The Galaxy S27 Ultra may fix my biggest Samsung complaint, but I’m worried it'll create a new one

A smartphone’s design can genuinely make or break whether I want to use it. I know, I know, you should never judge a book by its cover, but a phone is different. It’s something I’m going to look at every single day, probably hundreds of times, so yes, looks matter to me.

But there’s another side to that. I also don’t want to keep buying and using what feels like the same phone over and over again, and that’s increasingly how I’ve felt about Samsung. I’ve been using its phones, especially the Ultra models, for the past four or five years, and while Samsung has refined the formula with each generation, the overall design has barely advanced.

That’s exactly why the leaked Galaxy S27 Ultra renders immediately caught my attention. For once, Samsung seems willing to mess with a formula it has relied on for years and try something noticeably different. And after all the grief I’ve given Samsung for recycling the same designs year after year, I genuinely never expected to say this: I like where Samsung seems to be headed in 2027, even if I’m not completely sold on it yet.

Samsung is taking a risk, and I’m here for it

Android Headlines and OnLeaks have revealed the Galaxy S27 Ultra from pretty much every angle, and I’ve spent quite a bit of time looking at these renders. The more I look, the more I like what Samsung seems to be doing. Not because I think the S27 Ultra looks incredible, but because, for the first time in a while, I don’t feel like I’m looking at the same Galaxy Ultra all over again.

Most of that feeling comes from the cameras. Those three camera rings in a line we’ve become so used to are no longer sitting on their own. Instead, Samsung appears to be adding a raised section underneath them, which immediately gives the back a different look. Two cameras sit together, while the third is part of a longer, pill-shaped section alongside the flash. And yes, it’s difficult to look at this without seeing a bit of the iPhone 17 Pro Max and OPPO Find X9 Pro in there.

And Samsung may have a good reason for this change beyond simply giving the S27 Ultra a new look. A larger camera section potentially gives the company more room to play with, whether that means bigger camera hardware, better cooling, or finally making magnetic charging work properly. If I have to live with a slightly busier-looking back in exchange for Samsung having more freedom to improve what’s inside the phone, that’s a trade-off I can get behind.

I’m keeping my expectations in check, though, especially when it comes to the cameras. The telephoto still looks fairly small in these renders, so a bigger camera section doesn’t necessarily mean we’re getting massive hardware upgrades across the board. For now, what excites me more is simply being able to look at a new Galaxy Ultra and immediately feel like I’m looking at something new.

That feeling mostly disappears when I turn my attention to the rest of the phone, though. Outside of the redesigned camera area, Samsung doesn’t seem to be changing much. The S27 Ultra still looks massive and boxy, and from the front, I’d probably have a hard time telling it apart from the Galaxy S26 Ultra. Then again, renders can only tell me so much about how a phone actually feels, so I’m not ready to make up my mind until I’ve held and used the S27 Ultra for myself.

The price of finally looking different

And that’s where these S27 Ultra renders leave me a little conflicted. If they’re accurate, some of that instantly recognizable Samsung-ness could disappear. Put this phone next to something from OPPO or OnePlus, and suddenly the differences aren’t quite as obvious. I’ve wanted Samsung to give the Ultra a fresh look for years, but I never wanted that fresh look to come at the expense of blending in with everything else.

Of course, how much that actually matters will depend on where you live. In the US, for example, OPPO doesn’t officially sell its phones, and OnePlus has shut shop in the country, so the S27 Ultra won’t exactly be sitting on store shelves surrounded by phones that look just like it. In other markets, though, where Chinese phone brands are much more common, I can see this design feeling a lot less distinctive than the Galaxy Ultras we’re used to.

That’s ultimately why these renders have left me in such a strange place. I’ve wanted Samsung to change the Ultra for years, and I’m genuinely excited that it finally might. I just hope that in trying to make the S27 Ultra look new, Samsung doesn’t forget what made it look like a Samsung in the first place.

Phew, the S Pen survived

While I’m still figuring out how I feel about Samsung changing so much of the Ultra’s identity, there’s at least one familiar part of the phone I’m very happy to see sticking around: the S Pen. OnLeaks has confirmed that it will still be included with the Galaxy S27 Ultra, and if you look closely at the renders, you can even see a little bit of it tucked into the bottom of the phone.

This is actually a bit of a relief for me. Ever since Samsung removed Bluetooth functionality from the S Pen a couple of years ago, I’ve wondered what that meant for its future. My immediate thought was that Bluetooth could be the first thing to go; Samsung could slowly put less emphasis on the S Pen, and then, one year later, it might disappear altogether. Thankfully, the S27 Ultra doesn’t appear to be that phone.

I’m especially glad because I use the S Pen a lot. I’ll pull it out to scribble something in my notes, draw when I have some time to kill, annotate a screenshot, or quickly jot down an idea before I forget it. Once you get used to having a stylus sitting inside your phone whenever you need it, it becomes surprisingly difficult to imagine not having one.

And maybe that’s the balance I want Samsung to strike with the S27 Ultra. I’m completely fine with the company changing the cameras, experimenting with the design, and making the phone feel fresh again. Just don’t change everything for the sake of changing it. Some parts of the Ultra are worth holding on to, and for me, the S Pen is absolutely one of them.

Excited, nervous, and very curious

For now, it’s far too early for me to decide how I really feel about the Galaxy S27 Ultra. These are still leaked renders, and with months to go before Samsung is expected to launch the phone, what we’re seeing may not be the finished product.

Still, I’m glad Samsung appears willing to try something different. After years of Ultras that felt more like refinements than redesigns, seeing the company take a bigger swing is refreshing. And if this new look also gives Samsung more room to improve what’s inside the phone, I’m even more willing to give it a chance.

But renders can only tell me so much. They can’t tell me what the S27 Ultra will feel like when I pick it up every day, whether that camera section will annoy me after a week, or whether I’ll eventually miss the unmistakable Galaxy Ultra design I’ve become so used to. That’s why I’m equal parts excited and nervous. I might finally be getting the change I’ve wanted for years; now I just have to find out whether I’ll actually enjoy living with it.