Editorials · Reviewer Insight
Unpopular opinion: I kind of like the Galaxy S27 Ultra design language
I don't get what the fuss is all about.
This article may contain personal views and opinion from the author.
Galaxy S27 Ultra will reportedly look like this... and I don't have an issue with it anymore. | Image by Android Headlines
By now, you must've seen the Galaxy S27 Ultra design leaks, and to say that the Android blogosphere's initial reaction was less than favorable would be the understatement of the year.
It seems most people aren't really hyped up about the Galaxy S Ultra switching from the signature camera cutouts to an iPhone Pro-like camera plateau in the back, even though there are quite a few legit reasons for that to happen.
I have to admit that initially I wasn't excited about that redesign either. I may have also even shared at least five or six memes of it in our internal Slack channel, mocking the design and liking it to a hyper-energized bunny with a single tooth.
And I mean, just look at it; you can't not say that it doesn't look like one, can you?
Rotate your head to the left, and the bunny appears. | Image by Android Headlines
But then I used the Galaxy S26 Ultra for a couple of days, and while its design is quite pristine and timeless, I found myself anticipating the upcoming redesign.
The leaked Galaxy S27 Ultra renders, most certainly a litmus test for the public's acceptance of the new design language, got me, and I now think I like the upcoming device more than I did its immediate predecessors.
It makes absolute sense that Samsung would employ this specific design language
Okay, okay, I know that it's par for the course to lambast a company when it copies one of its rivals, especially when two of the involved parties are Apple and Samsung. I've done the same when the Galaxy Watch Ultra paid homage to the Apple Watch Ultra in the most obvious ways possible, so I get it.
The truth is the Galaxy S Ultra lineup was due for a design refresh after sticking to mostly the same design language for the past couple of years. The switch from right-angled corners and a curved display to a flat frame and rounded corners was really a big change, but aside from that, things have been pretty consistent since the Galaxy S22 Ultra days.
And when your product is due for a refresh, you've got two obvious paths ahead of you: either think of something truly original that has never been done before, or see what the competition is doing and flatter them by copying them.
Obviously, Samsung is going for the number two option here, and I wouldn't fault the largest Android manufacturer here: true innovation hasn't been a leitmotif with the company in the past couple of years. Gone is the Samsung of old, which seemingly innovated with every new generation and released those frontier devices that had unique and never-seen-before hardware features.
That's just the sad reality of it, and the sooner we accept it, the better.
But forget the aesthetics, the incoming changes are more exciting to me
Pushing all the cameras up there to the camera plateau will finally allow Samsung to put magnets in the back that will allow the phone to attach to MagSafe and other magnetic accessories. To me, a person who has a bunch of such accessories in a drawer, that would be a revelation and a massive quality-of-life upgrade.
I love the convenience and utility that Apple's MagSafe ecosystem brings. Previously on Galaxy phones, I've always had to supply a third-party case with a MagSafe ring in the back, and many of these aren't particularly high-quality ones. Also, nothing beats the feel of a naked phone that supports MagSafe natively.
I've definitely seen less appealing devices than this one, and I'm certain you have, too. | Image by Android Headlines
The Galaxy camera, finally reimagined
Another possible outcome of the pushed-up cameras?
A complete rethinking of Samsung's camera system is what I'm most excited about. Truth is, these haven't been the absolute best of the best in recent years, especially in some specific use cases, like less than ideal lighting and moving subjects in less than ideal lighting conditions.
A complete rethinking of Samsung's camera system is what I'm most excited about. Truth is, these haven't been the absolute best of the best in recent years, especially in some specific use cases, like less than ideal lighting and moving subjects in less than ideal lighting conditions.
Ask me how I know—whenever I've tested a Galaxy indoors with my kids, most photos turn out a blurry mess that's anything but becoming of a high-end flagship. That's because Samsung phones still favor lower ISO and longer shutter speeds, which is fine when you want to capture a mountain landscape but horrible with kids or pets.
Samsung will also fortunately drop the useless 3X telephoto, which is a remnant of a bygone era. I'd be much happier if we get a single, high-res short periscope that would enable lossless zoom, like on most other flagships out there and especially the ones rolling out from Oppo, Vivo, Xiaomi, and Huawei/Honor's conveyor belts.
Finally, it doesn't look that bad!
And at the end of the day, the Galaxy S27 Ultra doesn't look that bad at all; it actually looks smarter than the tryphophobia-triggering previous Galaxies.
It will remain an acquired taste that will probably annoy you for five minutes once you open the box and never again. More important are the features and the pricing.
I am cautiously optimistic that the Galaxy S27 Ultra will be a major step in the right direction for Samsung.
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