For the past few years, it has seemed like Samsung has forgotten about the non-Ultra Galaxy S model phones. Specifically, the base and Plus models. They’ve seen very few upgrades since the Galaxy S22 in 2022. Yes, three years, now soon to be four. And according to a new report out of Korea, it sounds like Samsung will be continuing to use the same cameras on the Galaxy S26 next year.
Here’s the camera specs we’re expecting to see on the Galaxy S26 and Galaxy S26 Plus early next year:
- 50-megapixel Primary sensor, f/1.8, 1/1.56″
- 10-megapixel 3x Telephoto sensor, f/2.4, 1/3.94″
- 12-megapixel Ultrawide, f/2.2, 1/2.55″
The primary sensor is perfectly fine, but the telephoto and the ultrawide are definitely outdated. Let’s compare it to other base-model cameras, like the Google Pixel 10 and the Apple iPhone 17, which are also about the same price.
| Camera | Google Pixel 10 | Apple iPhone 17 |
|---|---|---|
| Primary | 48MP f/1.7 1/2.0″ | 48MP f/1.6 1/1.56″ |
| Telephoto | 10.8MP 5x, f/3.1 1/3.2″ | N/A |
| Ultrawide | 13MP f/2.2 1/3.1″ | 48MP f/2.2 1/2.55″ |
So, as we can see here, Samsung is using the same size sensor for the ultrawide and the main camera as the iPhone 17, but the iPhone has a lot more resolution as well as a wider aperture to let in more light. Of course, the iPhone 17 does not have a telephoto, but the Pixel 10 does, which is a 5x telephoto lens, that’s slightly larger, though still quite small.
Samsung needs to focus more on cameras, across all of its smartphones
Samsung seems to have gotten lazy over the past few years. Even when it comes to its “Ultra” models. Only upgrading a single camera sensor every year, which means that the 3x telephoto on the Galaxy S25 Ultra is tiny, and pretty much useless with a 200-megapixel primary sensor.
The big crutch for Samsung these days is the cameras. While in the US, it’s still one of the best camera phones on the market, when you look at the global market, it is far behind. I mean, Samsung’s Galaxy S25 Ultra is currently ranked 21st globally on DXOMark , and they don’t even review many of the phones coming out of China. DXOMark didn’t even review the cameras on the base Galaxy S25 – only the display for some reason.
Samsung, it’s been four years since we’ve had any sort of camera upgrade on the Galaxy S and Plus models; it’s time.
