New Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra leaks point to a tiny camera improvement and a ‘major upgrade’ to charging

  • The Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra might have a new telephoto camera but no changes to its other sensors
  • It could also support 55W charging
  • While that’s only 10W more than the S25 Ultra, the impact has been described as a “major upgrade”

Not long ago, Samsung teased that the Galaxy S26 series would have new camera sensors, but it seems that in the case of the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra, only one of its five sensors might be new.

This is according to leaker @chunvn8888 (via Android Police), who listed an almost identical assortment of camera specs for the Galaxy S26 Ultra as for the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra.

Specifically, they mentioned a 200MP main sensor, a 50MP ultra-wide camera, a 50MP periscope camera offering 5x optical zoom, a 12MP telephoto camera capable of 3x optical zoom, and a 12MP front-facing camera.

With the exception of the 3x telephoto camera, those are all identical to what you’ll find on the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra, right down to the sensor make and model number, which were also listed.

That 12MP 3x telephoto sounds like it could be an upgrade on the 10MP 3x telephoto camera on the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra, but otherwise the camera hardware will be exactly the same as before according to this source.

There is at least slightly better news when it comes to the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra’s charging power, as in a separate post the same source claimed that it will support 55W charging, though they added that it will only charge at a full 55W for the first 15% of a full charge, followed by 45W until it reaches 70%, and presumably the remaining 30% at a lower charging power still.

For reference, the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra supports 45W charging, but according to this source it “barely maintains” 45W. So at 55W the Galaxy S26 Ultra would be at least a small improvement, but in fact @chunvn8888 describes this as a “major upgrade”, so in practice you might find it juices up much faster than its predecessor.

Conflicting reports

We would take all of this with a pinch of salt for now though, since we can’t be sure of anything until Samsung announces the phone. On top of which, there have also been some conflicting rumors.

For example, while one recent leak similarly points to the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra having a 12MP telephoto camera, an earlier one suggested none of the megapixel counts would be changing.

We’ve also previously heard that the Galaxy S26 Ultra’s charging power could either remain at 45W or rise to 60W – though the latter leak doesn’t necessarily conflict with today’s, as it’s possible Samsung will market the phone as offering 60W charging while only being able to maintain 55W or lower most of the time.

In any case, we might get confirmation of the specs on February 25, as that’s when the Samsung Galaxy S26 series is rumored to launch.

Follow TechRadar on Google News and add us as a preferred source to get our expert news, reviews, and opinion in your feeds. Make sure to click the Follow button!

And of course you can also follow TechRadar on TikTok for news, reviews, unboxings in video form, and get regular updates from us on WhatsApp too.

Read more @ TechRadar

Latest posts

New York passes law requiring ads to disclose the use of AI performers

New York is taking steps to regulate the use of AI in the state's entertainment industry. NY State Governor Kathy Hochul passed two pieces...

’47 Ronin’ director found guilty of defrauding Netflix out of $11 million

A director who was charged with defrauding Netflix out of millions of dollars has been found guilty, Business Insider reports. Carl Rinsch, director of...

Disney’s deal with OpenAI is about controlling the future of copyright

This morning Disney and OpenAI announced a three-year licensing agreement: Starting in 2026, ChatGPT and Sora can generate images and videos incorporating Disney IP,...

Amazon’s AI-generated recap tool didn’t watch Fallout very closely

Amazon's plan to offer AI-generated recaps of Prime Video shows isn't off to a great start. The company's recap of the first season of...

Apple (mostly) loses its appeal in Epic Games case

Apple has clawed back a bit of ground in its legal fight with Epic Games that could have wide-reaching consequences for all app developers....

OpenAI admits new models likely to pose ‘high’ cybersecurity risk

OpenAI warns future LLMs could aid zero‑day development or advanced cyber‑espionageCompany is investing in defensive tooling, access controls, and a tiered cybersecurity programNew Frontier...

Who needs Black Friday? The handy Amazon Echo Spot just hit a new record-low price

It is this time of year that I add a new smart speaker to my home collection. This year it was the turn of...

Mysterious 88-core AMD CPU surfaces on eBay, and here’s why I think it’s the start of something big

Decommissioned hyperscale hardware is surfacing online with unusual speed and scaleNon-binary core counts point to customized silicon tailored for specialized workloadsDDR4 reliance suggests these...

Flip’s affordable NBN plan pricing doesn’t mean you’ll be left high and dry if you ever need help

With over 100 different brands to compare as of late 2025, choosing an NBN provider that you know will deliver a reliable and (perhaps...

ChatGPT 5.2 is here and all about being a better thinker – here are the 3 things you need to know

OpenAI has released its new GPT-5.2 model (a couple of days after it was anticipated), and ChatGPT 5.2 has rolled out in tandem. The...