Don’t expect the Galaxy S26 to get a better primary camera sensor
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Samsung users have had a pet peeve with their Galaxy phones for quite a while: the company refuses to use newer and better sensors for the camera setup. Software optimizations still help the Galaxy phones take excellent photos but digital trickery can only get you so far. Unfortunately it seems that the Galaxy S26 phones will continue this trend of old camera sensors coupled with improved software.
A reliable industry insider has reported (translated source) that Samsung is considering using a 200 megapixel telephoto camera with a sensor around one or 1.5 inches large. Now this is actually pretty good news.
A 200 megapixel telephoto camera of that size would mean a massive jump in quality over previous Galaxy phones. Such a sensor could even bring the image clarity of zoomed images close to those captured with the primary sensor. However, looking just a bit deeper into what Samsung is doing makes it seem that this primary sensor itself will still remain the same.
The upcoming Galaxy S25 phones reportedly feature the same cameras, battery capacity, charging speeds, displays and more. In fact the only real upgrade seems to be the processor — the Snapdragon 8 Elite — which is being used across the lineup. And their biggest selling point doesn’t seem all that fancy after a leaked video showed off underwhelming Galaxy AI features.
In short, it doesn’t seem even the Galaxy S26 will be that much of an upgrade, and that’s just disappointing more than anything else. Let’s hope against hope that it’s not true.
A reliable industry insider has reported (translated source) that Samsung is considering using a 200 megapixel telephoto camera with a sensor around one or 1.5 inches large. Now this is actually pretty good news.
A 200 megapixel telephoto camera of that size would mean a massive jump in quality over previous Galaxy phones. Such a sensor could even bring the image clarity of zoomed images close to those captured with the primary sensor. However, looking just a bit deeper into what Samsung is doing makes it seem that this primary sensor itself will still remain the same.
You see, this same source has reported that the cameras on the iPhone 17 will remain the same as well. If that is true then an observation made by another insider is very likely to be accurate as well: that Samsung won’t innovate because it won’t be pressured to do so by its biggest rival.
As the fruit remains unchanged, the galaxy also remains unchanged, using the same sensor. https://t.co/xwFOP9cBp9
— Jukanlosreve (@Jukanlosreve) January 10, 2025
The fact that news about Samsung considering new telephoto sensors is coming out but there’s no word about a new primary sensor also doesn’t bode well. There’s still a long way to go before the Galaxy S26 phones come out but, just like the S25 series, it seems there won’t be much reason to upgrade.
Galaxy AI will be the biggest selling point of the S25 lineup of phones. | Video credit — Samsung
The upcoming Galaxy S25 phones reportedly feature the same cameras, battery capacity, charging speeds, displays and more. In fact the only real upgrade seems to be the processor — the Snapdragon 8 Elite — which is being used across the lineup. And their biggest selling point doesn’t seem all that fancy after a leaked video showed off underwhelming Galaxy AI features.
In short, it doesn’t seem even the Galaxy S26 will be that much of an upgrade, and that’s just disappointing more than anything else. Let’s hope against hope that it’s not true.
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