Samsung hasn’t had the best week where leaks are concerned, as multiple posts from leakers have posited that Samsung will not be upgrading, and may even be downgrading the zoom camera tech within its premium phone range for the next outing, the Galaxy S26 Ultra.
However, now news has emerged that Samsung is working on some new camera technology that could revolutionize taking snaps on your phone. Samsung is working on creating a continuous zoom camera lens, according to a report from TheElec (via Android Authority). The bad news? It wouldn’t be for its own phones.
A massive upgrade for smartphone photography
Say goodbye to choppy zooms
Smartphone zoom tech has come on in leaps and bounds since the bad old days of purely digital zoom. Now it’s common to see zoom lenses with anywhere from 3x optical zoom to 10x, thanks to the arrival of periscope lenses, which lie parallel to the phone’s body, allowing for longer zoom lenses. AI enhancements are also common, as shown in the Pixel 10 Pro XL’s impressive 100x zoom capabilities.
But there’s still a problem with current zoom tech, as impressive as it is. Each optical zoom level is fixed, so a 2x zoom can only sit at that level. Anything outside that exact point is handled by digital zoom, until another lens kicks in. A continuous zoom lens, like that Samsung is rumored to be working on, would be able to move its optical lenses to provide a stable optical zoom between two points. For instance, between 3x zoom and 10x zoom. This is much more like that offered by a traditional camera’s zoom lens, and would be a big step-up for the ability of a smartphone camera.
This would be a massive boost for the S26 Ultra, right? It would, but sadly, Samsung supposedly isn’t going to be delivering anything it makes to its newest flagship models. Instead, Samsung is creating the new lenses on behalf of an unnamed Chinese manufacturer. While we don’t know who this might be, it’s worth mentioning that one of Xiaomi’s upcoming phones is said to include a continuous zoom lens.
Continuous zoom lenses aren’t particularly new, with Sony and LG having both previously created them. But Samsung not jumping on the tech for its own phones may be a mistake. Fans are upset at recent rumors that Samsung will be sticking by the same camera tech for its upcoming S26 range, with potential upgrades not coming until the S27. Some fans hold that the current Samsung lenses are outdated, and are being outpaced by a number of Chinese manufacturers — a problem that won’t be fixed by Samsung supplying shiny new lenses it won’t use itself.
