All the buzz around Samsung right now is about the upcoming Galaxy Z Fold 7 and Galaxy Z Flip 7, but leaks of Samsung’s other upcoming smartphones haven’t stopped. Just a few days ago, we learned that Samsung might skip a main camera upgrade and retain the same battery capacity for the Galaxy S26 Ultra. However, it seems the company could be tucking in a few upgrades under the hood.
Samsung Galaxy Unpacked
Samsung will unveil its next generation of foldables and smartwatches on July 9th at 10 am ET in New York. Right now, you can reserve a Galaxy Z Flip or Fold 7 to get a $50 Samsung credit — which you can use on official accessories if you do end up buying one of the foldables — earn triple reward points, and also enter a $5,000 sweepstakes.
According to reputed Samsung leaker Ice Universe, the Galaxy S26 Ultra is expected to retain the same 50MP 5x optical zoom and 200MP primary cameras. However, the leaker adds that not all cameras are staying the same, as the S26 Ultra will reportedly come with an upgraded 3x telephoto sensor.
The company currently uses a 10MP 3x telephoto sensor on the Galaxy S25 Ultra, which will reportedly be upgraded to 12MP on next year’s flagship.
Galaxy S26 Ultra could get a better zoom camera and faster charging
As for battery life, it looks like the S26 Ultra will continue with a 5,000mAh cell, unchanged from the past few Ultra models. However, the device is expected to support faster charging. While specific numbers weren’t shared, this could finally mean an upgrade from the current 45W speed Samsung has used for years.
In addition, Ice Universe revealed the Galaxy S26 Ultra will be significantly thinner than the Galaxy S25 Ultra. The Galaxy S25 Ultra measures 8.2mm thick, but the leaker says Samsung will shed a decent amount of thickness, and the Galaxy S26 Ultra will be 7.xx mm thick.
That’s notably slimmer than even Apple’s upcoming iPhone 17 Pro Max, which is expected to remain above 8mm. It’s unclear how Samsung plans to fit the same battery into a thinner body, but if true, it would be quite impressive (though we’d still love to see a bigger cell).
The Galaxy S26 Ultra isn’t expected to launch anytime soon. If Samsung sticks to its usual timeline, the Galaxy S26 series will debut in January 2026, so things could still change. But for now, it looks like Samsung is tweaking the right things with the Galaxy S26 Ultra.
