The Galaxy S26 Ultra, expected to be the star of the upcoming Galaxy S26 release, has been featured in numerous leaks recently. One of the much-anticipated upgrades, alongside the improved charging speeds, is a camera upgrade, focused on performance in low-light scenarios.
Now, a reputable leaker reaffirms that this upgrade is indeed most likely coming. And that's actually... awesome.
Leaker corroborates rumored wider aperture for the Galaxy S26 Ultra
UniverseIce, who is a reliable leaker, has now published an image on the social media platform X that shows the properties of a photo capture allegedly captured with the Galaxy S26 Ultra's main camera.
The Galaxy S26 Ultra's main camera is expected to sport a 200MP sensor. Now, rumor has it that the aperture of the camera would be wider at F1.4, which would allow the sensor to capture more light in comparison to the Galaxy S25 Ultra's main camera.
During our Galaxy S25 Ultra review, we found a small improvement in nighttime shots in comparison to the Galaxy S24 Ultra, and it seems that Samsung is planning on continuing its tradition by refining things even further with the S26 Ultra.
Same ISOCELL HP2 sensor on the Galaxy S26 Ultra, but many updates nonetheless
Apart from the wider aperture, the phone is said to still use the ISOCELL HP2 sensor, which is a 1/1.3-inch sensor with 0.6μm pixels, capable of capturing 10-bit and 12-bit RAW photos. Features like Dual Slope Gain (DSG) and Smart ISO Pro (iDCG), the sensor is capable of capturing images with a high dynamic range.
The sensor comes with pixel binning, and therefore it offers 12.5MP, 50MP, and 200MP resolution photos.
What excites you most about the Galaxy S26 Ultra camera upgrades?
Brighter night shots with the wider aperture
0%
Faster photo processing and smoother zoom
0%
Improved video performance
16.67%
All of the above, I want it all
83.33%
Previous leaks have said that the Galaxy S26 Ultra is going to come, as expected, with a quad-camera system. The only other difference in the set from the predecessor is reportedly a new 12MP telephoto camera with 3x optical zoom, replacing the 10MP one on the Galaxy S25 Ultra.
However, that doesn't mean that we won't see noticeable upgrades in the camera department. On one hand, we expect improved photo processing thanks to the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chip. Then, the Galaxy S26 Ultra is said to come with a RAM upgrade.
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Nighttime sample from the S25 Ultra's main camera from our review. | Image Credit - PhoneArena
You may wonder what RAM has to do with camera upgrades, but in fact, it has quite a lot to do with it, and we expect some notable benefits from the faster RAM. These include improved speed when taking a nighttime photo, cleaner nighttime images, smoother continuous zoom, improvements in preview, more natural live portrait preview, and even higher stability when taking videos in 8K or 120fps.
On top of that, the phones from the S26 lineup are said to support the APV codec (Advanced Professional Video codec), which should give you improved editing and post-processing capabilities for videos.
Galaxy S26 Ultra camera upgrade look genuinely exciting to me
This whole F1.4 thing has me kind of hyped. I take a lot of random night photos – street lights, random buildings that just shine right in the darkness, my chihuahua being weird at 2AM, whatever – and half the time they come out a bit meh.
So, the idea that the S26 Ultra might finally give me cleaner shots without me needing to stand perfectly still like a statue? Yeah, I'm into that. And if the faster RAM really makes the camera react quicker, even better. I'm not trying to wait three seconds for the shutter when something cool is happening.
If Samsung actually nails all of this, the S26 Ultra might be one of those phones that feels good to use, not just good to read specs about.
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Izzy, a tech enthusiast and a key part of the PhoneArena team, specializes in delivering the latest mobile tech news and finding the best tech deals. Her interests extend to cybersecurity, phone design innovations, and camera capabilities. Outside her professional life, Izzy, a literature master's degree holder, enjoys reading, painting, and learning languages. She's also a personal growth advocate, believing in the power of experience and gratitude. Whether it's walking her Chihuahua or singing her heart out, Izzy embraces life with passion and curiosity.
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