Next year will be the year of the Samsung Galaxy S27 Ultra. It was supposed to be Apple’s year — the 20th anniversary of the iPhone will be in 2027 — but all of the company’s most ambitious plans have hit a wall.
The iPhone 20 Pro will not be the phone that Apple wanted it to be but, if all of the reports up until now have been accurate, then the Galaxy S27 Ultra will be the phone to keep an eye on next year.
But why is that? Well, I’m glad you asked.
Originally, the iPhone 20 Pro was a very ambitious project
Early leaked designs of the iPhone 20 Pro. | Image by Fpt.
Initially, Apple had grandiose plans for the iPhone 20 Pro and the iPhone 20 Pro Max. For the 20th anniversary of the iPhone, the company wanted to release a flagship that reimagined the smartphone once again.
The iPhone 20 Pro was planned to be a phone without any bezels. It was supposed to feature a display that curved down towards the chassis on all four sides.
Unlike previous phones with curved displays, however, this display would not distort content or display anything towards the sides of the phone. It was to be designed in such a way that it gave the illusion of a floating screen without any borders.
The iPhone 20 Pro was also supposed to move all of its front-facing components beneath said curved display. An under-display camera, in addition to the Face ID setup being moved below the screen as well, would have led to a phone that would look like a perfect, borderless slab of glass.
Recommended For You
This was a design I had been looking forward to immensely, simply because I know that other manufacturers would have immediately started redesigning their phones to look similar. The iPhone 20 Pro was supposed to finally transition smartphones away from the eyesores we call notches, punch-hole cameras, or the Dynamic Island.
Apple has had to scale back its plans
Though Apple did bring one concept to life with the iPhone 18 Pro. | Image by PhoneArena
Unfortunately for Apple, and me, all of these things are now very unlikely to be ready by next year. Samsung is currently figuring out whether it can build the curved, bezel-free display, but the other plans are probably not going to come to fruition.
Apple has moved some of the Face ID setup below the display with the iPhone 18 Pro and the iPhone 18 Pro Max. And, generally, these under-display components stay pretty well-hidden.
Apple iPhone 18 Pro
Display
6.3-inch . 2622x1206px
Camera
Triple camera
Battery
4288 mAh
Storage
12GB . 256GB
Hardware
Apple A20 Pro
OS
iOS 27.x
The company has also utilized an under-display camera for the first time with the new iPhone Duo, its first foldable iPhone. So, technically, if Samsung is able to get the display ready on time, the original vision for the iPhone 20 Pro could be possible.
Apple iPhone Duo
Display
7.6-inch . 2460x2180px
Camera
Dual camera
Battery
4700 mAh
Storage
12GB . 256GB
Hardware
Apple A20 Pro
OS
iOS 27.x
But Apple is most likely not going to proceed with its original plans for the iPhone 20 Pro because of one problem: the under-display camera just isn’t the flagship-level selfie camera that Apple wants to equip its phones with.
We tried the iPhone Duo, there's a lot to love here. | Video by PhoneArena
Hands-on experiences with the iPhone Duo make it quite clear that the under-display camera on the inside screen just isn’t that good. Apple, in my opinion, is unlikely to risk the image of its flagship phones until under-display cameras can be improved.
The Galaxy S27 Ultra, however, will be a phone of firsts
The Galaxy S27 Ultra is also allegedly dropping the 3x telephoto. | Image by OnLeaks
Samsung, on the other hand, is doing really good things for its upcoming flagship, in my opinion. The Galaxy S27 Ultra is going to be a phone of firsts.
For starters, if the many reports coming out of the industry are accurate, then the S27 Ultra is the first major redesign for Samsung’s phones in a very long time. The redesigned iPhone 17 Pro was exciting and sold incredibly well, so the same will probably hold true for the Galaxy S27 Ultra as well.
It’s also time, at long last, for Samsung to move past the 5,000 mAh cage that it has subjected its phones to for way longer than it should have. Yep, multiple reports indicate that the Galaxy S27 Ultra might feature a 5,600 or 5,700 mAh battery while still also charging faster than the Galaxy S26 Ultra.
Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra
Display
6.9-inch . 3120x1440px
Camera
Quad camera
Battery
5000 mAh
Storage
12GB . 256GB
Hardware
Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 for Galaxy
OS
Android 16
Yes, the Galaxy S27 Ultra is reportedly losing the 3x telephoto camera, and that’s a bummer, but what it’s also doing is improving upon the Privacy Display of the S26 Ultra. Samsung’s novel feature from this year has led to a display that either makes some people sick or turns off customers because of how it looks with the Privacy Display on.
The company is working on that, says one source. So the Galaxy S27 Ultra might take what set the Galaxy S26 Ultra apart and improve on it in every measurable way.
Which phone sounds the most appealing to you now?
5 Votes
It truly does feel like that the Galaxy S27 Ultra is going to steal the spotlight for the 20th anniversary of the iPhone next year. Then again, Apple might just end up surprising us like it did last month.
If Apple manages to keep its progress hidden from the industry and then drops an iPhone 20 Pro that is everything that it wanted it to be, I would be mildly surprised but very hopeful for the future of smartphones as well.
Galaxy S27 Ultra stealing the spotlight from the iPhone 20 Pro:
Abdullah loves smartphones, Virtual Reality, and audio gear. Though he covers a wide range of news his favorite is always when he gets to talk about the newest VR venture or when Apple sets the industry ablaze with another phenomenal release.
A discussion is a place, where people can voice their opinion, no matter if it
is positive, neutral or negative. However, when posting, one must stay true to the topic, and not just share some
random thoughts, which are not directly related to the matter.
Things that are NOT allowed:
Off-topic talk - you must stick to the subject of discussion
Offensive, hate speech - if you want to say something, say it politely
Spam/Advertisements - these posts are deleted
Multiple accounts - one person can have only one account
Impersonations and offensive nicknames - these accounts get banned
To help keep our community safe and free from spam, we apply temporary limits to newly created accounts:
New accounts created within the last 24 hours may experience restrictions on how frequently they can
post or comment.
These limits are in place as a precaution and will automatically lift.
Moderation is done by humans. We try to be as objective as possible and moderate with zero bias. If you think a
post should be moderated - please, report it.
Have a question about the rules or why you have been moderated/limited/banned? Please,
contact us.
Things that are NOT allowed:
To help keep our community safe and free from spam, we apply temporary limits to newly created accounts: