.png)
Samsung puts fairly excellent cameras in its flagship phones, with the Galaxy S25 Ultra being our top pick in our list of best camera phones. Lately, the company has seemed to settle on similar hardware year to year, with improvements found on the software side.
However, a new leak from regular Samsung tipster Ice Universe reveals a pretty major upgrade for next year's Galaxy S26 Ultra. His most recent leak claims that the flagship phone will feature a larger F/1.4 aperture.
Last month, Ice Universe claimed that Samsung would use the same ISOCELL HP2 sensor in the primary camera. This is the same 200 megapixel sensor that Samsung has used since introducing the Galaxy S23 Ultra in 2023.
This gives us pause to consider that Samsung is relying too heavily on AI to sell its phones rather than the hardware itself.
Still, the larger aperture is an upgrade in and of itself.
Why does the aperture matter?
Currently, the S25 Ultra features the HP2 sensor and an f/1.7 aperture.
The camera's aperture is the opening that lets light pass to the sensor. Simply, the f-number of your camera stands for the focal length of the camera, which is slightly different on a smartphone but principally similar. The lower the number, the larger the aperture.
What this means is that the S26 Ultra will be able to take in more light, which should make the phone perform better in low-light situations. It should also create a shallower depth of field, meaning out-of-focus areas in a photo will look more blurry while sharpening the subject.
For most people, this may not rock the camera boat, but for shooters who enjoy Samsung's manual controls, a larger aperture will be a boon, especially in low-light images.
If Samsung keeps to its traditional schedule, we'll likely see the S26 Ultra revealed at an Unpacked event in January of 2026.
Follow Tom's Guide on Google News to get our up-to-date news, how-tos, and reviews in your feeds. Make sure to click the Follow button.
English (US) ·