Samsung’s next flagship is still months away, but a new leak suggests the Galaxy S26 Ultra could make one of its biggest camera jumps in years and potentially
According to tipster UniverseIce, Samsung is sticking with the same 200MP ISOCELL HP2 sensor used in the S25 Ultra, but with one important change: the aperture is reportedly widening from f/1.7 to f/1.4. That may sound minor, but in smartphone photography, aperture is everything.
A wider f/1.4 opening lets in significantly more light, giving the S26 Ultra a better shot at brighter night photos, cleaner detail, and improved motion handling, exactly where Apple’s and Google’s latest flagships tend to dominate.
The HP2 will still support Samsung’s usual pixel-binning modes, outputting 12.5MP, 50MP, or full 200MP images depending on the scene.
If earlier rumours hold, the main camera will sit alongside a 50MP ultrawide (Samsung JN3), a 50MP periscope telephoto (IMX854), and a 12MP 3x telephoto (Samsung S5K3LD). On the front, Samsung is expected to keep its 12MP Sony IMX874 selfie camera.
It’s a familiar setup on paper, but the aperture change could be the difference-maker. Apple relied heavily on improved light intake and sensor optimisation for the iPhone 17 Pro Max’s biggest camera gains – so bumping the S26 Ultra to an f/1.4 aperture is a clear signal that Samsung is aiming at the same target.
Of course, hardware specs tell only half the story. Apple still has the edge in computational processing, while Samsung leans on detail-rich high-resolution captures and aggressive multi-frame blending. The real question is whether this wider-aperture HP2 can give Samsung enough extra light to push its algorithms further, especially in those tricky low-light portrait and night-action shots where iPhones tend to shine.
We’re still waiting for more concrete details, but if this leak is accurate, the S26 Ultra may be shaping up as Samsung’s strongest answer yet to Apple’s camera-first strategy on the iPhone 17 Pro Max.
