This Samsung Galaxy S27 Pro and Ultra zoom leak left a bad taste in my mouth, here's why

The Galaxy S27 Pro was reportedly going to be the answer for fans of the Ultra line of the Galaxy S devices, such as the Galaxy S26 Ultra. However, a new leak claims that the Galaxy S27 Pro will get the 3x zoom camera from the S26 Ultra, while the Galaxy S27 Ultra will keep the 5x but drop the 3x.

This means that neither of the two devices will get to keep both zoom cameras, and instead will push buyers into deciding for one or the other. This is a choice that Apple iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max buyers didn’t have to make, as they both have the same zoom cameras regardless of the size of the phone.

The Galaxy S27 Pro will reportedly skimp on the telephoto

The information came from well-known Samsung leaker Ice Universe, and it arrived in the form of a translated Weibo post containing images of S27 series cases. From the images, it can be seen that the S27 and S27 Plus keep the S26’s three stacked rear cameras.



However, the story changes when you get to the S27 Pro and the S27 Ultra. As we previously covered, these models reportedly switch to a large camera island, very much like the one the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro have. Except, if you look carefully, you see that the flash is near the cameras instead of at the far end of the island.

What’s more, the S27 Pro reportedly uses the same 10MP 3x telephoto that was used on the S26 Ultra, and not the 50MP 5x that the S27 Ultra gets. Another report from late July says 12MP for this lens, but regardless, it’s a 3x lens between 10 and 12MP.

Adding insult to injury, the S27 Ultra is reportedly dropping the 3x telephoto, which several reports have claimed. The Pro also reportedly skips the S Pen, skips the Privacy Display and has a smaller battery than the Ultra.

The 3x vs 5x zoom debacle

All the above is reportedly happening while the S27 lineup prices are expected to go up again. As we reported previously, the RAM shortage continues to wreak havoc on pricing and Samsung, as a consequence, has begun to scale down its flagship production.

The recently released Galaxy Tab S12 series just did something similar, dropping its anti-reflective coating yet still going up in price.

Past a lens’s optical zoom, the phone actually crops into a photo and enlarges it. So, in these cases, what matters is how many megapixels remain after cropping in.

This is important particularly in the case of the S27 Ultra, which reportedly keeps a 200MP main camera, so cropping that to 3x still leaves about 22MP, which isn’t bad.

However, the S27 Pro with a 10MP 3x lens cropped to 5x will leave only about 3.6MP. That’s a huge gap. Of course, this is just a rough idea and not exact math or proof of what the result will actually be, as we know phone cameras blend data from all their lenses.

In contrast, the iPhone 18 Pro has two zoom cameras, one 48MP 4x and a 12MP 8x, the same exact setup the Pro Max variant has. Likewise, the Pixel 11 Pro has one 48MP 5x zoom camera on both the Pro and the Pro XL variant.

iPhone 18 Pro and Pixel 11 Pro owners have nothing to fear here, as this seems to be limited to Samsung. If you own an S26 Ultra with both zoom cameras, consider yourself lucky as it’s looking like the S27 lineup may be a sidegrade when it comes to zoom.

Which S27 phone to choose

Portrait and everyday zoom fans may be fine with this tradeoff. However, those who zoom far away for things like concerts, sports, wildlife or the moon should take a second look at whether that smaller zoom will be sufficient.

If these rumors turn out to be true, I can see many waiting it out to see what the S28 will bring to the table.

Paying more for the Galaxy S27 to choose less

Splitting the S26 Ultra’s zoom cameras across two pricier phones feels like a step in the wrong direction. When did upgrading become an actual downgrade?

It should be noted that this information is still based on leaks and unofficial reports, and not any official specs. What I would personally prefer, though, is to have spec parity between the Pro and Ultra models.

Making potential buyers choose between two bad options is not benefitting anyone, and I would love to see Samsung address this shortcoming and fix the lineup so it actually makes sense without having to think which of the two downgrades to choose.

More on the Galaxy S27 lineup:

• See the Galaxy S27 case leak we covered
• Everything we know about the Galaxy S27 Ultra
• Samsung Galaxy S27 Ultra

• Follow me on X and Threads

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