Samsung could cheap out on Galaxy S25, S26 cameras

Samsung is notoriously conservative when it comes to hardware upgrades for its base and Plus flagship phones. Unfortunately, it sounds like you shouldn’t expect a main camera upgrade any time soon.

Leaker Ice Universe reposted a photo comparison between the iPhone 16 and Galaxy S24 but added that the Galaxy S25 and Galaxy S26 will use the same camera sensor.

There’s more to picture quality than just camera hardware, as software is arguably just as important. However, the Galaxy S24 and S24 Plus feature the same fundamental main camera (1/1.56-inch, one-micron pixel size) as 2022’s Galaxy S22 and S22 Plus. So we’re overdue for a main camera upgrade.

Meanwhile, rivals like the OnePlus 12, Google Pixel 9, and Xiaomi 14 all offer larger main camera sensors. This enables brighter, cleaner shots in mixed lighting and at night owing to increased light capture. This also opens the door to improvements like better low-light portraits and low-light video. Furthermore, a larger sensor would allow Samsung to address shutter lag issues, although this seems to be more of an issue with Samsung’s Ultra phones.

It’s not the first time we heard that the Galaxy S25 will have the same 50MP main camera as previous models. However, it’s disappointing to hear that the Galaxy S26 won’t get a new camera, either. So you might have to wait until 2027 for the base Galaxy flagship phone to get a meaningful main camera upgrade.