Samsung plans to swap out three of the S27 Ultra's sensors: the main, the ultra-wide, and the front-facing one.
If accurate, only the 50MP telephoto would carry over from the S26 Ultra. The periscope camera may also receive a wider aperture, though exact specifications haven't emerged yet.
The front camera upgrade stands out on its own. Samsung dropped from a 40MP selfie camera on the S22 Ultra to 12MP on the S23 Ultra, and kept it at 12MP for three consecutive generations. A jump to 16MP – confirmed by multiple sources including GalaxyClub – would be the first selfie upgrade in four years.
Tipster Smart Pikachu suggested the Galaxy S27 Ultra's new 200 MP main sensor could come with a variable aperture – a feature that would let the lens physically adjust its opening size for better low-light shots and more natural background blur, and one that the iPhone 18 Pro is also rumored to be getting
That now appears unlikely to happen. According to industry insiders, Samsung evaluated reviving the variable aperture system – last seen on the Galaxy S9 back in 2018 – as a direct response to Apple, but has since walked back those plans.
The reasons cited are a combination of the ongoing component cost crisis making an already expensive feature harder to justify, the added thickness it would bring to the camera module, and an internal assessment that the functional benefits don't outweigh the added complexity and cost. If accurate, it hands Apple a potential differentiator on paper heading into the iPhone 18 Pro launch.
Galaxy S27 Pro camera: The Galaxy S27 Pro is expected to share a very similar camera setup to the Ultra: a 200 MP primary camera, a 50 MP ultra-wide one, and a 50 MP telephoto – with multiple credible sources now corroborating this triple-camera configuration. The Pro is also expected to get the 16MP front camera upgrade.
The Galaxy S27 Pro may also come equipped with an ALoP telephoto system capable of 3.5x optical zoom. ALoP (All Lenses on Prism) is a next-gen telephoto design that boosts brightness and cuts noise while also reducing the camera module's footprint. Samsung first showed it off in 2024, but no Galaxy phone has used it yet. Whether it ends up on the Pro, the Ultra, or both is still unclear.
A comparison between traditional telephoto lenses we see in phones and the new technology. | Image by Samsung
Galaxy S27 Ultra storage
Galaxy S27 Ultra rumored storage capacity:
256 GB
512 GB
1 TB
RAM is anticipated to start at 12GB on the base configuration, with 16GB available on higher storage tiers – consistent with how Samsung has structured the Ultra in recent years.
Galaxy S27 Pro storage: likely to mirror the Ultra's options, though nothing specific has leaked.
Galaxy S27 Ultra design
Multiple reports have pointed to a significant camera module redesign for the Galaxy S27 Ultra, with a horizontal camera bar replacing the current vertical arrangement. Reliable leaker Ice Universe posted a sketch depicting a rear panel with a horizontal layout: two vertically stacked cameras on the right side and an elongated island on the left, likely housing a third camera and a flash unit.
Potential S27 Ultra redesign? | Image by Ice Universe
Ice has also followed up with more detailed renders, showing the main and wide-angle cameras stacked vertically on the right, with the 5x telephoto and flash unit together in a pill-shaped island – consistent with the earlier sketch.
S27 Ultra vs S26 Ultra. | Image by Ice Universe
SammyGuru has separately spotted a Samsung patent filing showing a horizontal camera module consistent with that description.
A sketch from a Samsung patent. | Image by SammyGuru
The potential shift is notable given that Samsung's VP of design for its Mobile eXperience unit, Lee Ji-young, had called the Galaxy S26's vertically arranged camera layout "perfect" and a core element of Samsung's brand identity earlier this year. Not all sources agree a redesign is coming, however.
Ice Universe has also revealed a secondary design change that has drawn a considerably warmer response: the Galaxy S27 Ultra will feature rounder corners and deeper bevels compared to the S26 Ultra.
According to Ice's side-by-side comparison, the difference is subtle but perceptible – Samsung has been progressively softening the Ultra's frame since the Galaxy S25 Ultra, and the S27 Ultra takes that trajectory a step further. Even a small change to bevel depth can translate to a noticeable difference in how the device feels in the hand over extended use.
