Most of the rumors surrounding the Galaxy S26 family have focused on the Ultra model. Some reports suggested Samsung may ditch the Plus model in favor of a super-slim S26 Edge next year, but those plans have apparently been scrapped due to weak S25 Edge sales. With the Galaxy S26 Ultra supposedly getting some big camera upgrades, a new leak details the camera improvements coming to the base and Plus models.
Initial rumors indicated the non-Ultra Galaxy S26 models may get a 50MP ultrawide camera. But SmartPrix reports that will not be the case, with Samsung instead sticking to the same 12MP Sony IMX564 shooter as older models.
Based on references found in the latest leaked S26 firmware, Samsung will switch to a newer Samsung ISOCELL sensor (S5KGNG) for the 50MP primary shooter. There’s no size difference between the old and new 50MP sensor, so don’t expect major image quality improvements unless Samsung pairs it with a faster aperture.
More importantly, as rumored for the S26 Ultra, the 3x telephoto will use a higher resolution 12MP ISOCELL S5K3LD sensor — up from the 10MP shooter found in the last few generations. The extra resolution should help the 3x optical shooter to capture more detailed images. But again, unless Samsung uses a wider aperture or radically improves its processing, image quality is unlikely to get a significant boost.
Same battery capacity despite a thinner design
The leaked firmware also supposedly confirms the battery capacity of the S26 and S26 Plus: 4300mAh and 4900mAh. That’s the same as the S25 and S25+. There’s no mention of charging speeds, but that’s unlikely to get any boost either.
While this may seem disappointing, leaks point to the next-gen Galaxy phones being notably thinner than their predecessors. And yet, they will house the same capacity battery as before.
The report further suggests that Samsung will bring its Advanced Professional Video codec to the non-Ultra Galaxy S26 models, offering 4K 60FPS recording support on both front and rear cameras. The codec should help content creators and professionals as it will provide them with greater flexibility in post-production to play around with colors and dynamic range.
