According to two separate sources, Samsung is considering dropping the dated 10MP 3x telephoto camera on the Galaxy S27 Ultra. The sensor has been around since the Galaxy S21 Ultra, and it seems it will finally retire next year.
One of the sources specifically states that there won’t be a substitute for the 3x telephoto camera. Only the 200MP main unit, the 50MP 5x telephoto shooter and the 50MP ultrawide camera will remain. Industry sources say that this is a cost-cutting measure and the sensor itself has reached its “technical saturation point.”
While most people will likely think of this as a downgrade, it’s merely a side step in our books. We believe that the 10MP sensor has been long overdue for an upgrade or removal because cropping from the main 200MP achieves better image quality in most scenarios, rendering the 10MP 3x telephoto unit obsolete.
On the other hand, there’s nothing left to fill the gap between the 2x (crop from the main) and the 5x zoom, so an upgrade of the existing 3x telephoto camera would have been more than welcome.
At the same time, users eyeing the upcoming Galaxy S27 Pro will be happy to know that the handset is getting solid camera hardware. It will borrow the S27 Ultra’s camera config, but instead of a 50MP 5x telephoto camera, it will retain the 12MP 3x shooter. This is a solid upgrade over the existing 50MP+12MP+12MP configuration.
Of course, it’s all just speculation for now, and we still have a long way to go before the Galaxy S27 lineup comes around in early 2027, so things might change until then.