The Galaxy S27 Ultra may sport rounder corners and beveled edges. | Image by IceUniverse
Despite the camera layout overhaul, Ice Universe now claims the Galaxy S27 Ultra will retain more or less the same overall dimensions and display size as the S26 Ultra. The same renders confirm the S Pen slot and bottom speaker are staying on the left side of the device, consistent with the current model. Outside of the camera bar, the changes may be less dramatic than the initial renders suggested.
S27 Ultra renders. | Images by IceUniverse
Tipster Sonny Dickson has backed up the horizontal camera bar and added that the Galaxy S27 Ultra may come in two different sizes – a first for the Ultra model.
Two potential S27 Ultra variants. | Image by Sonny Dickson
Ice Universe's renders of all four S27 models complicate that reading, however, with the leaker specifically naming the Pro, the base S27, and the Plus without referencing a second Ultra variant. The two-sizes rumor may be the result of confusion with the Pro model, particularly if the Pro's design ends up sitting closer to the Ultra end of the visual spectrum than the base S27.
The second Ultra variant may be the rumored Pro variant. | Image by IceUniverse
Two of the four models in Ice Universe's renders feature the horizontal camera bar. On the three non-Ultra models, the bottom speaker grille has shifted to the right of the USB-C port – a minor but visible departure from the S26 lineup.
The Galaxy S26 Ultra design for illustrative purposes. | Image by PhoneArena
Earlier rumors had claimed that Samsung may ditch the S Pen for the Galaxy S27 Ultra, then shifted to suggest an upgrade was coming instead. More recent reports suggest the S Pen is staying the same with Samsung shelving plans to upgrade it this round.
A new authentication option called Polar ID is reportedly coming. It reportedly works similarly to Apple's Face ID but without a front-facing cutout, and may be able to distinguish between a live person and a 3D mask – useful for secure payments and health data protection in low-light environments.
Color options haven't appeared in any leaks yet. Samsung typically refreshes the Ultra's palette each generation with one or two new shades alongside carry-overs from the previous year.
Qi2 magnetic wireless charging is also worth anticipating. It was widely anticipated on the S26 but didn't arrive on any model in that lineup. If Samsung delivers it with the S27 Ultra, it would enable compatibility with a growing ecosystem of magnetic accessories – car mounts, snap-on battery packs, and more – similar to what Apple's MagSafe platform already offers.
The current vertical camera arrangement has been cited as preventing proper alignment with Qi2 magnetic accessories and causing the device to wobble on flat surfaces – practical drawbacks a horizontal bar layout would resolve on the S27 Ultra.
Galaxy S27 Pro design: The S27 Pro is expected to be considerably more compact than the Ultra, with a display of just under 6.5 inches – closer in footprint to the base S26 than the S26 Ultra. No S Pen support is expected.
Ice Universe's renders suggest the Pro may share the horizontal camera bar design with the Ultra, with its overall aesthetic sitting closer to the Ultra end of the lineup than the base model.
Galaxy S27 Ultra display
No display-specific leaks have emerged yet. Screen size isn't expected to deviate from the established 6.9 inches.
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 S26 Ultra introduced a hardware-based Privacy Display – a feature that hides on-screen content from anyone viewing at an angle, adjustable on a per-app basis or applied system-wide. It was the most consequential display upgrade Samsung brought to its flagship in 2026, and it's now rumored to spread across the entire S27 lineup, covering the Ultra, Pro, Plus, and base model alike.
How the new Privacy Display feature on the S26 Ultra works. | Image by PhoneArena
A Dynamic AMOLED 2X panel with an adaptive refresh rate between 1 Hz and 120 Hz is expected to carry over unchanged.
Galaxy S27 Pro display: The S27 Pro is expected to come with a display of just under 6.5 inches – with ETNews pointing specifically to 6.47 inches. Interestingly, the Privacy Display feature, previously exclusive to the S26 Ultra, is also expected to expand to the S27 Pro.
Galaxy S27 Ultra battery
The earlier 6,000-7,000mAh battery rumors for the S27 Ultra appear to have been optimistic. A more recent leak from @phonefuturist suggests Samsung is currently testing cells rated at 5,600mAh or 5,800mAh. IceUniverse, one of the most reliable Samsung leakers, pushed back further, stating there is "no reliable evidence or credible information" the S27 Ultra will exceed 5,500mAh.
