Galaxy S26 Ultra: still a mighty camera phone, or just a fancy, harmless flagship?

When we're talking about camera phones, we cannot not bring up whichever Galaxy S Ultra is out at the moment – and pretty soon, in a matter of weeks – the Galaxy S26 Ultra will be officially unveiled.

Thanks to the stellar performance of its predecessors, the new Ultra will automatically be granted a seat at the best camera phones' council.

Although rumors have it that the Galaxy S26 Ultra won't introduce revolutionary hardware upgrades to its camera setup (compared to the Galaxy S25 Ultra), one major enhancement is expected: a wider aperture on its main camera lens.

While that's fascinating – wider apertures let in more light, which results in higher quality photos – I wonder if the general audience will pay more attention to that… or to the brand-new flagship camera sensor by Sony – the LYT-901.

The aperture numbers

Going from f/1.7 (what the S25 Ultra has) to f/1.4 (what the S26 Ultra could have) might not seem like a huge step, but in Aperture World, that's of great value. Going from f/1.7 to f/1.4 gives you a little more than half a step of extra light, which means that the camera gets about 50% more light.

Not double, not a huge jump – just noticeably brighter, especially in low light. But I'd take 50% more light intake capabilities in a heartbeat.

So, if nothing else changes and the main camera sensor remains the same (the ISOCELL HP2, that is), the larger f/1.4 aperture would produce cleaner low-light shots. It would also allow lower (cleaner) ISO or faster shutter speeds for the same exposure, and less noise in dim scenes – which matters a lot for a sensor with very small 0.6 μm pixels.

You would also get noticeably shallower depth of field, so subjects stand out more against a blurrier background. This means more pleasing portraits, although with the current AI craze, one can generate almost convincing artificial bokeh effects. Almost.

Sony's new flagship sensor

Mere hours ago, Sony introduced the LYT-901, its first 200-megapixel phone camera sensor.

It's a stacked 1/1.12-type sensor, slightly smaller than the 1-inch LYT-900 but still much larger than what most phones use. With 0.7 μm pixels and Sony's Quad-Quad Bayer system, the sensor groups 16 tiny pixels into larger ones for better low-light performance, then uses AI remosaicing to pull out full detail during zoom.

Sony says the LYT-901 aims to balance very high resolution with strong low-light results, thanks to built-in AI processing and advanced HDR that keeps highlights and shadows intact. It can shoot 200 MP RAW at up to 10 fps and 50 MP at 30 fps. Sony claims up to 4x high-quality crop zoom, but we'll have to see how it performs once it ships in phones, likely the Oppo Find X9 Ultra or Vivo X300 Ultra sometime in the first three to five months of 2026.

Samsung is first to bet it all

As I said above, the Galaxy S26 Ultra is some weeks away: we're expecting the Galaxy S26 series to be unveiled at the end of January.

Which means that the Ultra model will have to walk the walk before any of the other camera flagships do: the Find X9 Ultra could arrive in March, when the Vivo X300 Ultra could also drop. Both of these will most likely sport the new LYT-901.

Which could be a major selling point: I'm aware that neither Oppo nor Vivo can overtake Samsung at the moment, but let's look at the overall picture more broadly.

Rumors say we should expect only the 3x telephoto camera to get enhanced from 10 MP to 12 MP (not exactly a flagship-worthy upgrade). Then, if the S26 Ultra retains the camera setup of its predecessor, we're looking at a 50 MP ultrawide, a 50 MP periscope 5x telephoto, a 12 MP selfie on the front, and the aforementioned 200 MP ISOCELL HP2 for the main camera. With its alleged f/1.4 aperture.

I think a brand-new flagship sensor by Sony could get camera nerds to talk, especially if it delivers on its promise of extreme detail, impressive low-light performance, and AI-enhanced zoom. Even with Samsung launching the S26 Ultra first, the LYT-901 could steal some of the spotlight when Oppo and Vivo debut their models a few months later.

For enthusiasts, the real excitement won't just be megapixels – it'll be seeing how this sensor handles real-world shooting, from fine textures and text to challenging lighting and high-speed video. If it lives up to the hype, Sony's LYT-901 could set a new benchmark for mobile photography in 2026, forcing other brands to rethink their camera strategies and giving photographers more reasons to pay attention to these upcoming flagships.

It's important to also note that…

The Galaxy S25 Ultra shines brighter than a diamond

One can easily get lost in specs and paper fantasies. But the truth is that the Galaxy S25 Ultra – and the Galaxy S26 Ultra, respectively – are (and would be) serious photography tools. If you don't believe me, you can take a look and see how the S25 Ultra performs in Japan.

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