The Galaxy S25 Ultra could get a big camera upgrade (Update: And a downgrade)

Update: September 9, 2024 (7:30 AM ET): Leaker Ice Universe has now claimed that while the Galaxy S25 Ultra will get a 50MP ultrawide lens, it won’t get a 50MP 3x telephoto camera as previously rumored. Instead, the tipster says the Ultra phone will retain the current 3x 10MP telephoto lens.

This is a bit of a disappointment as the Galaxy Ultra range has offered this same 3x 10MP camera since 2021’s Galaxy S21 Ultra. So we were looking forward to a higher resolution 3x sensor, which would’ve potentially offered more detailed portraits and better 3x image quality in general.

Original article: September 9, 2024 (4:59 AM ET): The Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra is expected to be one of the best Android phones of 2025, and we’ve already heard plenty of leaks about it. Now, a prolific tipster has claimed that the phone could gain a new ultrawide camera.

Ice Universe asserted on Twitter that the Galaxy S25 Ultra will offer a higher resolution ultrawide camera. More specifically, the phone will apparently gain a 50MP f/1.9 ultrawide camera with a 1/2.52-inch sensor size and 0.7-micron pixels.

This would make for a big resolution bump over the Galaxy S24 Ultra’s 12MP ultrawide camera. There are indeed a few reasons why you might want a high-resolution ultrawide lens.

Galaxy S25 Ultra: Is a 50MP ultrawide camera a good thing?

Perhaps the most notable potential benefit is the ability to record 8K videos via the ultrawide camera, as you typically need a ~33MP camera to shoot 8K clips. The wider field of view afforded by an ultrawide lens usually makes for more stable video, too. Furthermore, a 50MP ultrawide camera also leaves some room for digital stabilization of 8K video via cropping. So the combination of an ultrawide lens and digital stabilization could make for smoother 8K output.

It’s also believed that the Galaxy S25 Ultra will offer a 3x 50MP telephoto camera, joining the aforementioned 50MP ultrawide lens, the 50MP 5x shooter, and a 200MP main camera. That means Samsung’s phone could theoretically shoot 8K video across all four lenses.

A higher resolution also means you can crop in on a full-resolution ultrawide snap after the fact without a huge loss of detail. That could be handy if you want a 1x shot but didn’t actually take a 1x snap in the first place. More megapixels could also be handy for more detailed macro shots.

In saying so, this 50MP ultrawide sensor has smaller pixels than the S24 Ultra’s 12MP sensor (0.7 microns versus 1.4 microns), but Samsung will likely use pixel-binning to offer brighter, cleaner low-light shots.

Other rumored Galaxy S25 Ultra features include a Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 chip, a 5,000mAh battery, and 45W wired charging. The phone is also slated to be the thinnest Galaxy Ultra device since the Galaxy Note 20 Ultra.