The most grounded current estimate comes from Galaxy Club, which points to a rated capacity of 5,534mAh – translating to a typical advertised figure of around 5,700mAh or 5,800mAh.
The Galaxy S27 Pro is reported separately to carry a 5,087mAh rated cell, likely marketed as approximately 5,200mAh. Either figure would mark the first time Samsung has pushed past the 5,000mAh ceiling it maintained across seven consecutive Ultra generations going back to the S20 Ultra in 2020.
Silicon-carbon battery chemistry is expected to make the additional capacity possible without expanding the physical cell size.
Samsung evaluated prototype cells at considerably more ambitious capacities during development – 12,000mAh, 18,000mAh, and even 20,000mAh. All were set aside: the 18,000mAh variant measured 12.3mm thick, well past Samsung's 9.3mm target, and tipster yeux1122 notes longevity concerns also contributed to the decision to hold off.
Tipster yeux1122 says the massive batteries tested may also have had longevity issues, which is reportedly why Samsung held off until now.
A battery test report from Samsung. | Image by Shrödinger
Samsung's EVP of Mobile R&D, Sunghoon Moon, has now added some weight to the Si-C direction, stating that conventional phones will adopt silicon-carbon batteries as long as they demonstrably improve the user experience – and that Samsung is already heading that way.
The S26 Ultra held at 5,000mAh while wired charging improved to 65W. The S27 Ultra is expected to maintain that charging speed, with a possible addition of Qi2 wireless charging.
Galaxy S27 Pro battery: The Pro is expected to carry approximately 5,000mAh – consistent with the current Ultra, and a reasonable fit for its more compact form factor.
Galaxy S27 Ultra features and software
The Galaxy S27 Ultra is expected to ship with One UI 9.5 on top of Android 17.
One UI 9.5 firmware entries for the Galaxy S27 series have been spotted on Samsung's servers by leaker Tarun Vats, though build numbers were hidden, leaving specific feature details unknown. The entries also corroborate the existence of the Galaxy S27 Pro as a fourth model in the lineup.
Firmware entries for the Galaxy S27 on Samsung's servers. | Image by Tarun Vats
Samsung is tracking slightly behind the pace it held ahead of the S26 launch – the first One UI 8.5 test builds for the S26 appeared on July 25 last year – which may point to an announcement closer to the February end of the window.
Leaker Fahad Ali Javed has shared a screenshot from an internal One UI 9.5 build suggesting Samsung is testing native app mirroring for the Galaxy S27 Ultra. The feature would allow users to access their phone's apps and notifications directly from a laptop – even when the phone is locked – with both devices required to be signed into the same Samsung account. A comparable feature has been available on iPhone since 2024.
Supposed internal built of One UI 9.5. | Image by Fahad Ali Javed on X
Galaxy AI will remain central to the experience, with further development expected across Now Bar, Now Brief, and Bixby. The S26 Ultra brought natural language understanding to Bixby, live web search integration, and the ability to set Gemini or Perplexity as your default assistant. The S27 Ultra is expected to build on those foundations rather than replace them.
Now Brief gained tighter integration with Samsung's personal data engine on the S26 generation, and the Now Bar added context-aware recommendations – both features are expected to evolve further.
Android 17 introduces Gemini Intelligence – a more capable, agentic version of Gemini capable of handling multi-step tasks across different apps on your behalf. The S27 Ultra is expected to be among the devices where Samsung pushes this capability most aggressively.
Seven years of major OS updates and security patches are anticipated, consistent with Samsung's current support commitment across its flagship lineup.
Galaxy S27 Pro features and software: Expected to match the Ultra's software experience, with the notable exception of S Pen features, which remain Ultra-exclusive.
Tipster Digital Chat Station recently claimed the Galaxy S27 Ultra may run on a custom 2nm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 Pro chip. Qualcomm is reportedly splitting the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 into standard and Pro versions this time, with the Pro version hitting clock speeds around 5 GHz.
Peak frequencies of 5.5GHz or even 6.0GHz are rumored for the 8 Elite Gen 6 Pro – which, if accurate, would be remarkable for a phone chip.
