👋 A new leak suggests the Samsung Galaxy S27 Ultra could be losing its 3x telephoto lens
📷 Samsung is reportedly kitting out its new flagship with a triple camera array instead that’ll go from a 1x wide to a 50MP 5x telephoto
💰 It’s a move reportedly designed to save money, as had been mooted by a previous report from a Korean outlet reporting the same rumor
🤔 The mid-spec Galaxy S27 Pro could have a 12MP 3x telephoto lens instead, alongside a smaller 6.47-inch screen and no S Pen support
A brand-new leak for the Samsung Galaxy S27 Ultra has reaffirmed it might be losing its telephoto lens.
Leaker Ice Universe on X, who has a decent reputation for most things Samsung, has suggested that the S27 Ultra won’t have its 3x optical zoom lens with a 10MP sensor.
Instead, Samsung is reportedly kitting its next Ultra phone out with a wide 1x lens and a 5x optical lens, with a 50MP sensor, if things remain unchanged.
A render for the S27 Ultra from OnLeaks shows portions of the phone’s rear panel, showing an entirely new camera island design with three lenses which places the flash LED at the bottom of the panel, with additional sensors, and the new 5x zoom lens.
This isn’t the first time we’ve heard that Samsung is going to make some changes to the next Galaxy Ultra handset.
Back in August, Korean outlet ETNews reported that the S27 Ultra could lose a camera due to rising costs, with the same 10MP 3x telephoto lens on the chopping block.
Instead, a 12MP 3x telephoto would be incorporated on a new Galaxy S27 Pro model, which looks to be a halfway house between a more standard S27 and the Ultra, coming with a smaller 6.47-inch screen and no S Pen.
The S27 Pro is also set to have a 200MP main sensor, a 50MP ultrawide and a 12MP 3x telephoto lens, while the S27 Ultra is set for a 200MP main sensor, a 50MP ultrawide and a 50MP “5x zoom folded camera”, presumably meaning a periscope lens, according to the outlet.
The reason cited is that it’s a “strategic response to the surge in semiconductor and component prices” and an attempt to “stabilize the pricing of the Galaxy S27 series by reducing the number of components in the best-selling Ultra model”.
At the time of that report, Ice Universe also echoed the same information, so having it reiterated suggests that this is a real possibility.
Reece Bithrey is a journalist with bylines for Trusted Reviews, Digital Foundry, PC Gamer, TechRadar and more. He also has his own blog, UNTITLED, and graduated from the University of Leeds with a degree in International History and Politics in 2023.