Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra could borrow a 200MP camera trick from this Android manufacturer

Summary

• Samsung may introduce a 200MP periscope shooter on the Galaxy S26 for improved zoom capabilities.
• Vivo already uses a 200MP periscope camera on its recent flagship phones, offering exceptional image quality and natural bokeh at high zoom levels.
• A 200MP periscope sensor may result in a bulky camera bump, though.

The Galaxy S25 has yet to launch, but early rumors about the S26 lineup have already started circulating online. Samsung hasn't introduced any significant upgrades to the camera system on its flagship phones in recent years, and rumors suggest that the Galaxy S25 Ultra may follow the same trend, with no major enhancements expected. However, the company's next-gen flagship might change this, switching to a bigger 200MP periscope shooter for superior zoom capabilities.

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Recent Android flagships from Chinese manufacturer Vivo sport a big 200MP 1/1.4-inch periscope camera, offering unrivaled image quality at 3.7x and higher zoom levels. The bigger sensor lets the phones capture more light and images with a natural bokeh effect. Ironically, the camera is made by Samsung itself — the same 200MP module serves as the primary shooter on the Galaxy S24 Ultra.

Samsung apparently wants to adopt a strategy similar to Vivo. According to leaker Digital Chat Station (via GSMArena), the company is evaluating using a 200MP periscope sensor on its future phones. This shooter will work alongside the primary 200MP camera, improving the zoom performance of future flagship Galaxy phones. The sensor size will seemingly measure 1/1.5 inches, slightly smaller than the 1/1.4-inch sensor that Vivo uses on its X100 Ultra and X200 Pro.

Besides Vivo, Xiaomi is also rumored to adopt a 200MP periscope sensor on its upcoming camera flagship: the Xiaomi 15 Ultra.

How will Samsung tackle the big camera bump?

The only downside of such a large 200MP periscope shooter is that it requires significant vertical space, resulting in a big camera bump on most Ultra flagships. But the jump in image quality is substantial enough to make the bulky camera bump a worthwhile trade-off. Plus, Samsung has not made any meaningful improvements to the cameras on its flagship phones in a few years now. So, most fanboys are unlikely to complain about a bigger camera hump.

The Galaxy S26 Ultra is over a year from launch, and a lot could change by then. The company may adopt its recently announced ALoP camera technology instead, which allows telephoto lenses to be up to 22% shorter than traditional folded zoom sensors.