The chip split across the S27 lineup is now clearer. The Exynos 2700 is expected to power the Galaxy S27 and S27+ in most markets globally, with the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 taking over in the US, Canada, China, and Japan. The Galaxy S27 Ultra, however, is expected to run on the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 in all markets worldwide.
That said, the Exynos 2700 is putting in a stronger showing than Samsung's in-house chips have in years. An internal performance evaluation conducted by Samsung's Mobile eXperience unit on August 23 found the Exynos 2700 outperforming the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 across CPU, GPU, AI computation, and power efficiency.
On Geekbench 6.5 multicore, it scored 19% higher than the standard Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 and 9.5% higher than the Pro variant. In GPU testing, it topped the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 Pro by 5%, and pulled ahead by 24% and 22% respectively in a low-power 2.5W environment.
In AI workloads using the Llama 3.1 8B model, the Exynos 2700 generated responses 18% faster than the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 Pro and processed user prompts 5% faster.
Samsung has stated its long-term goal is to move away from dual-sourcing entirely and equip all Galaxy phones – including Ultra models – with in-house Exynos chips, but this may not happen with the Galaxy S27 series.
Meanwhile, according to DCS, the non-Pro Snapdragon chip – possibly for the standard Galaxy S27 in some markets – may come with reduced cache and specs, aimed at upper-mid-range devices.
The Qualcomm price increase we mentioned earlier also raises questions about Samsung's chip strategy for non-US markets. With Snapdragon costs rising, Samsung may expand the share of in-house Exynos chips across the S27 lineup to offset costs – though that move is unlikely to be well received by buyers who tend to prefer Snapdragon.
The Galaxy S26 and S26+ already ship with the Exynos 2600 in most markets outside the US, and that split may widen with the S27 generation.
Two further hardware upgrades are now reportedly off the table for the S27 Ultra. According to South Korean leaker Lanzuk, Samsung has shelved plans to move to LPDDR6 RAM and UFS 5.0 storage – both of which were expected to feature on the S27 Ultra.
LPDDR6 would have delivered around 45% better memory throughput and 21% lower power draw compared to the LPDDR5X in the S26 Ultra. UFS 5.0 would have brought faster storage speeds and better performance under AI-heavy workloads.
Both technologies are reportedly being reserved for limited special-edition devices, with the mainstream S27 Ultra missing out as a direct result of the ongoing memory component shortage. The day-to-day impact is likely minimal in the near term, but as apps and AI features grow more demanding, the absence of these upgrades could become more noticeable over the device's lifetime.
Galaxy S27 Pro expected specs:
CPU: Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 Pro (US only) / Exynos 2700 (most other markets)
The Galaxy S27 Pro's regional chip split is worth knowing about upfront. Most buyers outside the US – including in Europe, South Korea, and India – may get the Exynos 2700 rather than the Snapdragon.
Should I wait for the Galaxy S27 Ultra?
You should wait for the Galaxy S27 Ultra if you want the most capable Android flagship without making any concessions. The combination of a redesigned main sensor, a battery that clears the 5,000mAh mark Samsung had held since 2019, the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 Pro, and a more comfortable rounded frame with deeper bevels makes this a more meaningful generational step than the S26 Ultra represented over the S25 Ultra. It's also a compelling consideration for anyone weighing a move from iOS, given One UI's emphasis on a polished, cohesive experience.
You should not wait for the Galaxy S27 Ultra if you already own a capable 2025 or 2026 flagship, or if a compact device is a priority – the Ultra is staying at 6.9 inches. If the S27 Pro is the more attractive option and you're outside the US, be aware that you're almost certainly getting an Exynos chip rather than Snapdragon, which may factor into your decision depending on your priorities.
Iskra Petrova is a news writer at PhoneArena, where she covers mobile tech news and maintains the site’s device hubs with the latest leaked specs, rumors, and official details for upcoming phones. She joined PhoneArena in 2020 after three years in technical support for Microsoft Exchange, giving her practical experience with software infrastructure and troubleshooting. Iskra holds a Master’s Degree in Literature, which helps her translate complex tech details into clear, reader-friendly coverage. She is a daily Apple ecosystem user, while also closely following Sony Xperia’s camera-focused phones and Samsung’s Galaxy Z Flip series.
