I’ve been writing about phones for almost 20 years, and 2025 will remain in the memory for years to come as the year that most phone makers delivered their very best camera phones.
Over the past 12 months, I’ve used every major smartphone camera, starting with the Galaxy S25 Ultra, which launched back in January. Samsung was the second phone brand to make zoom a key part of its cameras – Huawei did so first on its P-series – but while it once had a significant advantage over its key competitors, that advantage has mostly eroded.
With Samsung set to launch the Galaxy S26 Ultra in the coming months, and its key rivals expected to bring their respective Ultra phones to global markets, next year could be an even bigger year for smartphone cameras. So, here’s what the next Galaxy S26 Ultra needs to bring to the table in 2026.
Better processing at 100x zoom
Depending on your preferences, the Galaxy S25 Ultra either has the best zoom camera, or it doesn’t. The 100x zoom camera hasn’t evolved much over the past two years, though it’s still more stable than the competition. It still takes impressive photos, too, but its new rivals arguably take better ones.
However, this is firmly subjective, as the majority of that competition – especially devices from manufacturers outside the US – rely heavily on AI to deliver their respective zoom capabilities, which can lead to artifacts in the resulting images. Yet, the Pixel 10 Pro proves you can use AI processing effectively while still keeping an image that blends the best of AI with the natural detail captured by the camera.
The Galaxy S26 Ultra will almost certainly be the best zoom camera Samsung has made yet. Still, I’d like to see the company evolve its AI approach at the highest zoom levels to ensure it can keep up with the competition.
A redefined dual zoom lens setup
As part of its resolve to improve zoom performance, I think it’s time for Samsung to evolve the two lenses it uses in its zoom cameras. The S25 Ultra’s main 50MP periscope telephoto lens with 5x zoom is highly capable, but the phone’s secondary 10MP, 3x telephoto lens is far inferior to the dedicated periscope lenses used by rivals like the Vivo X300 Pro (that phone uses a 200MP lens).
It’s worth noting that these competitors aren’t currently sold in the US, but they are available in other key markets where they compete directly with Samsung. Large megapixel counts look great in adverts and can sell devices, and while Samsung has proven that it can capture great photos with the 10MP telephoto lens, it’s also likely that a larger resolution sensor would mean more detailed photos.
In other words, for rivals, using a single, higher-resolution telephoto lens has delivered better quality throughout the entire zoom range, and I hope Samsung mimics that approach with the Galaxy S26 Ultra.
A better selfie camera
The 12MP selfie camera on the Galaxy S25 Ultra is essentially the same one used in many Samsung phones, but the competition has evolved its selfie camera approach considerably. As a result, the Ultra doesn’t take the best selfies, even though it supports some of the best portrait mode features (more on that below).
Oppo, Xiaomi, Honor, and Vivo all sport selfie cameras that offer higher resolution and better detail than Samsung’s. Meanwhile, the iPhone 17 Pro series features a new Center Stage square selfie camera that can capture in both portrait and landscape orientations without needing to rotate the phone. So, there’s never been a better time for Samsung to evolve its selfie camera than with the Galaxy S26 Ultra.
Add an external photography kit
The S-series Ultra has long been positioned as Samsung’s camera powerhouse, but the Oppo Find X9 Pro, Vivo X300 Pro (and Vivo X200 Ultra), and Xiaomi 17 Ultra all have a key advantage: add-on photography kits.
For Oppo, this kit includes a simple case and an attachment that adds a 3.5x teleconverter, offering 10x optical zoom. As a first-generation product, it’s somewhat unstable at higher zoom lengths, but it does extend the overall zoom capabilities to 200x from the current 120x maximum without the tele-extender.
Meanwhile, Xiaomi and Vivo have both made photography kits in the past, and the Vivo X300 Pro tele-extender kit is the current best iteration for any phone. It comes with a camera grip and supports external Zeiss lenses like a DSLR, and as a result, it offers 10x optical zoom with the same 200x maximum zoom range.
Vivo’s photography kit is particularly impressive, and for the Galaxy S26 Ultra to be considered a camera powerhouse, I think it needs a photography kit – whether that’s one made by Samsung or a trusted third party.
Continue to innovate portrait mode
It might surprise you to know that Samsung makes my favorite portrait mode for one key reason: the sheer range of options available. What’s more, Samsung has the best portrait mode feature of any smartphone: Color Point.
Color Point works by keeping the subject in color while rendering the background in black and white, making it ideal for creating eye-popping, vibrant photos. One particularly unique feature is that this effect is visible in the camera before shooting, and you can add it to any portrait photo after shooting via the gallery.
Another reason Color Point stands out is that it’s not limited to still photos captured by the Ultra’s rear cameras: it’s also available in both the selfie camera and when capturing video. For pictures in colorful scenes, such as during an Indian wedding where outfits are particularly vibrant and bright, there’s no better portrait camera.
Samsung is set to launch the Galaxy S26 Ultra in the next two months, and I can’t wait to see how the company innovates portrait mode further.
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In summary, then, I hope Samsung evolves its approach to photography on the Galaxy S26 Ultra by ushering in a next-gen zoom camera, improving the phone’s selfie-taking capabilities, adding a photography kit, and doubling down on the S25 Ultra’s already excellent portrait mode.
The S26 Ultra is reportedly set to launch in February 2026, so we don’t have much longer to wait to see what Samsung is bringing to the smartphone table.
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