Samsung Galaxy S27 Ultra could fix its biggest camera flaw

Samsung has mostly stuck to small, iterative upgrades with its Ultra phones in recent years. The Galaxy S26 Ultra is the first in a while to bring meaningful camera improvements, though they’re limited to the main and telephoto sensors. Even after all these years, the 10MP 3x camera remains unchanged despite its disappointing performance. With the Galaxy S27 Ultra, Samsung might finally address this problem for good.

Instead of upgrading to a larger 3x sensor with a wider aperture, Samsung will reportedly drop the camera altogether from its 2027 flagship Ultra (via @UniverseIce).

With a 200MP primary camera and a 5x periscope telephoto already in place, the 3x lens on the S26 Ultra does not serve much purpose, especially given its poor performance. Samsung has not made any upgrades to the 3x shooter since its debut on the Galaxy S21 Ultra back in 2021.

So, removing it would be a logical move. Samsung can use the freed-up internal space to improve the 5x telephoto or the 200MP primary camera.

A larger primary camera > small 3x camera

A bigger 200MP primary camera can easily make up for the loss of the 3x lens. Early rumors suggest the Galaxy S27 Ultra will use a new 200MP sensor, which could feature the necessary upgrades to capture 3x images at near-optical quality.

Flagship phones from Vivo, Xiaomi, Oppo, and even Apple use the primary camera to capture 3x shots. Of course, a dedicated 3x camera is better than a 200MP primary shooter, as it can theoretically capture more light and detail. But none of this applies to the Galaxy S26 Ultra’s 10MP 3x camera. It uses a slow f/2.4 aperture, and the tiny 1/3.94″ sensor size does not help either.

Instead, Samsung could divert the saved resources and space to a bigger, better 200MP primary camera. This should improve the image quality of one of the most used cameras on its flagship phones, even if it comes at the expense of slightly worse 3x shots.

A revamped camera setup would also give Samsung a chance to rethink the layout and make room for internal magnets to support native Qi2.2.